Juan ponce de leon mini biography princess

(1460-1521)

Who Was Juan Ponce de León?

Spanish conquistador Juan Ponce de León led a European expedition for gold, which eventually brought him to the southeast coast of what would become the United States.

Juan ponce de leon mini biography princess diana

He gave Florida its name and went on to become the first governor of Puerto Rico.

Early Years

Ponce de León was born into a poor yet noble family in Santervás de Campos, Spain, in 1460. He served as a page at the court of Aragon, where he learned social skills, religion and military tactics.

He eventually became a soldier and fought against the the Moors in Granada. Like other conquistadores, Ponce de León soon sought fame and fortune through exploration, and it is believed he began his quest as part of Christopher Columbus' second expedition in 1493.

During his later explorations, he employed the skills and tactics he’d learned in the military to subdue and control the native peoples of the Caribbean.

Hispaniola and Puerto Rico

In the first decade