By: Henry, Maciah, Natalie, and ZaNario Juan Ponce de Leon By: Henry, Maciah, Natalie, and ZaNario

Personal Information Juan Ponce de Leon was born in 1460 in Santervas, Spain Juan was born to a noble family. Before Juan was a solider he was a hunter. When he was young, he was a page for Don Pedro Nunez de Guzman. He left his position as a page to become a soldier to fight in the war against the Muslims or the “Moors”. After the Spanish defeated the Moors Juan was jobless. After he lost his job he left with Christopher Columbus on his second exploration to the New World. Juan wanted to find gold their along with other riches.

Expeditions In 1493 he went to the New World with Christopher Columbus. In 1504 the Spanish beat the Tainos Indians east of Santo Domingo. Claiming the land for Spain and naming it Higuey because that is what it was originally called. Juan was then made a commander for the Spanish Forces. After that they battled the Native people in Santo Domingo, then later taking over the rest of the eastern part of Hispaniola. He was then named Lieutenant Governor of the land owned by Spain in Hispaniola In 1508 he and 200 men set sail to Puerto Rico to find gold and colonize, leaving Hispaniola.

Expeditions con. No one knows the exact year but between the years of 1511-1513 Juan left Puerto Rico to find the legend of the Fountain of Youth after being replaced as governor by Christopher Columbus’s son Diego Columbus. Instead of finding the Fountain of Youth he sighted Florida. He then went back to Puerto Rico to get the money to explore Florida. It was approved and he went to start settlements in Florida. When he started the settlements in Florida the Natives didn’t want Spanish on their land so they attacked them and Juan was struck with a poisonous arrow in the thigh later dying from the poison.