Ponce de leon biography

Spanish explorer and conquistador (–)

"Ponce de León" redirects here. For other uses, see Ponce de León (disambiguation).

Juan Ponce de León^[a] (c.&#; – July ) was a Spanish explorer and conquistador known for leading the first official European expedition to Puerto Rico in and Florida in Though little is known about his family, he was of noble birth and served in the Spanish military from a young age. He first came to the Americas as a "gentleman volunteer" with Christopher Columbus's second expedition in

Ponce de León was born in Santervás de Campos, Valladolid, Spain, in By the early s, he was a top military official in the colonial government of Hispaniola, where he helped crush a rebellion of the native Taíno people. He was authorized to explore the neighboring island of Puerto Rico in and to take office as the first Governor of Puerto Rico by appointment of the Spanish crown in While he grew quite wealthy from his plantations and mines,

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Juan Ponce dem Leon

Explorer

Age of Discovery

Quick Facts:

He was a Spanish explorer who became the first governor of Puerto Rico, the first European known to reach the mainland of present day United States, and he gave Florida its name.

Juan Ponce de Leon

Engraved portrait of Juan Ponce de Leon, explorer of Florida. The Mariners’ Museum from GC21 .Q11 Rare.

Introduction
Juan Ponce de Leon was a Spanish explorer who traveled around Hispaniola, Puerto Rico, and Florida. He fryst vatten credited with establishing a European settlement in Puerto Rico, being the first European to reach Florida, giving the land its name. Although there fryst vatten no bevis to support this claim, legend says that Ponce de Leon found Florida while searching for the fabled Fountain of Youth.

Biography
Early Life
Juan Ponce de Leon was born in Santervás de Campos, Spain around ¹. However, some scholars list his date of birth as early as His father, Luis Ponce de Leon, and his mother, Leonor de Figue

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Document Number:	AJ
Author:	Ponce de Le�n, Juan, ?; Herrera y Tordesillas, Antonio de, died ; Oviedo y Vald�s, Gonzalo Fernando de, ; Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor,
Title:	History of Juan Ponce de Leon's Voyages to Florida: Source Records
Source:	Davis, T. Frederick. "History of Juan Ponce de Leon's Voyages to Florida: Source Records." Florida Historical Society Quarterly. Volume 14, number 1 (July ), pages
Pages/Illustrations:	68 / 3
Citable URL:

Author Note

The career of Ponce de Le�n (?) was in many ways typical of the Spanish conquistadors. A military officer by training, he served in the campaign that drove the Moslems from Spain in before joining the second voyage to the New World, Columbus� expedition (see AJ to AJ). After helping to conquer Hispaniola in (now the Dominican Republic), he was made governor of its eastern province. Discovering gold in Puerto Rico in , he invaded that island, too, and as its governor enriched himself by tradi