Juan Ponce de León: Difference between revisions
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Ponce de León then sailed south along the Florida coast, charting the rivers he found, passed around the [[Florida Keys]], and up the west coast of Florida to [[Cape Romano]]. He sailed back south to [[Havana]], and then up to Florida again, stopping at the Bay of ''Chequesta'' ([[Biscayne Bay]]) before returning to Puerto Rico.<ref name=CEE/> |
Ponce de León then sailed south along the Florida coast, charting the rivers he found, passed around the [[Florida Keys]], and up the west coast of Florida to [[Cape Romano]]. He sailed back south to [[Havana]], and then up to Florida again, stopping at the Bay of ''Chequesta'' ([[Biscayne Bay]]) before returning to Puerto Rico.<ref name=CEE/> |
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Ponce de León may not have been the first European to reach Florida. He encountered at least one [[Native American]] in Florida in 1513 who could speak [[Spanish language|Spanish]]<ref>Smith, Hale G. and Marc Gottlob. 1978. Spanish-Indian Relationships: Synoptic History and Archaeological Evidence, 1500-1763, in [[Jerald T. Milanich|Milanich, Jerald]] and Samuel Proctor. ''Tacachale: Essays on the Indians of Florida and Southeastern Georgia during the Historic Period.'' Gainesville, Florida: The University Presses of Florida. ISBN 0-8130-0535-3</ref>. [[Image:poncedeleonburial.jpg|thumb|Cathedral where Ponce de León is buried|200px|right|Ponce de León's resting place |
Ponce de León may not have been the first European to reach Florida. He encountered at least one [[Native American]] in Florida in 1513 who could speak [[Spanish language|Spanish]]<ref>Smith, Hale G. and Marc Gottlob. 1978. Spanish-Indian Relationships: Synoptic History and Archaeological Evidence, 1500-1763, in [[Jerald T. Milanich|Milanich, Jerald]] and Samuel Proctor. ''Tacachale: Essays on the Indians of Florida and Southeastern Georgia during the Historic Period.'' Gainesville, Florida: The University Presses of Florida. ISBN 0-8130-0535-3</ref>. [[Image:poncedeleonburial.jpg|thumb|Cathedral where Ponce de León is buried|200px|right|Ponce de León's resting place] |
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==Return to Spain== |
==Return to Spain== |
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Revision as of 19:09, 16 January 2007
Juan Ponce de León (c. 1460 – July 1521) was a Spanish conquistador. He was born in Santervás de Campos (Valladolid). As a young man he joined the war to conquer Granada, the last Moorish state on the Iberian peninsula. Ponce de León accompanied Christopher Columbus on his second voyage to the New World. He became the first Governor of Puerto Rico by appointment of the Spanish Crown. He is regarded as the first European known to have visited what is now the continental United States, as he was the first known European to set foot in what is now Florida, discovering it in 1513.
