Juan Ponce de Leon Background Timeline In His Words… Voyages Click on the topic you would like to EXPLORE… Background Timeline In His Words… Voyages Reasons for Voyage Video Bibliography Most Important Voyage: Route

Background Spanish Life Who Is He? Life as a Sailor Home Click on the pictures to learn more about Ponce de Leon! Life as a Sailor

Who is He? Ponce de Leon was Spanish. He was also an explorer and sailor. He was the governor of the Dominican province of Hirguey. After he was done with being the governor he left and wanted to become an explorer. Juan was the first explorer to step foot on Florida. He also discovered the Gulf Stream and established the oldest European settlement in Puerto Rico. Background Home Home

Spanish Life Youth Juan Ponce de Leon was born in the 1460s. His birthplace is in Santervas de Campos, Leon, Spain. Ponce de Leon descended from a Spanish royal family. He was well educated. Some careers he had was a courtier, explorer, and soldier. Juan Ponce de Leon’s birthplace was San Tervas de Campos, Leon, Spain. When Ponce de Leon was a boy he was hired to deliver messages in royal court. Later on, he served in many military campaigns against the Muslims until 1492. That’s when they were driven out of Spain. Ruling Country King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella ruled Spain from the 1400s to the 1500s. They decreed that everyone would be Roman Catholic. People who practiced religions such as Islam or Muslim had to change religions. If they did not, they would be sentenced to death or exiled from Spain. Sponsors Juan Ponce de Leon was an explorer from and for Spain. King Ferdinand II paid for, or sponsored, to explore for Spain. Ponce de Leon was sent by the King to discover riches and conquer land. A legend says he wanted to find the Fountain of Youth. Juan sailed with three ships. They sailed through the Bahamas and reached St. Augustine, Florida. He happened to be the first explorer to land in Florida. Ponce de Leon claimed the land for Spain. Background Home

Life as a Sailor They first spotted land on April 2, 1513, Palm Sunday. He then claimed the land for Spain. When Ponce de Leon went ashore, he was met by a group of Native Americans shooting arrows at them. One arrow hit Ponce De Leon. Then he was taken back onto the ship and brought to Cuba. He passed away in July of 1521 from his wound. He sailed with Christopher Columbus on his second voyage to the New World in 1493. But, Ponce de Leon stayed in Santo Domingo, an island south of Florida. Ponce de Leon returned to Spain and then he went back on another voyage to Bimini in February of 1521. He went with 2 ships and 200 men. They reached the east coast of Florida, St. Augustine, in April 1513 after stops at Grand Turk Island and San Salvador. Ponce de Leon named the land "Pascua de Florida", which means feast of flowers. Background Home

In His Words…. Home Click on the speaker to hear a narrative! Looking around on this ship, I am filled with dread. All I see is sickness. We’ve been sailing this sea for many long months and have lost many colonists to death. We’ve run out of medicines and many people are dying with scurvy. We don’t know how or why this disease is getting to us. People who have scurvy have spongy and bleeding gums and livid spots on their skin. It is upsetting to know that people are dying from so many different diseases and there is nothing I can do about it. I am Juan Ponce de Leon sailing with Christopher Columbus on his second voyage. I have hope that I will get there safe and healthy, but I am not one hundred percent sure it will happen. I Get to the New World…. “Land Ho!” I hear as our ship approaches land. I have come all this way to explore and discover. What am I looking for? The legendary “Fountain of Youth”. I just started to walk on this land and I see at least a million beautiful flowers already! I shall claim this land for Spain and call it “Pascua de Florida”! I have just landed and I hear something. Oh-no! Now I see vicious Indians appearing. I now see a deadly arrow coming straight for me! I am so nervous that this will end badly…. Later…. I died after being hit with that deadly arrow and was taken back to Cuba. I died in the year of 1521. Home

Reasons for Voyage Juan Ponce de Leon planned to sail to the Island of Bimini in search for the fountain of youth. The fountain of youth was a legendary fountain that was said to give people eternal life, health, a cure from all illnesses, and make them remain youthful forever. He left to sail to Bimini from Puerto Rico in March, 1513, sailing northwestern towards the Bahamas. Instead of landing on the island of Bimini, he arrived on the mainland of Florida. He called the land “Tierra La Florida” because he found the island on Palm Sunday. Juan Ponce de Leon claimed this land for Spain. He stayed in what is now Florida to find the Bahama Channel which was a shorter route between Cuba and Europe. Home

Most Important Voyage: Route Key -route from Puerto Rico to St. Augustine, Florida route from St. Augustine around Florida and to Cuba route from Cuba through the Tortuga Islands and back to Puerto Rico Home

Timeline Home

Voyages Voyages One & Two Voyages Three & Four Home Click on the text to discover information on all of Juan Ponce de Leon’s voyages! Home

Voyage One Juan Ponce de Leon sailed from Spain to Puerto Rico and landed there in 1508. Here, he found gold and claimed the island for Spain. Ponce de Leon set up the first European settlement on this island, named it Caparra and became the island’s first governor. Voyage Two Juan sailed from Puerto Rico to Florida on March 3, 1513. He took three ships with him the Santa Maria, Santiago, and the San Salvador. De Leon landed on Florida on Palm Sunday so he called it Florida for “fest of the flowers.” Juan first set foot on the coast near present-day St. Augustine. Voyages Home

Voyage Four Voyage Three Juan traveled again to Florida in 1521 to set up a Spanish colony. He landed this time on the Gulf Coast between Charlotte Harbor and Estero Bay. Here he wanted to set up a farming colony. When he landed and went inland to get fresh water he was attacked by Calusa Indians and shot in the leg with an arrow. He was seriously injured. Settlers abandoned the settlement and sailed on to Cuba. He then died in Cuba. Voyage Three Ponce de Leon left Florida on April 8, 1513 and went south in the Gulf Stream. On his way back to Florida he got in a fight with Indians in southern Florida. His crew and he then continued on to Cuba. They then sailed north looking for Binimi but, instead found Andros Island. Voyages Home

^Click to see a video about Juan Ponce de Leon^ Home

Bibliography Home “Biography: Juan Ponce de Leon” “Discovery: Juan Ponce de Leon” http://www.win.tue.nl/~engels/discovery/ponce.html “Juan Ponce de Leon: Biography/Facts” http://www.elizabethan-era.org.uk/juan-ponce-de-leon.htm “Pictures: Juan Ponce de Leon” http://middle.nettrekker.com/isearch/?ctgry_id=M0&keyword=Juan%20Ponce%20de%20Leon “Biography: Juan Ponce de Leon” http://www.answers.com/topic/juan-ponce-de-le-n http://www.keyshistory.org/1513poncedeleon.html “Biography: Juan Ponce de Leon” http://www.aetv.com/class/bioproject/ponce_bio.html “Exploring Florida: Florida’s first explorer” http://fcit.usf.edu/Florida/lessons/ de_leon/de_leon1.htm “Explorer: Juan Ponce de Leon” “Pictures: Juan Ponce de Leon” http://www.enchantedlearning.com/ explorers/page/d/deleon.shtml “Spain Exchange: Religion in Spain” http://www.spainexchange.com/ travel_spain/section-7.htm “Juan Ponce de Leon: Spanish explorer” http://library.thinkquest.org/ J002678F/ponce_de_leon.htm Home