Essay On Juan Ponce De Fon

554 Words2 Pages

When you think of Juan Ponce de León, you usually think about the Fountain of Youth, or Florida for that matter. Although the Fountain of Youth was a myth that was said to be in Florida, that is what we remember him by. Juan wasn't even looking for Florida he was only looking for the fountain. That is what we have been taught in schools and that is what we all remember him by, the discovering of Florida. The recognizable accomplishment's Juan Ponce de León has done are that he founded Florida and was the first governor of Puerto Rico. Juan was only leading a gold mining expedition on the southeast coast of America when he claimed Florida in 1460. When he wanted glory and gold, claiming Florida was the right thing to do. It got him all the glory he could get. How he became a governor of Puerto Rico, however is another story. We have no idea what Juan was thinking when saw the island of Borinquén or San Juan Bautista when he was with Christopher Colombus's second expedition. Colombus found Puerto Rico and they made a few settlements there. As Puerto Rico progressed in its colonization, Juan Ponce de León was appointed by the Spanish crown its first governor in some time between 1460 and 1521. …show more content…

He claimed Florida, but he was not the founder of Puerto Rico. He did become the first governor though. Glory wasn't the only thing Juan was after, however. He also wanted to be a wealthy man. He claimed Florida when on a gold finding expedition, and when finding Puerto Rico, he was on a expedition with Colombus. Usually thats what Conquistadors wanted to claim their land for. They didn't want to claim their land for God (even though Juan Ponce de León was a Catholic) it is not what he claimed it for. Although he didn't find any gold, he did get a good amount of

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