Juan Ponce de Leon & the Legendary Fountain of Youth

Juan Ponce de Leon (1460-1521) was a Spanish explorer and soldier who was the first European to set foot in Florida. He also established the oldest European settlement in Puerto Rico and discovered the Gulf Stream (a current in the Atlantic Ocean). Ponce de Leon was searching for the legendary Fountain of Youth  and other riches.

Born in Santervas, Spain, in 1460 (the date is uncertain); Ponce de Leon was a soldier fighting Muslims in southern Spain in the early 1490's. He sailed on Christopher Columbus' second expedition to the Americas in 1493 and did not return to Spain with Columbus; but stayed in Santo Domingo (now called the Dominican Republic).

He was appointed governor of the Dominican province of Higuey, where he later heard of gold in the neighboring island of Borinquen (now called Puerto Rico). He brutally conquered the island, claiming it for Spain and was later appointed governor. Due to his extreme brutality to Native Americans, he was removed from office in 1511.

From the Native Americans he heard tales of an island called Bimini, located somewhere north of Cuba, which reputedly possessed the Fountain of Youth , a spring whose waters had the power to restore youth.

Believing these tales, Ponce de Leon in 1512 obtained permission from the Spanish king to find, conquer, and colonize Bimini. He sailed from Puerto Rico on March 3, 1513, with three ships, the Santa Maria, the Santiago, and the San Cristobal, and about 200 men. After stops at Grand Turk Island and San Salvador, they sighted the eastern shore of the present state of Florida on March 27th, which he believed to be the legendary Bimini.

He landed north of the site of present-day Saint Augustine on April 2, 1513 and named the region Florida because he sighted it on Easter Sunday (Spanish: Pascua Florida flowery Easter ). He then claimed the land for Spain.

Believing Florida was an island, he tried to sail around it, going south to what is now Key West, up the west coast of Florida, then south again on April 8, 1513. The oceanic currents of the Gulf Stream  would become very important for future Spanish trips from Europe to America. On the return trip, a fight broke out between Ponce de Leon's men and Native Americans in southern Florida. They sailed to Cuba, then headed north, again trying to find Bimini (but instead, finding Andros Island).

After returning to Puerto Rico in September, 1513, Ponce de Leon resumed fighting with the Native Americans (putting down their rebellions against Spanish rule). He returned to Spain and was named a Captain General by the King of Spain on September 27, 1514, and again sailed to Puerto Rico to search for the elusive Bimini.

His last expedition was another search for Bimini and the legendary Fountain of Youth . In 1521 he set out to colonize Florida; the expedition included about 200 people and many domestic animals.

The party landed on the west coast of Florida (now known as Charlotte Harbor ), where it was fiercely attacked by Native Americans. Ponce de Leon was severely wounded in the engagement. The expedition withdrew and sailed to Cuba, where he died from his wound in July, 1521.