Christopher Columbus: Conquistadors In The European Age Of Exploration

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In 1492, Christopher Columbus sailed the ocean blue, which started a huge push by European nations to gain power and wealth, mainly in the way of building Empires in the New World. This was called the Age of Exploration and lasted from the late 15th to the early 17th century. Spain, under King Ferdinand II of Aragon, was the first nation to do this. Juan Ponce de León was a conquistador and one of the earlier voyagers to the New World in the European Age of Exploration, he accomplished several notable things in his life, but overall and looking in hindsight he is seen as a failure when compared to other conquistadors.
Conquistadors were Spanish explorers. Conquistadors were soldiers in Spain who fought against Muslims, known as Moors, in a …show more content…

On that day he discovered the “Florida current” which is today known as the Gulf Stream. He and his men had experienced a very strong current when heading north earlier in the month. But when they headed south, they faced it head on. It was so strong all three of his ships were propelled backward even with the wind somewhat on their side. A while later, the crew found themselves on the banks of a river that Ponce de León had named La Cruz. While there, Ponce de León planted a quarry stone cross, as was custom at the time, to mark his claim to the land of Florida (Gannon). Ponce de León would then sail south along the coastline of Florida. He would go through the Florida Keys and possibly venture as far north as Charlotte Harbor or perhaps even Pensacola Bay before turning south and returning to San Juan Bautista. Ponce de León and his three ships arrived in Puerto Rico on September 13, 1513. Ponce de León would then return to Spain in 1514.
While in Spain, Juan Ponce de León was knighted and given a personal coat of arms. He was also granted a royal patent making Ponce de León the military governor of Florida. This permitted him to wage war against the indigenous people (Juan Ponce de León).Before Ponce de León could return to Florida, the King asked him to fight a warlike group of natives who were attacking the islands around San Juan Bautista. He was then further delayed by arranging the marriages of his daughters. He also had to build up his personal wealth in order to recuperate from his prior expedition to La

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