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3. Ponce de Leon 1513-1521
Ponce de Leon was born in Spain to unknown parents likely in 1474. As a young man, he joined Christopher Columbus’s second voyage in 1493 as one of 200 “gentlemen volunteers.” Little is known of de Leon’s first experience in the New World, but it is likely that he participated in enslaving raids and conquest battles against native inhabitants. He returned to Spain and by 1502, he set sail for Hispaniola with the new governor, Nicolas de Ovando. The island was in disarray and Ponce de Leon was ordered to squash an Indian uprising.
Hearing of fertile land and gold on a neighboring island, Ponce de Leon set sail with 50 men toward the island of Puerto Rico in 1508. The men constructed a fortified house and storage building and then focused their efforts on mining for gold. When their supplies were low and the small bit of farming they had done would no longer sustain them, they returned to Hispaniola. Spanish officials considered the expedition successful and Ponce de Leon was appointed governor.
Ponce de Leon moved his wife, three daughters, and one son to San Juan in 1509 as part of the settlement and colonizing of the island. After he was replaced as governor by one of Christopher Columbus’s heirs, he petitioned to go on an exploration. April 2, 1513, Ponce de Leon and his three ships spotted land that he named La Florida. The explorers sailed along Florida’s coast and encountered an extremely forceful current that sent one of the ships out to sea. This was the first known account of Europeans interacting with the Gulf Stream current, which soon became the primary current for returning to Europe.
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On May 23, 1513, the three ships encountered Calusa warriors on the west coast of Florida. The Calusa surrounded the Europeans in canoes and displayed their force with longbows. From this point, Ponce de Leon disbanded the expedition and returned to San Juan. After reporting on his expedition to the King, Ponce de Leon returned with an order to settle the lands claimed by Spain in the New World. He was also tasked with reading the Requerimiento, a document that Spaniards had the Devine right to conquer the land and all of its inhabitants and that they “shall make war against you in all ways and manners that we can” to ensure compliance.
When King Ferdinand died, Ponce de Leon traveled to Spain to fight for his legal claims in Florida. Finally, in 1521, he set sail to settle and colonize Florida. Native inhabitants resisted the Spaniards and battle raged. When Ponce de Leon was shot in the thigh with a poisoned arrow, the expedition returned to Hispaniola where Ponce de Leon died. His remains are at the Cathedral of San Juan Bautista in San Juan. While he was not the first European to see Florida, he is credited with being the first explorer to document its coast.