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On August 8, 1508 Spaniard Juan Ponce de León founded Caparra, near what is now San Juan. It was the first European settlement in Puerto Rico. From the article:
"Juan Ponce de León
Born into Spanish nobility, Juan Ponce de León (1460-1521) may have accompanied Christopher Columbus on his 1493 voyage to the New World. A decade later, he was serving as governor of the eastern province of Hispaniola when he decided to explore a nearby island, which became Puerto Rico. In pursuit of a rumored fountain of youth located on an island known as Bimini, Ponce de León led an expedition to the coast of what is now Florida in 1513. Thinking it was the island he sought, he sailed back to colonize the region in 1521, but was fatally wounded in an Indian attack soon after his arrival.
Early Life and Career of Juan Ponce de León
Born in 1460 into a noble family in León, Spain, Juan Ponce served as a page in the royal court of Aragon. He later became a soldier, fighting in the Spanish campaign against the Moors in Granada. After that war ended, he may have gone along on the second voyage to the West Indies led by Christopher Columbus in 1493.
Nearly a decade later, he was serving as a captain in the force commanded by Nicolás de Ovando, Spain’s royal governor of the island of Hispaniola (present-day Haiti and the Dominican Republic). After Ponce de León suppressed an Indian mutiny, Ovando rewarded him with the governorship of the eastern province of Hispaniola.
Exploration of Puerto Rico and Search for Bimini
Rumors of large amounts of gold to be found on the nearby island of San Juan Bautista (as Puerto Rico was then known) drove the Spanish crown to give Ponce de León permission to explore the island in 1508-09. (He may have unofficially traveled there on his own before that.) On the official expedition, he took 50 soldiers and a single ship and founded a settlement at Caparra, near what is now San Juan. When he returned to Hispaniola for supplies, Ponce de León was named governor of Puerto Rico, though he had many rivals for influence and was soon displaced.
Encouraged by the Spanish crown to discover more lands, Ponce de León decided to follow rumors he had heard from local Indians about an island known as Bimini, home to a magical spring or fountain whose waters would rejuvenate those who drank from it. In search of this “fountain of youth,” as well as more lands and gold, he set sail from Puerto Rico in March 1513. The following month, the expedition landed on the coast of what is now Florida, near the site of modern-day St. Augustine.
Ponce de León in Florida
At the time, Ponce de León thought that he had landed on another island, and not the coast of mainland North America. He named the site Florida, not only because they landed around the time of Easter (Pascua Florida in Spanish), but also in honor of the region’s lush and florid vegetation. On that first expedition to Florida, Ponce de León explored the coast, including the Florida Keys, and discovered the Gulf Stream, the warm ocean current that would help future Spanish ships maneuver their way home from the New World. He then returned to Puerto Rico and made his way to Spain, where he was named military governor of Bimini and Florida and given permission to colonize the region. The Spanish crown also ordered him to organize an army to subdue a native uprising on Puerto Rico, and he sailed with a small fleet in mid-1515.
In February 1521, Ponce de León departed San Juan on his second expedition to Florida, accompanied by two ships and around 200 people. They landed on the southwest coast of Florida, near what is now Charlotte Harbor, with the intention of founding a colony. The exact circumstances of what happened next are uncertain, but it appears that in early July local Indians attacked the party of settlers, leaving Ponce de León fatally wounded by an arrow in his thigh. His comrades sailed back with him to Havana, Cuba, where he died."
"Juan Ponce de León
Born into Spanish nobility, Juan Ponce de León (1460-1521) may have accompanied Christopher Columbus on his 1493 voyage to the New World. A decade later, he was serving as governor of the eastern province of Hispaniola when he decided to explore a nearby island, which became Puerto Rico. In pursuit of a rumored fountain of youth located on an island known as Bimini, Ponce de León led an expedition to the coast of what is now Florida in 1513. Thinking it was the island he sought, he sailed back to colonize the region in 1521, but was fatally wounded in an Indian attack soon after his arrival.
Early Life and Career of Juan Ponce de León
Born in 1460 into a noble family in León, Spain, Juan Ponce served as a page in the royal court of Aragon. He later became a soldier, fighting in the Spanish campaign against the Moors in Granada. After that war ended, he may have gone along on the second voyage to the West Indies led by Christopher Columbus in 1493.
