Juan Ponce de LeónBy Ethan Kyle G. Pascua

Who wants to live forever? Juan Ponce de León did, so he tried to find the Fountain of Youth. Unfortunately, he didn’t find it, but he found another famous place: Florida!

●Ponce de León was born in 1460 and died in 1521

●Spanish Explorer ●Born in the village of Santaverás

de Campos near Palencia, Spain●Was a page in the Spanish Court●Became an experienced soldier

who fought in the long Spanish Campaign

Ponce de León

Who was Juan Ponce de León?

Purpose of Expeditions ●To find The Fountain of Youth●To find wealth and undiscovered islands to the northwest of Hispaniola, an island in the West Indies

Expeditions ●First voyage in 1513 with 200 men and 3 ships

●Sailed along the coast of Florida●Second voyage in 1515 and third voyage in 1521

●On his first voyage, Ponce de León ships encountered strong currents

●The currents pushed his ships eastward into the northeast shore of Cuba and his crew was initially confused about their location

●The natives of Florida did not want Ponce de León to conquer Florida and fought against him

What Happened

Accomplishments ●Named, was is now Florida, “La Florida”●Became the first Governor of Puerto Rico●One of the first explorers to claim part of the north American Mainland for Spain

How he treated the natives● Back on Puerto Rico, Ponce de León divided out the

native Tainos amongst himself and other settlers using a system of forced labor known as encomienda.

● Many of the Spaniards treated the Tainos very harshly and newly introduced diseases like smallpox and measles took a severe toll on the local population.

Facts -was a Spanish explorer and conquistador. He became the first Governor of Puerto Rico by appointment of the Spanish crown.

-He led the first known European expedition to La Florida, which he named, and is associated with the legend of the Fountain of Youth, supposed to be in Florida.