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
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very long war known as the Reconquista. The Reconquista started in 720 AD with the Battle of Covadonga a couple of years after the Islamic conquest of Spain. Over time, Spanish Kings became increasingly dependent on feudal heavy cavalry made up of aristocrats and known as Hidalgos. Eventually they became known as Conquistadores, or conquerors (Conquistadores). The Reconquista lasted more than 770 years, ending in 1492, just a few months after Columbus discovered the New World. It ended with the fall of Granada, the last Islamic state on the Iberian Peninsula (Conquistadores). After the end of the Reconquista, these soldiers had no real place in a peaceful Spain. So with the king’s blessing they traveled to the New World to gain power and wealth for their country and themselves as well. Some of these Conquistadors were very successful in the western hemisphere. One very successful Conquistador was Hernán Cortés. In 1519, Hernán Cortés and 550 men with sixteen horses landed on the eastern coast of Mexico, close to present day Mexico City. He heard of a great and wealthy civilization that resided in the land that was known as the Azteca. It turned out that the rumors were, in fact, correct. The Aztecs controlled a vast and extremely wealthy empire that had dominion over close to eleven million people. Cortés used the natives’ own religion against them. He pretended to be a god and entered the capital, Tenochtitlan. He exchanged pleasantries with emperor. Soon after, the conquistadors became a standard, if somewhat unwelcome, presence in Tenochtitlan. Montezuma was placed in house arrest after he complained to Cortés about the soldiers’ residing in the city. Montezuma was killed in 1520, and a new emperor was able to drive Cortés out of Tenochtitlan. This started the Aztec-Spanish War. Cortés returned a short time later with more men and Tenochtitlan fell in 1521. This was due largely to a disease called smallpox that had been ravaging the capital city at the time. Cortés was able to completely conquer all of the Aztec empire and became as wealthy as a king in the process (Conquistadores). Ten years later, in 1531, another conquistador, Pizarro, discovered another very wealthy civilization. This civilization one was in present day Peru and was known as the Incas. They were completely subjugated by 1533. Not all conquistadors had such great success stories. When most people think of Ponce de León, they think of some greedy man who spent his entire life searching for the Fountain of Youth; this is not the case. Juan Ponce de León was born to noble parents in the village of San Treves de Campos in the province of León Spain in 1474 (Juan Ponce de León). Ponce de León served as a solider for most of his life. He began with campaigns in Granada that would completely drive the Moors out of Spain (von Germeten). With the end of the Reconquista, Ponce de León decided to join Christopher Columbus on the famous explorer’s second voyage to the “Indies” in 1493. It is rumored that Ponce de León returned to Spain shortly thereafter (Fuson, 51). On February 13, 1502 Ponce de León took another voyage to the New World, this time with Nicolás de Ovando. At the Canary Islands the voyagers split up into several groups, with one of the groups landing on Santo Domingo. Ponce de León was a member of this group. He soon gained partial governorship of the island and became a successful farmer there (Fuson, 51). In 1505 Ponce de León moved to Salvaleón. While there, Ponce de León made a request to conquer a nearby island; this island is now known as Puerto Rico. With Ovando’s permission he started a settlement there after invading it and securing it for the Spanish crown. It is important to note that the island had no great wealth and was fairly unimportant in the eyes of the Spanish crown. He named the island San Juan Bautista in honor of John the Baptist (Juan Ponce De León). Ponce de León then competed with Columbus’ son, Diego, for the governorship of the new territory. Finally in 1509, King Ferdinand appointed Ponce to the position. While in San Juan Bautista, Ponce de León heard rumors of a land called Bimini. It was believed by some to contain immeasurable wealth in gold and slaves; a few even entertained the idea that it might have a fountain of youth. Ponce de León was relieved of his governorship due to political reasons in 1511. Almost immediately afterward, Ponce de León appealed to the king for a royal grant to explore and conquer the unknown land. On February 23, 1512, King Ferdinand granted Ponce de León lifetime rule over any territories he should find in his search (von Germeten). Ponce de León then outfitted three ships, two caravels and one bergantina, out of his own pocket to make the voyage. On March 3, 1513 he and the three ships sailed from Anasco Bay on the western side of San Juan Bautista (Gannon). The ships sailed North by Northwest and navigated through the Bahamas. They reached San Salvador, the island that Columbus first discovered, after eleven days at sea (Gannon). They first sighted mainland Florida on March 27 and landed close to present-day St Augustine on the second of April. Ponce de León stayed there until April 8 and named the area Tierra de la Florida (Land of the Flowers) in honor of landing there on Easter Sunday. (Juan Ponce de León). Ponce de León then sailed along the coastline of La Florida where he made a huge discovery on April 21 even if he did not know it at the time.
