Ponce de Leon
Spanish explorer who led first European expeditions to Puerto Rico and Florida.
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Unknown authorUnknown author · via Wikipedia: Juan Ponce de León · Public domain
The explorer and conquistador Juan Ponce de León, who lived from 1474 until July 1521, is recognized for commanding the earliest European voyages to Puerto Rico (1508) and Florida (1513).[1]
Last updated 2026-10-01 from the source article.
Life and work
In September 1493, a nineteen-year-old Ponce de León secured passage on Christopher Columbus's second voyage to the New World, a fleet of around 1,200 people.[2] A small group led by Ponce de León explored Puerto Rico in 1508 and discovered placer gold deposits on the island's western side.[3] Ponce de León was named governor of San Juan Bautista by Ovando after the expedition was judged a great success; this appointment received confirmation from Ferdinand II on 14 August 1509.[4]
What the cited sources add
The "La Florida" account states that in 1508, Ponce de León conquered San Juan de Puerto Rico, and that four years later he decided to invest a major part of his fortune in exploring lands north of Puerto Rico.[5] According to the same source, Ponce armed three ships and left San German port on March 3, 1513, first sighting the eastern shores of the peninsula on March 27 and making landfall on April 3, 1513.[5] The "Colonial Florida" account from the Historical Society of Palm Beach County notes that the King of Spain authorized Ponce to search for the land called Biminis, promising he would be governor of any new lands.[6] That source also reports that Ponce paid to outfit three ships and set sail on March 3, 1513, from Puerto Rico with sixty-five people, including two free Africans, two Indian slaves, one white slave, and one woman.[6]
The Florida Department of State source states that the free West African Juan Garrido joined Ponce de León's 1513 exploratory expedition to Florida.[7] The "Colonial Florida" account adds that Ponce was awarded a knighthood for his exploration and that in 1521 he returned to Florida with 200 settlers, where many were killed and Ponce was wounded.[6]
References
- Wikipedia, "Juan Ponce de León" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Morison 1974, p. 502, 515 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Juan Ponce de León" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Allen 1997, p. 210; Kessel 2003, p. 4–5; Turner 2013, p. 2; PickettPickett 2014, p. 17; Scammell 2018, p. 396 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Juan Ponce de León" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Richards 2019, p. 325; Marley 2008, p. 9–11 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Juan Ponce de León" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Lawson 1946, p. 3 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- "Juan Ponce de León", La Florida. facts only, no text reused. accioncultural.es
- "Colonial Florida", Historical Society of Palm Beach County. facts only, no text reused. pbchistory.org
- "Dr. Jane Landers to Speak on Black History of Spanish Florida", Florida Department of State. facts only, no text reused. dos.fl.gov
Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Juan Ponce de León (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.
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Sources
Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.
- Wikipedia: Juan Ponce de León (CC BY-SA 4.0).
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