Juan Ponce

Juan Ponce was born in 1460 in the village of San Cervas in the province of Campos in northern Spain, though historians disagree on the exact year and some claim 1470 while one believes 1474. Trained as a soldier, he fought against the Moors in southern Spain in the successful effort to drive them from Granada. In 1493 he joined Christopher Columbus on his second voyage to the New World and landed in Santa Domingo, Hispaniola, now the Dominican Republic. In the ensuing years he married an inn keeper's daughter, Leoner, and they had four children: a son, Luis, and three daughters, Juana, Isabel, and Maria. In 1502, as the Captain Of the people of war of Santo Domingo, he successfully put down an Indian revolt in what is now Haiti and was appointed Governor of Higuey Province. In 1508 he was sent to the island of San Juan de Borinquen, now Puerto Rico, to explore and conquer it, and after doing such a good job he was appointed governor in 1509, but was soon removed by Diego Columbus, who wanted the position for himself. In 1512 King Ferdinand issued him a permit to discover Bimini. In 1513, at his own expense, he hired three ships, The Santiago, The San Cristobel, and The Santa Maria de La Consolacion, and departed Puerto Rico on March 3rd. On March 27th, Easter Sunday, they sighted an island and continued north until they anchored offshore on April 2nd and came ashore here on April 3rd. Believing he had discovered an island, he named it La Florida, the flower. He left here on April 8th and sailed south around the tip of Florida. He discovered the Gulf Stream, which became very important to the Spanish galleons of the treasure fleets on the voyage to Spain because this new route was weeks faster. Historians think he landed again on May 23rd near Fort Myers, even though no monuments have been discovered, because his log mentions a bay, a river, and some islands that seem to fit the area. He returned to Puerto Rico October 15th, 1513. He later hired two ships, and on February 26th, 1521, he left Puerto Rico on an expedition to explore more of La Florida's west coast, to see if it was an island or connected to the lands Cortez had discovered to the southwest, Mexico, and he also intended to establish a colony near where he had landed in 1513 since he knew it was well supplied with fresh water.

St. Augustine, Florida · United States