Arrival in the New World
It is thought that Ponce de León first landed on the site where Cockburn Town is located, on Grand Turk in the Turks & Caicos Islands but soon settled in Hispaniola. He helped conquer the Tainos of the eastern part of Hispaniola, and was rewarded with the governorship of the Province of Higuey that was created there. While there, he heard stories of the wealth of Borinquen (now Puerto Rico), and he sought and received permission to go there. In 1508, Ponce de León founded the first settlement in Puerto Rico, Caparra. He was greeted with open arms by the Taino Cacique Agüeybaná, and quickly gained control of the island. As a result, Ponce de León was named Governor of Puerto Rico in 1509. Ponce de León and the other conquistadors forced the Tainos to work in the mines and to construct fortifications. The Tainos died in great numbers after exposure to the European diseases the sailors brought with them, to which they had no immunity. Ponce de León, however, became rich while serving as Governor.[1]
Removal from office as governor of Puerto Rico
In 1506, upon the death of Christopher Columbus, who had been appointed lifetime military governor of his discoveries, the Spanish authorities refused to grant the same privilege to his son Diego Columbus. The Spanish Crown by then had selected Ponce de León to colonize and govern the island of Puerto Rico. In the meantime Diego Columbus had taken his claim to the top court in Madrid and won his rights: Ponce de León was removed from office in 1512. Feeling that his good name had been damaged and not wishing to serve Diego, Ponce de León obtained title to explore the areas north of Cuba.[2]
The Fountain of Youth
The popular story that Ponce de León was searching for the Fountain of Youth when he discovered Florida is misconceived. He was seeking a spiritual rebirth with new glory, honor, and personal enrichment, not a biological rebirth through the waters of the Fountain of Youth. The Tainos had told the Spanish of a large, rich island to the north named Bimini, and Ponce de Leon was searching for gold, slaves and lands to claim and govern for Spain, all of which he hoped to find at Bimini and other islands. The story of Ponce de León searching for the Fountain of Youth seems to have surfaced in the 1560s in the Memoir of Hernando de Escalante Fontaneda, and was later included in the Historia general de los hechos de los Castellanos of Antonio de Herrera y Tordesillas.[3]
First voyage and discovery of Florida
Ponce de León equipped three ships at his own expense, and set out on his voyage of discovery and conquest in 1513. On March 27, 1513, he sighted an island, but sailed on without landing. On April 2 he landed on the east coast of the newly "discovered" land at a point which is disputed, but was somewhere on the northeast coast of the present State of Florida. Ponce de León claimed "La Florida" for Spain. He named the land La Florida, meaning flowery, either because of the vegetation in bloom he saw there, or because he landed there during Pascua Florida, Spanish for Flowery Passover, meaning the Easter season.[1][2] Pascua Florida Day, April 2, is a legal holiday in Florida[4].
Ponce de León then sailed south along the Florida coast, charting the rivers he found, passed around the Florida Keys, and up the west coast of Florida to Cape Romano. He sailed back south to Havana, and then up to Florida again, stopping at the Bay of Chequesta (Biscayne Bay) before returning to Puerto Rico.[1]
Ponce de León may not have been the first European to reach Florida. He encountered at least one Native American in Florida in 1513 who could speak Spanish[5]. [[Image:poncedeleonburial.jpg|thumb|Cathedral where Ponce de León is buried|200px|right|Ponce de León's resting place]
Return to Spain
In 1514 Ponce de León returned to Spain and received commissions to conquer the Caribs of Guadalupe and to colonize the Island of Florida. His expedition to Guadalupe in 1515 was not successful, and he returned to Puerto Rico where he stayed until 1521.[1]
Last voyage to Florida
In 1521 Ponce de León organized a colonizing expedition on two ships. It consisted of some 200 men, including priests, farmers and artisans, 50 horses and other domestic animals, and farming implements. The expedition landed on the southwest coast of Florida, somewhere in the vicinity of the Caloosahatchee River or Charlotte Harbor. The colonists were soon attacked by Calusas and Ponce de León was injured by a poisoned arrow to the shoulder. After this attack, he and colonists sailed to Havana, Cuba, where he soon died of the wound. His tomb is in the cathedral in Old San Juan.[1][2]
See also
References
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company. {{cite encyclopedia}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
- ^ a b c d e Ponce de Leon, Juan. The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. 2005. Columbia University Press. - accessed December 28 2005
- ^ a b c Florida of the Conquistador - accessed December 27 2005
- ^ Florida's Fountain of Youth - Likely Origins of the Legend - accessed December 28 2005
- ^ The 2005 Florida Statutes - Chapter 683 - LEGAL HOLIDAYS; SPECIAL OBSERVANCES - accessed December 27 2005
- ^ Smith, Hale G. and Marc Gottlob. 1978. Spanish-Indian Relationships: Synoptic History and Archaeological Evidence, 1500-1763, in Milanich, Jerald and Samuel Proctor. Tacachale: Essays on the Indians of Florida and Southeastern Georgia during the Historic Period. Gainesville, Florida: The University Presses of Florida. ISBN 0-8130-0535-3