Biography of Juan Ponce de Leon

Juan Ponce de Leon was born in a small village named Santervás de Campos in northern Spain. Although, not much is known about his birth and early years, it is commonly believed that Juan Ponce de Leon belonged to a noble family. As a boy he served as a page in the royal court and then later joined the Spanish forces. As a part of the Spanish army, Ponce de Leon fought against the Moors of Granada in the Granada War that was won in 1492. With this, the last Muslim stronghold in Spain was defeated and the reconquest of Spain was completed.

Tryst with the New World
However, after the war was over, Ponce de Leon saw no need of his services in the Spanish military. It was at the same time that Christopher Columbus was sailing on his second voyage to the New World. The adventures of the seas and the stories of the new lands caught Ponce de Leon's interest and he joined Christopher Columbus in his voyage as one of the 200 'elite volunteers'. The fleet of around 1200 soldiers and explorers set sail on September, 1493 and reached Hispaniola, its primary destination on December 5, 1493.

Becoming the First Governor of Puerto Rico
The Governor of Hispaniola, Nicolas de Ovando wanted to bring order to the colony that was in utter chaos due to rebellion of the native tribes. Ovando was already aware of Ponce de Leon's services in the Spanish army, and hence assigned him the responsibility of crushing the rebellion, especially those by the Tainos in Higuey. Ponce de Leon successfully defeated the natives and as reward for his achievement, Ovando appointed him as the governor of the new province of Higuey. It was from the Tainos that the newly appointed governor heard stories of rich deposits of gold in the island of Boriquen (present day Puerto Rico). Allured by these stories, Ponce de Leon obtained permission from the Spanish Crown to lead an official expedition to Puerto Rico. In June 1508, he set foot on the island and established the first European settlement in Puerto Rico, Cappara. He defeated the natives of the island and discovered huge deposits of gold which made him one the richest men of Spain. In 1509, he was appointed as the first governor of Puerto Rico by the King of Spain.

Discovering Florida and the Gulf Stream
One of the many accomplishments of this famous Spanish conquistador is the discovery of Florida and the Gulf Stream. In those days, it was believed that there existed a 'Fountain of Youth' in the island of Bimini. Legend has it that any one who drank from that fountain would always be young. Ponce de Leon wanted to find this fountain and get rid of the ailments of old age. Hence, after his political rivals had him removed as the governor of Puerto Rico in 1512, he secured a royal contract to search for and colonize the island of Bimini. On March 4, 1513 he set sail from Puerto Rico in search of the elusive Bimini. He traveled north west along the Bahamas and sighted the Florida coast on April 2, 1513. The following day he set foot in the new land and named it La Florida in recognition of the flowers growing there, and also because it was the Easter season which the Spanish called Pascua Florida, which meant festival of flowers.
After remaining in the island for a few days, the group sailed further south exploring the coast. It was during this journey that the crew came across the powerful currents of the Gulf Stream that was strongest between Florida and the Bahamas. With the discovery of the current, the course along which the stream ran became an important route for Spanish ships to sail from their Indian colonies to Europe.

In 1521 Ponce de Leon arranged for his second and last voyage to Florida to colonize the land as per the king's orders. However, here he was attacked by the ferocious native Americans. Most of his men were killed in the fight and he was wounded by a poisoned arrow. He, along with the few survivors escaped to Cuba, where in July 1513 this famous Spanish conqueror, who made a great contribution to the discovery of the New World succumbed to his wounds.