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
Florida. Ponce de León heard about Cortés’ exploits in Mexico in 1521. He was especially interested in the almost unbelievable wealth Cortés had found. Ponce de León hoped La Florida had a similar civilization that he would discover. Ponce de León personally believed La Florida to be rich in gold, gems, and fruit and thought there was a good chance of a “great civilization” residing there (von Germeten). So Ponce de León wrote a letter to King Carlos I of Spain, better known as Charles V of the Holy Roman Empire, informing him of his intention to establish a permanent settlement in La Florida. He would then use this settlement to mount search expeditions for the fabled great civilization. On February 26, 1521, Ponce de León and two hundred prospective settlers sailed from San Juan Bautista; they sailed in two ships to the west coast of Florida close to the Caloosahatchee River. They landed there and started their settlement; the attempt at a settlement would soon fail. A short time after landing, their budding colony was attacked by Indians from the Calusa Tribe (Juan Ponce de León). In the attack Juan Ponce de León took an arrow in his thigh. He ordered the somewhat disappointed and fearful colonists to withdraw from and abandon the settlement. This ended Ponce de León’s attempt at exploring La Florida. The crew then went to Havana, Cuba where Juan Ponce de León, Governor of the Islands of Bimini and Florida, would die as a result of infection from his arrow wound in July 1521. 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. Evidence of this is the fact that most people think Ponce de León was some misguided man who ran around searching for a fountain of Youth. Ponce de Leon did not spend his entire life searching for the Fountain of Youth and actually accomplished a few important things in his life. He secured the present day island of Puerto Rico for Spain and he discovered Florida and the Gulf Stream. However, these things would pale in comparison to the great feats of conquerors such as Hernán Cortes and Francisco Pizarro. Also, he would never live to see the importance of what he discovered. His one Works Cited "Conquistadores." The American Mosaic: The American Indian Experience. ABC-CLIO, 2015. Web. 17 Oct. 2015. European Voyages of Exploration: Christopher Columbus and the Spanish Empire. The Saylor Foundation. Saylor.org. n.d. Web September 2015 Fuson, Robert H. Juan Ponce de León and the Spanish discovery of Puerto Rico and Florida. Blacksburg, Virginia. The McDonald & Woodward Publishing Company. 2000. Print Gannon, Michael. “First European Contact.” The New History of Florida. Ed. Michael Gannon. Gainesville: UP of Florida, 1966. 39-16. Print. Juan Ponce de León. marinersmuseum.org. The Mariners Museum Age of Exploration, n.d. Web September 2015 Kasee, Cynthia R. "Florida Timeline." The American Mosaic: The American Indian Experience. ABC-CLIO, 2015. Web. 14 Oct. 2015. von Germeten, Nicole. "Juan Ponce de León." The American Mosaic: The American Indian Experience. ABC-CLIO,2015. Web. 26 Sept. 2015.
