Ponce+de+Leon


 * Born: 1474**
 * Died: 1521**


 * Early Life**

Ponce De Leon was born in 1474. He was born in the village of Santervas De Campos in Spain. His parents died at a early age so he went to stay with a close friend. They were rich. at the age of 14 he became the squire of Don Pedro. That is the most important task for an asistant. He was the asistant for the king. His job was to check all the weapans and armor for the battlefield. He was also a Spanish soldier. Ponce De Leon took part of the Muslim war. First he helped out the soldiers. Then he proved that he was strong, brave and quick. He became a soldier when he was just eighteen years old. When the war ended in 1492 He no more work for the army because they had a full trained army.In 1492 Ponce De Leon deicided to go to Cadiz when he got it changed his life. he He met a italian exploer it was Christopher Columbus. He begged Columbus if he could go on his second voyage with him. He said yes even though Ponce De Leon had no experience.



This Is Ponce De Leon.


 * Where He Explored**

Ponce De Leon went to Florida and to the Bahamas. Also Puerto Rico.He explored Florida because he wanted to find the Fountain Of Youth. He wanted to find the Fountain Of Youth because Ponce De Leon was particularly interested in the stories of the Caribbean. Some explorers said that the Fountain Of Youth could be found in or around the Bahamas. There were traditional tales told by Taino people from Cuba. The tales told about the magical powers that make old people into young people again. Ponce De Leon heard these tales but did not know if they were true.Ponce De Leon only took 3 ships the Santa Maria De Consolacion, the San Chistoval and the Santigo. Before Ponce De Leon sailed out for sea he was scared because he didn't know what he was going to encounter in the "New World". Ponce De Leon encountered the Mohican Indians.


 * A Significance Journey**

His journeys were significance because he discoved the Fountain Of Youth it was in Florida. When Ponce De Leon was leaving to sail again King Fedinand admired Ponce De Leon and wished to help him. He suggested that Ponce De Leon would explore the island where Columbus had no right to be viceroy and establish new spanish colonies there. King Ferdinand promise if Ponce De Leon claimed the land for him then King Ferdinand then he would make Ponce De Leon the governor. Ponce De Leon also sailed to Pureto Rico and it was important because he found the city of Caparra. He also cleared the land and built a new farm, built a new house and suprervised the digging in the mines to find gold.

=**Fun Facts**=

1.He was the first European explorer to set foot on Florida. 2. He was the governor of Higuey. 3. In1493 he went from Spain to the new world on columbus's ship. 4. He conquered a small island named Bimini. 5 .He named Florida because it means covered in flowers in spanish because it was covered in flowers.

Where We Got The Information:the book, kidspast.com, wikipedai, and librarythinkquest.com