Nearly a decade later, he was serving as a captain in the force commanded by Nicolás de Ovando, Spain’s royal governor of the island of Hispaniola (present-day Haiti and the Dominican Republic). After Ponce de León suppressed an Indian mutiny, Ovando rewarded him with the governorship of the eastern province of Hispaniola.
Exploration of Puerto Rico and Search for Bimini
Rumors of large amounts of gold to be found on the nearby island of San Juan Bautista (as Puerto Rico was then known) drove the Spanish crown to give Ponce de León permission to explore the island in 1508-09. (He may have unofficially traveled there on his own before that.) On the official expedition, he took 50 soldiers and a single ship and founded a settlement at Caparra, near what is now San Juan. When he returned to Hispaniola for supplies, Ponce de León was named governor of Puerto Rico, though he had many rivals for influence and was soon displaced.
Encouraged by the Spanish crown to discover more lands, Ponce de León decided to follow rumors he had heard from local Indians about an island known as Bimini, home to a magical spring or fountain whose waters would rejuvenate those who drank from it. In search of this “fountain of youth,” as well as more lands and gold, he set sail from Puerto Rico in March 1513. The following month, the expedition landed on the coast of what is now Florida, near the site of modern-day St. Augustine.
Ponce de León in Florida
At the time, Ponce de León thought that he had landed on another island, and not the coast of mainland North America. He named the site Florida, not only because they landed around the time of Easter (Pascua Florida in Spanish), but also in honor of the region’s lush and florid vegetation. On that first expedition to Florida, Ponce de León explored the coast, including the Florida Keys, and discovered the Gulf Stream, the warm ocean current that would help future Spanish ships maneuver their way home from the New World. He then returned to Puerto Rico and made his way to Spain, where he was named military governor of Bimini and Florida and given permission to colonize the region. The Spanish crown also ordered him to organize an army to subdue a native uprising on Puerto Rico, and he sailed with a small fleet in mid-1515.
In February 1521, Ponce de León departed San Juan on his second expedition to Florida, accompanied by two ships and around 200 people. They landed on the southwest coast of Florida, near what is now Charlotte Harbor, with the intention of founding a colony. The exact circumstances of what happened next are uncertain, but it appears that in early July local Indians attacked the party of settlers, leaving Ponce de León fatally wounded by an arrow in his thigh. His comrades sailed back with him to Havana, Cuba, where he died."
Juan Ponce de León
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The Caribbean World of Ponce de León and His Discovery of Florida Dr. Sam Turner | St. Augustine Lighthouse Archaeology Maritime Program http://www.culturall...
Thank you, my friend SGT (Join to see) for reminding us that on August 8, 1508 Spaniard Juan Ponce de León "founded" Caparra, near what is now San Juan, in Puerto Rico.
Juan Ponce de León - Part I
The Caribbean World of Ponce de León and His Discovery of Florida
Dr. Sam Turner | St. Augustine Lighthouse Archaeology Maritime Program
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lgYy3dcwTtg
Background from .thoughtco.com/biography-of-juan-ponce-de-leon-2136435
"Juan Ponce de León (1460 or 1474–1521) was a Spanish conquistador and explorer who was most active in the Caribbean in the early part of the 16th century. His name is usually associated with the exploration of Puerto Rico and Florida, where, according to popular legend, he searched for the legendary Fountain of Youth. He was wounded in an Indian attack in Florida in 1521 and died in Cuba shortly thereafter.
Fast Facts: Juan Ponce de León
Known For: Exploring the Caribbean and discovering Florida
Born: 1460 or 1474 in Santervás de Campos, Spain
Died: July 1521 in Havana, Cuba
Spouse: Lenora
Children: Juana, Isabel, Maria, Luis (some sources say three children)
Early Life and Arrival in America
Ponce de León was born in the Spanish village of Santervás de Campos in the current-day province of Valladolid. Historical sources generally agree that he had several blood ties to an influential aristocracy, but his parents are unknown.
His date of arrival in the New World isn't certain: Many historical sources place him on Columbus' second voyage (1493), while others claim that he first arrived with Spaniard Nicolás de Ovando's fleet in 1502. He could have been on both and gone back to Spain in between. In any event, he arrived in the Americas no later than 1502.
Farmer and Landowner
Ponce de León was on the Island of Hispaniola in 1504 when native Indians attacked a Spanish settlement. Ovando, by then the governor of Hispaniola, sent a force in reprisal that included Ponce de León as an officer. The natives were brutally crushed. He must have impressed Ovando because he was awarded a choice piece of land that came with a number of natives to work it, as was the custom at the time.
