Ponce de León There is no record that Ponce de Leon searched for the Fountain of Youth. Some say the story was made up by his rivals to discredit his reputation. But there is probably no truth in that either. Like other Spanish explorers, Ponce de Leon spent much of his time in search of gold and glory for Spain.

Ponce de León Juan Ponce de León is believed to have been born in Spain in 1460. He was from a noble family. He sailed to the New World with Columbus on Christopher’s second voyage in 1493.

Ponce de León While Columbus returned to Spain, Ponce de León settled on the island of Hispaniola (present day Dominican Republic and Haiti) in Santo Domingo. It was a good move for the young conquistador. He eventually became the governor of the small province as well as owner of a large land holding. Santo Domingo

Ponce de León When Ponce de León heard stories of treasures on a nearby island, he took an army to conquer Borinquen (present day Puerto Rico). As governor, he enslaved the local people. Because of his ruthlessness, and mostly because of his troubles with the Columbus family, he was removed as governor by the Spanish government in 1511.

Next, Ponce de León explored – and conquered – an island in the Bahamas called Bimini. According to legend, it was on this island that Ponce de León first heard about the Fountain of Youth. He set out to find this fabled fountain.

Ponce de León His searching brought him to a new land covered with flowers, so that’s what Ponce de León called it, La Florida. He actually believed it was an island. Still, he is credited as the first European to land in Florida, near St. Augustine. And, of course, he claimed it all for Spain.

According to legend, he hunted along the east and west coasts of Florida, in search of the Fountain of Youth. When he ran into some very unfriendly natives, he fled. He came back, though, with 200 settlers. The natives were still unfriendly. They chased him (and his settlers) out of Florida. And that’s the story of Ponce de Leon.