Juan Ponce de Leon & Christopher Columbus The First Explorers Juan Ponce de Leon & Christopher Columbus

Christopher Columbus In 1492 Christopher Columbus and his crew sailed from Spain across the Atlantic Ocean. At the time, most Europeans thought it was impossible to get to Asia by sailing West. Columbus knew he could get there that way. When he landed the thought he hit Asia, when really he reached North America. Similar to Columbus’s Ship 

Juan Ponce de Leon In 1513 Juan Ponce de Leon became the first conquistador to arrive to Florida. Conquistador is the Spanish word for conqueror. He was looking for new land and new resources.

Fountain of Youth Juan Ponce de Leon sailed to the New World in hopes of finding the Fountain of Youth. The Fountain of Youth was said to have water that could make old people young again.

Juan Ponce de Leon Ponce de Leon landed on the Florida coast near the city of St. Augustine. He named the land “la Florida” which means “land of the flowers” in Spanish. He then sailed south around the tip of Florida to the Gulf of Mexico.

Juan Ponce de Leon Several years later Ponce de Leon made another trip to Florida. He wanted to build a settlement but battled with the Calusa Indians for their land. They attacked the Spanish as they began to build on their settlement and grow crops. Ponce de Leon was wounded and then taken to Cuba where he later died from his wounds.