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. Different sources cite the year of Leon’s birth as either 1460 or 1474. It is decided he was born in San Tervas de Campos, Spain. He received his education by serving as a page for Pedro Nunez de Guzman. The education of a page began at the age of seven. This is when a young boy would be taught how to hunt, fight, read, and write and about religion. Once seven years passed and the young boy mastered these things then he moved up to the rank of squire. As a squire Leon served Guzman who in return taught him the responsibilities of being a knight. The lessons of a squire lasted for another seven years. All of this training led up to Leon participating in the battle that forced the Moors out of Granada. This battle was Leon’s first test of his soldier skills, it helped prove his loyalty to the Crown and was the start of his quest to gain some recognition. After becoming educated in the ways of a page and squire and helping his country rid itself of the Moors, Leon became restless and searched for his next adventure. His next adventure came when Christopher Columbus needed volunteers to outfit his second expedition to the New World. Leon had heard the stories Columbus brought back with him and saw the a... ... middle of paper ... ...cessed March 15, 2014. Edward W. Lawson, The Discovery of Florida and Its Discoverer (St. Augustine: Edward W. Lawson, 1946) , accessed March 15, 2014, http://ufdc.ufl.edu/UF00026726/00001/2j “Becoming a Knight”, Howstuffworks.com website, http://history.howstuffworks.com/historical-figures/knight2.htm, accessed March 15, 2014. “Juan Ponce de Leon,” History.com website, http://www.history.com/topics/exploration/juan-ponce-de-leon, accessed March 15, 2014. Washington Irving, Voyages and Discoveries of the Companions of Columbus (New York: Frederick Unger Publishing Company,) 323. Washington Irving, Voyages and Discoveries of the Companions of Columbus (New York: Frederick Unger Publishing Company,) Washington Irving, Voyages and Discoveries of the Companions of Columbus (New York: Frederick Unger Publishing Company,) www.americanjourneys.org/aj-095/
Christopher Columbus and Alvez Nunez Cabeza de Vaca were both explorers for Spain, but under different rulers and different times. The more famous, Christopher Columbus, came before de Vaca’s time. Columbus sailed a series of four voyages between 1492 and 1504 in search for a route to Asia which led accidentally to his discovery of new land inhabited with Indians. Christopher sailed under the Spanish monarchs, Ferdinand and Isabella for his journey to the “Indies,” whom he was loyal to by claiming everything in their name. De Vaca , followed in Christopher’s footsteps and journeyed to Hispanionola for Spain’s emperor, Charlves V, the grandson of Ferdinand and Isabella. Both, Columbus and de Vaca composed a series of letters addressing the main issue of their journey to the new land, but both were expressed in a different manner, included different material, and were motivated to write for dissimilar reasons.
	Don Juan Ponce de Leon was a Spanish conqueror and explorer. He was born around 1460 in San Tervas de Campos, Spain. Ponce de Leon lived during an age of great discovery and excitement. Ponce de Leon is well known, claiming and naming what is now Florida, the discovery of Puerto Rico, and his never-ending search for the old time classic, the Fountain of Youth!
In 1492, Christopher Columbus was a self-made man who worked his way up to being the Captain of a merchant vessel. He gained the support of the Spanish monarchs, Ferdinand and Isabella, for an expedition to the Indies. With the support of the Spanish monarchy, he set off to find a new and faster trade route to the Indies. Upon the arrival of his first voyage, Columbus wrote a letter to Luis de Santangel, a “royal official and an early supporter of his venture,” in February 1493 (35). The epistle, letter, entitled “Letter to Luis de Santangel Regarding the First Voyage” was copied and then distributed in Spain before being translated and spread throughout Europe. The Letter is held in such regard with the people as it is considered the first printed description of the new world. Through his description of the nature of the islands, Columbus decided the future fate of the islands. His description of the vast beauty of the nature around him, declares both the economic and nationalistic motivations for colonizing the new world.
In 1514 de Soto sailed with the new governor of modern day Panama. Six years later he was a captain who because of his part in military action against the Indians of Panama had earned the right to own Indian Sl...
Web. 19 Aug 2013.Holmgren, Virginia C. "The Unheralded Story of Columbus." Sea Frontiers. Feb. 1992: 34-41. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 19 Aug 2013.
"Early Explorers of the Western Hemisphere." World Almanac & Book of Facts 2000, 1999, p456.
Juan Ponce De Leon was born in a poor and 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. Juan ponce de León soon sought fame and fortune through exploration, and it is believed he began his quest as part of Christopher Columbus's 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.
Many people think that Christopher Columbus was the first European to set foot in America, but this conventional belief is wrong; Leif Erikson, a Norse explorer set foot in Newfoundland almost 500 years before Columbus was even born. This paper will cover everything about Leif Erikson’s life including his grandfather’s banishment from Norway, and Leif’s father’s exile from Iceland. Leif Erikson’s early life, his family, and his visit to Norway to serve under the king. The first recorded European to see North America, Bjarni Herjólfsson, and Leif Erikson’s voyage to America. This paper is also going to talk about Leif Erikson’s brother, Thorvald Erikson’s voyage to Vinland because his tale is interesting. Near the end of this research paper, it will have a paragraph on Leif Erikson’s later life. Finally at the end of this paper it is going to talk about the unknown reason why no other Europeans sailed to Vinland, and Leif’s impact on modern day North America.
Travel writers or adventurers all write pieces that deal with the same premise: the discovery and experience of the New World. However, in their writing, it is evident that there is an ulterior motive in mind. These motives or purposes can be classified in two broad categories: to persuade people to come to the new world and to warn people of the dangers they may encounter in the new world. It is easy to explore these themes by paying particular attention a couple of notorious writers: Christopher Columbus, Bartolome De Las Casas, and John Smith.
Ponce De Leon was born into a noble family. Boys born in noble families learned to be knights. Juan learned to use weapons, ride horses, and hunt. In 1493 Juan learned of Christopher Columbus finding America. That year, Juan went along on Columbus’ second trip to Santo Domingo to explore the Americas. During the early 1500’s Ponce De Leon built settlements in Hispaniola which is now known as the Dominican Republic. On one of his return trips to Spain, he married a woman named Leonora and had three
Sensenig, Pearl L. "Marco Polo: An Inspiration to Christopher Columbus and The Age of Discovery". Sensen01.cwk@millersv.edu
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.
Finally, Juan Ponce de Leon discovered and explored many other places such as the Florida Keys, beaches, islands, currents, and Indian tribes. He once experienced Cape Canaveral, an area filled with rough currents. He even explored the east coast, along the Florida Keys, and he named an island, Dry Tortugas, for it's turtles. He finally discovered the Gulf Stream, a warm ocean current that would later help future spanish ships maneuver their way back to their
propaganda to persuade people to migrate to the New World. In Columbus’s Letter Describing the His First Voyage by Columbus, he states, “there are many harbors on the coast of the sea, beyond comparison with others which I know in Christendom, and many rivers, good and large, which is marvelous” (16). By inserting the appealing descriptions, like beyond comparison, marvelous, good and large, Columbus captivates and pleases the reader. During this time period that was particularly important because the readers were the men funding his excursion across the sea. He could not write anything less than spectacular descriptions of the New World or he could risk losing his funding. This type of
This is a very interesting take on the story of Christopher Columbus and His voyage.