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instant access to thousands of great kids books.

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Instantly access 40,000 high-quality books for kids

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Instantly access 40,000 high-quality books for kids

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The leading digital library for kids offering unlimited access to 40,000 of the best children's books of all time. Sign up for a free 30 day trial to instantly access high-quality online books for kids, ebooks, audio books, quizzes, videos, and more.

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Juan Ponce de León (1474 - July 1521) was a Spanish explorer and conquistador born in Santervás de Campos, Valladolid, Spain in 1474. Though little is known about his family, he was of noble birth and served in the Spanish military from a young age. He first came to the Americas as a "gentlemen volunteer" with Christopher Columbus' second expedition in 1493.

By the early 1500s, Ponce de León was a top military official in the colonial government of Hispaniola, where he helped crush a rebellion of the native Taíno people. He was authorized to explore the neighboring island of Puerto Rico in 1508 and was named the first Governor of Puerto Rico by appointment of the Spanish crown in 1509. While Ponce de León grew quite wealthy from his plantations and mines, he faced an ongoing legal conflict with Diego Columbus, the late Christopher Columbus's son, over the right to govern Puerto Rico. After a long court battle, Columbus replaced Ponce de León as governor in 1511. Ponce de León decided to follow the advice of the sympathetic King Ferdinand and explore more of the Caribbean Sea.

In 1513, Ponce de León led the first known European expedition to La Florida, which he named during his first voyage to the area. He landed somewhere along Florida's east coast, then charted the Atlantic coast down to the Florida Keys and north along the Gulf coast, perhaps as far as Charlotte Harbor. Though in popular culture he was supposedly searching for the Fountain of Youth, there is no contemporary evidence to support the story, which all modern historians call a myth.

Ponce de León returned to Spain in 1514 and was knighted by King Ferdinand, who also reinstated him as the governor of Puerto Rico and authorized him to settle Florida. He returned to the Caribbean in 1515, but plans to organize an expedition to Florida were delayed by the death of King Ferdinand in 1516, after which Ponce de León again traveled to Spain to defend his grants and titles. He would not return to Puerto Rico for two years.

In 1521, Ponce de León finally returned to southwest Florida with the first large-scale attempt to establish a Spanish colony in what is now the continental United States. However, the native Calusa people fiercely resisted the incursion, and he was seriously wounded in a skirmish. The colonization attempt was abandoned, and its leader died from his wounds soon after returning to Cuba. Ponce de León was interred in Puerto Rico, and his tomb is located inside of the Cathedral of San Juan Bautista in San Juan.

Early years

Juan Ponce de León was born in the village of Santervás de Campos in the northern part of what is now the Spanish province of Valladolid. Although early historians placed his birth in 1460, and this date has been used traditionally, more recent evidence shows he was likely born in 1474. The surname Ponce de León dates from the 13th century. The Ponce de León lineage began with Ponce Vélaz de Cabrera, descendant of count Bermudo Núñez, and Sancha Ponce de Cabrera, daughter of Ponce Giraldo de Cabrera.

The identity of his parents is still unknown, but he appears to have been a member of a distinguished and influential noble family. His relatives included Rodrigo Ponce de León, Marquis of Cádiz, a celebrated figure in the Moorish wars.

Ponce de León was related to another notable family, the Núñez de Guzmáns, and as a young man he served as squire to Pedro Núñez de Guzmán, Knight Commander of the Order of Calatrava. Gonzalo Fernández de Oviedo y Valdés, states that Ponce de León gained his experience as a soldier fighting in the Spanish campaigns that defeated the Moors in Granada and completed the re-conquest of Spain in 1492.

Once the war against the Emirate of Granada ended, there was no apparent need for his military services at home, so, like many of his contemporaries, Ponce de León looked abroad for his next opportunity. In September 1493, some 1,200 sailors, colonists, and soldiers joined Christopher Columbus for his second voyage to the New World. Ponce de León was a member of this expedition, one of 200 "gentleman volunteers."