The nature of the Narvaez expedition was intended to be like that of any other Spanish exploration to the New World. Panfilo de Narvaez, who was selected as governor of Florida and who financed the expedition, was also appointed the commander in chief by emperor Charles V. Cabeza de Vaca was appointed royal treasurer of the voyage for his brightness and noble character. The Spaniards were to conquer the land of Florida in the name of the Charles V and the nation of Spain. They expected to take on and overcome any natives who got in their way and to reap all of the wealth and materials of worth that they came across. When the ships arrived at the western coastline of Florida, they were greeted with a storm. This was just a sign of things to come for the fleet. The storm forced the ships to land at a different bay than what they planned on. From this point the governor wanted to move inland and explore the terrain. Meanwhile he also wanted the ships to sail along the coast until they reached the correct bay. This commenced the downfall of the conquest.
On November 19, 1493 Ponce de Leon was one of the first Europeans to see the small island of Borinquen, the Indian name for Puerto Rico. Ponce de Leon sailed to Puerto Rico in 1506 with two hundred men to the island and found out that it had rich gold deposits. He enslaved the natives, and forced them to mine gold for him. Ponce de Leon left Puerto Rico and returned again in 1508 this time he brought with him only fifty men. On this voyage his ship went through a terrible storm that caused him to run onto the rocks on two occasions. The crew was forced to throw over much of their supplies in order to keep the ship from sinking. After Ponce de Leon finally arrived in Puerto Rico he became the governor of the island. This caused him to become very wealthy, and the most powerful man on the island, who only received orders from the kind himself!
Juan Ponce de Leon is most recognized as the Spanish explorer who discovered Florida. However this was not his only achievement or contribution to the Spanish empire. Prior to discovering Florida he helped fight off the last of the Moors in Granada, he prevented the Indians from attacking the Spaniards in Hispaniola, he served as the first governor of Puerto Rico, discovered other geographical features off of Florida’s coast all while never giving up on his quest for gold or to gain the same recognition as Christopher Columbus.
On October 12, 1492 Christopher Columbus landed on unknown territory, however, in his perspective of Earth he thought he made a new route to Asia. He travels throughout the lands, soon, he discovers new forms of inhabitant plants, as well as, indigenous people that were native to those lands. Years later he soon unravels that it was all unaccustomed terrain. The monarchy of Spain also discovers Columbus’s new discoveries, then, they send more explorers to conquer the lands. In 1520, Hernan Cortes goes with the order from Spanish royalty to go to the newly discovered lands to conquer them, also, help expand the Spanish empire. Overall, Columbus and Cortes both reported the new lands they recently discovered back to Spain, however, their descriptions
In 1492 Columbus sailed the ocean blue. And, when he reached his destination he killed, raped and enslaved innocent natives. Was Columbus a villain? The answer to that question, in my opinion, would be yes. Christopher Columbus was a cruel, self-centered, delusional man who does not deserve to be praised for the discovery of America.
Christopher Columbus is a mythical hero or in other words, not a true hero. The story of Christopher Columbus is part of the many myths of Western civilization. Also the story of Christopher Columbus represents the power of those that are privileged and in most cases white European men that have written this mythical history. Zinn (2009 exposes the truth about Columbus through eyes of the people who were there when he had arrived which were the Native Indians (p.481). Columbus had kept a personal journal for his voyage to describe the people and the journey. What was evident throughout his journal was the Native Americans were very nice, gentle and kind hearted people (Zinn, 2009, 481). As Zinn suggests Columbus spoke of the Native Americans as” they are the best people in the world and
Christopher Columbus, was he a hero, or villain? For about 500 years, people have praised him and celebrated his life as though he was someone who did good for us. Schools teach students that Columbus was a great man, found gold and pearls, and discovered new lands. Students are even taught the names of Christopher Columbus' three ships he used on his first voyage. However, they grow up not knowing the truth about Christopher Columbus, what he really did to 'accomplish' his tasks. I simply believe that schools should show both sides of Columbus' story, so that students can be aware of the facts behind the 'discovery' of Early America.