Ponce de León made the most of this plantation, turning it into productive farmland and raising vegetables and animals including pigs, cattle, and horses. Food was in short supply for all the expeditions and exploration taking place, so he prospered. He married a woman named Leonor, an innkeeper’s daughter, and founded a town called Salvaleón de Higüey, now in the Dominican Republic, near his plantation. His house still stands and is open for tours.
Puerto Rico
At that time, nearby Puerto Rico was called San Juan Bautista. Ponce de León made a clandestine visit to the nearby island sometime in 1506, probably following rumors of gold. While there, he built a few cane structures at a site that would later become the town of Caparra and, even later, an archaeological site.
In mid-1508, Ponce de León asked for and received royal permission to explore and colonize San Juan Bautista. He set out in August, making his first official voyage to the island in one ship with about 50 men. He returned to the site of Caparra and began setting up a settlement.
Disputes and Difficulties
Ponce de León was appointed governor of San Juan Bautista the next year, but he quickly ran into trouble with his settlement following the arrival of Diego Columbus. Christopher Columbus' son was made governor of San Juan Bautista, Hispaniola, and the other lands his father had found in the New World. Diego Columbus wasn't happy that Ponce de León had been given royal permission to explore and settle San Juan Bautista.
Ponce de León's governorship was later validated by King Ferdinand of Spain, but in 1511, a Spanish court found in favor of Columbus. Ponce de León had many friends, and Columbus couldn't get rid of him completely, but it was apparent that Columbus was going to win the legal battle for San Juan Bautista. Ponce de León began looking for other places to settle.
Florida
He asked for and was granted royal permission to explore for lands to the northwest. Anything he found would be his, as Christopher Columbus had never gone there. He was looking for "Bimini," a land vaguely described by the Taíno natives as a wealthy land to the northwest.
On March 3, 1513, Ponce de León set out from San Juan Bautista with three ships and about 65 men. They sailed northwest and on April 2 discovered what they took for a large island. Because it was the Easter season (known as Pascua Florida, roughly "Easter flowers," in Spanish) and because of the flowers on the land, Ponce de León named it "Florida."
The location of their first landfall is unknown. The expedition explored much of the coast of Florida and several of the islands between Florida and Puerto Rico, such as the Florida Keys, Turks and Caicos, and the Bahamas. They also discovered the Gulf Stream. The small fleet returned to San Juan Bautista on Oct. 19.
King Ferdinand
Ponce de León found that his position in San Juan Bautista had weakened in his absence. Marauding Carib Indians had attacked Caparra and Ponce de León’s family had narrowly escaped with their lives. Diego Columbus used this as an excuse to enslave any natives, a policy that Ponce de León didn't support. He decided to go to Spain.
He met with King Ferdinand in 1514. He was knighted, given a coat of arms, and received confirmation of his rights to Florida. He had barely returned to San Juan Bautista when word reached him of Ferdinand’s death. Ponce de León returned once again to Spain to meet with the regent, Cardinal Cisneros, who assured him his rights to Florida were intact.
Second Trip to Florida
In January 1521, Ponce de León started preparations to return to Florida. He went to Hispaniola to find supplies and financing and sailed on Feb. 20. Records of the second trip are poor, but evidence suggests it was a fiasco. He and his men sailed to the western coast of Florida to found their settlement. The exact location is unknown. Soon after they arrived, a ferocious Indian attack drove them back to the sea. Many of Ponce de León's soldiers were killed, and he was seriously wounded in his thigh by an arrow that possibly was poisoned.
Death
The trip to Florida was abandoned. Some of the men went to Veracruz, Mexico, to join conquistador Hernán Cortes. Ponce de León went to Cuba in the hopes that he would recover there, but it was not to be. He died of his wounds in Havana sometime in July 1521.
The Fountain of Youth
According to legend, while Ponce de León was in Florida he was searching for the Fountain of Youth, a mythical spring that could reverse the effects of aging. There is little hard evidence that he seriously searched for the spring; mentions appear in a handful of histories published years after he died.
It wasn't uncommon for explorers of the time to search for or supposedly find mythological places. Columbus himself claimed to have found the Garden of Eden, and countless men died in the jungles searching for El Dorado, "the gilded one," a mythical place of gold and precious jewels. Other explorers claimed to have seen the bones of giants, and the Amazon is named after mythological warrior-women.