The fleet reached the Caribbean in November 1493. They visited several islands before arriving at their primary destination in Hispaniola. In particular they anchored on the coast of a large island the natives called Borinquen but would eventually become known as Puerto Rico. This was Ponce de León's first glimpse of the place that would play a major role in his future.

Around 1505, Ponce de León married Leonora, an innkeeper's daughter. They had three daughters, Juana, Isabel and María, and one son, Luis. The large stone house Ponce de León ordered built for his growing family still stands today near the city of San Rafael del Yuma; he named it Salvaleón after his grandmother's estate in Castile.

Images for kids

The ruins of Juan Ponce de León's residence at Caparra

Juan Ponce de León Conquistador monument in Old San Juan, Puerto Rico

In Spanish: Juan Ponce de León para niños

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Ponce De Leon

Juan Ponce de León was a Spanish conquistador and explorer in the 1500s.

He is most well-known for charting the Atlantic coast that extended down to the state of Florida. Books and journals say that he was searching for the mythical "Fountain of Youth," but there is no actual proof of that. He was from a noble Spanish family and entered the Spanish military when he was very young.

Where did they live?

Ponce de León devoted his early years to military service in Spain. When the wars and battles stopped, there was no need for his service, and he and other members of the military began to look to where they could devote their experience.

Facts about Ponce De Leon

In 1493, Ponce de León traveled as a "gentleman volunteer" with Christopher Columbus to the New World on the second voyage that Columbus accomplished. Ponce de León continued in military service, and by the 1500s, he had achieved a high-level military position in Hispaniola, one of the colonial governments. During that time, he crushed the uprising of the local Taino people.

Having proved his worth, Ponce de León was then sent on exploration expeditions to what is now Puerto Rico, and by 1509 the Spanish crown named him the first governor of that island. As governor, he owned a lot of mines and plantations and became quite wealthy. However, he was in a constant legal battle with Christopher Columbus' son, Diego Columbus, over the rights to Puerto Rico governing. It took a long legal battle, and Diego won and took over being the governor.

By 1511 Ponce de León decided to continue to explore the Caribbean Sea. In the next two years, he became the first European to land in what he named "La Florida" and then continued to chart down the Atlantic coast to the Florida Keys. Records show that he may have gone north on the Gulf Coast as far as Charlotte Harbor.

The most well-known area in Florida, where Ponce de León landed, is the current city of St. Augustine. He was not interested in settling areas, but instead doing exploration. It is said that he was seeking the fabled island of Bimini when he landed in Florida. Ponce de León wanted to find lands that he could claim for Spain.

In 1514 he returned to Spain, and King Ferdinand of Spain knighted him and then gave him back the governorship of Puerto Rico. It was at this time that Ferdinand also asked Ponce de León to begin settlements in Florida. When Ferdinand died, Ponce de León had to go back to Spain to defend his title and land, and two years later, he left for Puerto Rico.

Still following the instructions to create a settlement, Ponce de León headed to Southwest Florida. He and his crew faced battles with the Calusa Native Indians, and he was injured during one of the fights. They abandoned the attempt to colonize the area.

Ponce de León returned to Puerto Rico, where he died from his wounds. His burial tomb is in San Juan, Puerto Rico, inside the Cathedral of San Juan Bautista.

What did you learn?
How did King Ferdinand of Spain honor for Ponce de León?
knighted him
What position did Ponce de León have on Columbus' second voyage to the New World?
gentleman volunteer
Why did Ponce de León become an explorer?
his military service was no longer needed
What myth is written about Ponce de León about his exploration search?
looking for the Fountain of Youth
Who did Ponce de León have a legal battle with over governorship of Puerto Rico?
Diego Columbus
How did Ponce de León die?
injury in a battle with natives

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Juan Ponce de León was a Spanish conquistador and explorer in the 1500s. He is most well-known for charting the Atlantic coast that extended down to the state of Florida. Books and journals say that he was searching for the mythical "Fountain of Youth," but there is no actual proof of that.

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The Spanish Explorer Who Discovered Florida

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