Pizarro sailed to the new world on November 10, 1509. He was part of many expeditions in the new world including one with Balboa. Pizarro fought against many hostile tribes in Panama and when news of Hernando Cortez’ success in Mexico reached Pizarro, he set off to South America in hope of gold.
“When Christopher Columbus sailed to the Americas…because Christopher Columbus was in search of resources that he could take back to spain.... Columbus led his three ships the Nina, the Pinta and the Santa Maria out of the Spanish port of Palos on August 3, 1492 His objective was to sail WEST until he reached Asia where the riches of gold, pearls and spice awaited…..According to Document A in 1492 Columbus sailed the ocean blue.He had three ships and left from Spain;He sailed through sunshine, wind and rain.
In 1513, an explorer named Juan Garrido came to Florida. He went to places like California and Mexico with a man named Cortez. About 20 years later, another man named Esteban the Moor crossed a Texas desert. He was one of four survivors from an expedition that went wrong. They were among the first explorers who found hope and opportunity here, but things were about to change.
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.
Juan Ponce de leon was born into a poor yet noble family in Santervas De Campos, Spain, 1460. He served as a page at the court of Aragon, a kingdom, where he learned social, religious, and military skills. Later, he would go on Columbus's second journey to the islands, where later he would build settlements for Spain because the king sent him as repayment of his service. He soon would become governor of the eastern side of Hispaniola, before looking for gold in Puerto Rico. He married a woman named Lenora and soon had three children.
Around the beginning of the 15th century until the end of the 18th century, during the Age of Exploration, Europeans began exploring the world by sea to extend their power in the Americas, Middle East, Africa, and were in search of new trading routes, wealth, knowledge, and later on colonizing to control over the indigenous people of the area. A product of this is conquistadors, who are leaders of Spanish conquests of America and conquered territory mostly in Mexico and Peru. Though conquistadors expedition were successful in extending the Spanish control in the Americas, the process was tedious. The conquistadores, were more interested in searching for gold and the fighting aspect instead of governance, which lead some conquistadors and adventures
Luis Cancer had become familiar with the language they spoke here and persuaded the chief to allow permission for the monks to enter and preach to the people of the province. He had been granted permission after he had also brought gifts, trinkets, mirrors, and beads to aid the persuasion of the chief. Within only a few years the feared “Land of War” and now owned the name “Land of the True Peace.” Following the successful expedition of Guatemala he traveled to the City of Mexico in 1546 to see what new countries had been founded. It was here Fray Luis Cancer became aware of all of the failed expeditions to Florida and he believed it was his calling to make an expedition here. He had always yearned to minister and preach to the Indians of Florida and even an early historian had said that he stated that Florida had “always held deep in his heart.” Finally, in the late 1547s he had received permission from Spain to venture to Florida under the orders of Las Casas. Two years later he and three other Dominicans set sail for Florida from Vera Cruz,
Exploration was in full effect and sailors were hungry for new knowledge. King Henry the seventh wanted a piece of all these discoveries, so he sent out John Cabot to discover the Northwest Passage to the Indies, which would be across the North Atlantic (39). The sad part is that when he set sail looking for the passage, no one ever heard anything from him again (39). John Cabot did find Newfoundland which encouraged him to sail west. Three thousand miles south the Expeditions of Spain landed on the north coast of South America (39). In 1500 Pedro Alvars Cabral (a Portuguese explore) landed on the east coast of Brazil. There is a surge of explores landing on the new world. Taking what John Cabot and Christopher Columbus discovered, it unveiled different ways for Europeans to discover a new world. Ferdinand Magellan was the first explore to actually discover how much water was in the world when he led an expedition sponsored by King Charles I (39). Magellan explorations was a complete disaster due to how he got killed by Philippine tribesmen, he started with five ships with about 250 people and returned with 18 (39). The data he retrieved led people to believe that they can sail across the west to get to the East