Ponce de León might have been looking for the Fountain of Youth, but it would certainly have been secondary to his search for gold or a good place to establish his next settlement.
Legacy
Juan Ponce de León was an important pioneer and explorer most often associated with Florida and Puerto Rico. He was a product of his time. Historical sources agree that he was relatively good to natives who were assigned to his lands—"relatively" being the operative word. His workers suffered greatly and rose up against him on at least one occasion, only to be brutally put down. Still, most other Spanish landowners were much worse. His lands were productive and very important for feeding the ongoing colonization effort of the Caribbean. He was known, however, for brutal attacks on indigenous populations.
He was hard working and ambitious and might have accomplished much more had he been free of politics. Although he enjoyed royal favor, he couldn't avoid local pitfalls, including constant struggles with the Columbus family.
He will forever be associated with the Fountain of Youth, although he was far too practical to waste much time on such an endeavor. At best, he was keeping an eye out for the fountain and any number of other legendary things as he went about the business of exploration and colonization."
FYI CPT (Join to see) MSgt David HoffmanSgt (Join to see)
SFC (Join to see)cmsgt-rickey-denickeSGT Forrest Fitzrandolph
LTC (Join to see)Sgt John H.PVT Mark Zehner1sg-dan-capriSGT Robert R.CPT Tommy CurtisSGT (Join to see) SGT Steve McFarlandCol Carl WhickerSFC David Xanten
Juan Ponce de León - Part I
The Caribbean World of Ponce de León and His Discovery of Florida
Dr. Sam Turner | St. Augustine Lighthouse Archaeology Maritime Program
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lgYy3dcwTtg
Background from .thoughtco.com/biography-of-juan-ponce-de-leon-2136435
"Juan Ponce de León (1460 or 1474–1521) was a Spanish conquistador and explorer who was most active in the Caribbean in the early part of the 16th century. His name is usually associated with the exploration of Puerto Rico and Florida, where, according to popular legend, he searched for the legendary Fountain of Youth. He was wounded in an Indian attack in Florida in 1521 and died in Cuba shortly thereafter.
Fast Facts: Juan Ponce de León
Known For: Exploring the Caribbean and discovering Florida
Born: 1460 or 1474 in Santervás de Campos, Spain
Died: July 1521 in Havana, Cuba
Spouse: Lenora
Children: Juana, Isabel, Maria, Luis (some sources say three children)
Early Life and Arrival in America
Ponce de León was born in the Spanish village of Santervás de Campos in the current-day province of Valladolid. Historical sources generally agree that he had several blood ties to an influential aristocracy, but his parents are unknown.
His date of arrival in the New World isn't certain: Many historical sources place him on Columbus' second voyage (1493), while others claim that he first arrived with Spaniard Nicolás de Ovando's fleet in 1502. He could have been on both and gone back to Spain in between. In any event, he arrived in the Americas no later than 1502.
Farmer and Landowner
Ponce de León was on the Island of Hispaniola in 1504 when native Indians attacked a Spanish settlement. Ovando, by then the governor of Hispaniola, sent a force in reprisal that included Ponce de León as an officer. The natives were brutally crushed. He must have impressed Ovando because he was awarded a choice piece of land that came with a number of natives to work it, as was the custom at the time.
Ponce de León made the most of this plantation, turning it into productive farmland and raising vegetables and animals including pigs, cattle, and horses. Food was in short supply for all the expeditions and exploration taking place, so he prospered. He married a woman named Leonor, an innkeeper’s daughter, and founded a town called Salvaleón de Higüey, now in the Dominican Republic, near his plantation. His house still stands and is open for tours.
Puerto Rico
At that time, nearby Puerto Rico was called San Juan Bautista. Ponce de León made a clandestine visit to the nearby island sometime in 1506, probably following rumors of gold. While there, he built a few cane structures at a site that would later become the town of Caparra and, even later, an archaeological site.
In mid-1508, Ponce de León asked for and received royal permission to explore and colonize San Juan Bautista. He set out in August, making his first official voyage to the island in one ship with about 50 men. He returned to the site of Caparra and began setting up a settlement.
