Juan Ponce: The First European Explorer

Have you ever heard of Juan Ponce de Leon? Rumor has it he was searching for the mythical ‘’fountain of youth’’, but historians suggest otherwise. There are no surviving documents saying that Juan Ponce de Leon was searching for the fountain of youth. It is thought that Gonzalo Fernández de Oviedo y Valdez disliked Juan, and attempting to make him look foolish, spread the rumor saying that Juan Ponce de Leon was looking for the fountain of youth.

PerceivJuan ponce de Leon discovers the present Florida. De Leon became a very rich person by finding gold and farming. Another thing is he sold things to sailors traveling to Spain. Overall De Leon was a good man aka he was a hero rather than a villain.

Hernando de Soto was a Spanish explorer and conquistador who led the first European expedition deep into the territory of the modern-day United States. He is the first European documented as having crossed the Mississippi River. Wikipedia

* In 1498, he discovered the mainland and went down the coast of South America.

As an adult he moved to Cadiz and became a Squire, he was taught to hunt and handle weapons such as swords and Spanish guns that looked like rifles. Because of this he was recruited to fight against the Moors in Granada from 1487 to 1492. Nevertheless he was considered of a person without importance when he took his first expedition in 1493 on Christopher Columbus’s second voyage to the new world. This voyage started in the harbor of Cadiz and led to the Canary Islands, which is where the last touch of land was had before amassing the large body of water that is the Atlantic which eventually led to Espanola. This particular voyage took roughly twenty two days to cross the Atlantic. Aurelio Tio, a historian of the time from Puerto Rico describes Juan Ponce De Leon before he began his journey, “He [Juan Ponce] was a squire without a source of wealth, a veteran of the Conquest of Granada, in search of fame, honor, adventure, and fortune, like the

Juan Ponce de Leon was a Spanish conquistador who went on many expeditions to Florida around the late 15th century and early 16th century. Ponce de Leon started his exploration in joining Christopher Columbus on his second voyage to the Americas in 1493. They landed in Hispaniola and found a settlement to be destroyed and the sailors to be murdered. Columbus enforced a forced-labor policy and made the Natives rebuild the settlement and look for gold. In this voyage, Ponce de Leon learned many skills and tactics in which he would use in later voyages. In 1508, Ponce de Leon was sent to explore Puerto Rico and look for gold. He settled with 50 other soldiers in what is now San Juan and became the first governor of the eastern part of the country in 1509. He also discovered the Dry Tortugas, 10 small keys southwest of Key West. Ponce de Leon was governor for two years until he was replaced by the Columbus’s son. He then sailed north through the Bahamas in search of new

While at Hispaniola, I would have been able to see how settlements and colonies would be set up in the different regions, depending on the different geography and climate of each region. Settlements and colonies are the start of civilizations, and I would’ve been able to see the growing of the settlements after returning every couple years. Ponce de Leon also visited Florida where he was able to accomplish the “discovery” and naming of the region. He was also named military governor of Bimini and Florida. It would have been interesting to be on this voyage because he was searching for something that was rumored to be true but never found. It would have been fun seeing his reaction towards not finding the “fountain of youth”. I’m also curious if he ever realized that he sailed to North America instead of the Caribbean Islands. Another place he visited was Puerto Rico, which was rumored to have gold. Ponce de Leon found gold here and was named governor of Puerto Rico. He also established a settlement here, but this time through the use of slaves. I would have been so excited to search for gold on this journey, especially knowing that he eventually found some. While at all of these places, I would have especially enjoyed

He explored much of the deep, southern United States. He was influenced by Juan Ponce de León’s accomplishments and success in Florida. He is said to be the first European to cross the Mississippi River. He was searching for gold, silver, and a route to China. He is important as he was the founder of the southern US. He died present day Alabama in 1542.

Juan Ponce de Leon was the first European known to have visited present-day United States in 1513. He also discovered Florida and the Bahama Channel, and colonized Puerto Rico according to the Mariners Museum website. In 1502, he left on a voyage with Frey Nicolás de Ovando and arrived at Santo Domingo. He lived there from 1502 to 1504 and was named the island’s captain by Ovando. De Leon then moved to Salvaleón and lived there from 1505 to 1508. In 1506, he made a request to travel to and conquer Borinquen. After receiving permission from Ovando, he started a settlement there and renamed it San Juan de Puerto Rico. On March 3rd 1513, he left Puerto Rico with 3 ships to explore north of Cuba. On March 27th 1513 he sighted mainland Florida.

In 1496 Hernando de Soto was born in Spain. All his life he dreams about becoming an explorer, his family had very little money. His Mom wanna him to grow up and be a Lawyer but his Dad rather him be a explore of the West Indies. So he became an explorer.

Juan ponce de Leon was poor .But he eventually became a solider and fought against the moors and Granada .Juan built settlement in Hispaniola in the first decade of the 1500. Juan gave Florida its name and went on to become the first governor of Portico Rico. but hearing persistent reports of gold nearby portico rico in 1508 the spanish crown officially sent pounce de Leon to explore the area two years earlier.

Cristopher Columbus, born in 1450/51 in Genoa Italy, was an Italian explorer. Columbus was interested in claiming land for the crown as well as riches. His religious views and his greed, as well as his country’s, fueled an ignorant perspective that would come to direct the interactions Columbus had with the Natives on the Island of Hispaniola. Columbus tried for years to acquire funding and spent many meetings with scholars laughing in his face at the ideas he put forth. Eventually, after securing the funds necessary for his voyages from King

Hernando de soto was an explorer of the ‘’New world’’. He was searching for gold and land. His expedition started on 4/6/1532.

Hernando de Soto was a Spanish explorer conquistador who made three main voyages. He participated in the conquest of Peru and Central America and discovered the Mississippi River, which the Inca emperor financed. De Soto was born into a poor but noble family. He was educated at the University of Salamance, which was funded by Pedro Arias Davila. De Soto’s family wanted him to be a lawyer but he wanted to be an explorer.

Today you will be learning about Hernando De Soto, Hernando was born c. 1500 in Spain. He was famous for being the first European to cross the Mississippi River and he was also famous for helping defeat the Inca Empire. He died of fever on May 21, 1542 in Ferriday, LouisiaNA. this RESEARCH WILL ALSO DISCUSS HIS LIFE AS AN EARLY EXPLORER, ADDITIONAL FAMOUS EXPLORATIONS THAT HE IS KNOWN FOR, AS WELL AS SOME OF THE IMPORTANT CONTRIBUTIONS THAT HE MADE TO