Disputes and Difficulties
Ponce de León was appointed governor of San Juan Bautista the next year, but he quickly ran into trouble with his settlement following the arrival of Diego Columbus. Christopher Columbus' son was made governor of San Juan Bautista, Hispaniola, and the other lands his father had found in the New World. Diego Columbus wasn't happy that Ponce de León had been given royal permission to explore and settle San Juan Bautista.
Ponce de León's governorship was later validated by King Ferdinand of Spain, but in 1511, a Spanish court found in favor of Columbus. Ponce de León had many friends, and Columbus couldn't get rid of him completely, but it was apparent that Columbus was going to win the legal battle for San Juan Bautista. Ponce de León began looking for other places to settle.
Florida
He asked for and was granted royal permission to explore for lands to the northwest. Anything he found would be his, as Christopher Columbus had never gone there. He was looking for "Bimini," a land vaguely described by the Taíno natives as a wealthy land to the northwest.
On March 3, 1513, Ponce de León set out from San Juan Bautista with three ships and about 65 men. They sailed northwest and on April 2 discovered what they took for a large island. Because it was the Easter season (known as Pascua Florida, roughly "Easter flowers," in Spanish) and because of the flowers on the land, Ponce de León named it "Florida."
The location of their first landfall is unknown. The expedition explored much of the coast of Florida and several of the islands between Florida and Puerto Rico, such as the Florida Keys, Turks and Caicos, and the Bahamas. They also discovered the Gulf Stream. The small fleet returned to San Juan Bautista on Oct. 19.
King Ferdinand
Ponce de León found that his position in San Juan Bautista had weakened in his absence. Marauding Carib Indians had attacked Caparra and Ponce de León’s family had narrowly escaped with their lives. Diego Columbus used this as an excuse to enslave any natives, a policy that Ponce de León didn't support. He decided to go to Spain.
He met with King Ferdinand in 1514. He was knighted, given a coat of arms, and received confirmation of his rights to Florida. He had barely returned to San Juan Bautista when word reached him of Ferdinand’s death. Ponce de León returned once again to Spain to meet with the regent, Cardinal Cisneros, who assured him his rights to Florida were intact.
Second Trip to Florida
In January 1521, Ponce de León started preparations to return to Florida. He went to Hispaniola to find supplies and financing and sailed on Feb. 20. Records of the second trip are poor, but evidence suggests it was a fiasco. He and his men sailed to the western coast of Florida to found their settlement. The exact location is unknown. Soon after they arrived, a ferocious Indian attack drove them back to the sea. Many of Ponce de León's soldiers were killed, and he was seriously wounded in his thigh by an arrow that possibly was poisoned.
Death
The trip to Florida was abandoned. Some of the men went to Veracruz, Mexico, to join conquistador Hernán Cortes. Ponce de León went to Cuba in the hopes that he would recover there, but it was not to be. He died of his wounds in Havana sometime in July 1521.
The Fountain of Youth
According to legend, while Ponce de León was in Florida he was searching for the Fountain of Youth, a mythical spring that could reverse the effects of aging. There is little hard evidence that he seriously searched for the spring; mentions appear in a handful of histories published years after he died.
It wasn't uncommon for explorers of the time to search for or supposedly find mythological places. Columbus himself claimed to have found the Garden of Eden, and countless men died in the jungles searching for El Dorado, "the gilded one," a mythical place of gold and precious jewels. Other explorers claimed to have seen the bones of giants, and the Amazon is named after mythological warrior-women.
Ponce de León might have been looking for the Fountain of Youth, but it would certainly have been secondary to his search for gold or a good place to establish his next settlement.
Legacy
Juan Ponce de León was an important pioneer and explorer most often associated with Florida and Puerto Rico. He was a product of his time. Historical sources agree that he was relatively good to natives who were assigned to his lands—"relatively" being the operative word. His workers suffered greatly and rose up against him on at least one occasion, only to be brutally put down. Still, most other Spanish landowners were much worse. His lands were productive and very important for feeding the ongoing colonization effort of the Caribbean. He was known, however, for brutal attacks on indigenous populations.
He was hard working and ambitious and might have accomplished much more had he been free of politics. Although he enjoyed royal favor, he couldn't avoid local pitfalls, including constant struggles with the Columbus family.
He will forever be associated with the Fountain of Youth, although he was far too practical to waste much time on such an endeavor. At best, he was keeping an eye out for the fountain and any number of other legendary things as he went about the business of exploration and colonization."
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