1. Juan Ponce de León
By Ethan Kyle G. Pascua
Who wants to live forever? Juan Ponce de León did, so he tried
to find the Fountain of Youth. Unfortunately, he didn’t find it,
but he found another famous place: Florida!

2. ● Ponce de León was born in 1460
and died in 1521
● Spanish Explorer
● Born in the village of Santaverás
de Campos near Palencia, Spain
● Was a page in the Spanish Court
● Became an experienced soldier
who fought in the long Spanish
Campaign
Ponce de León
Who was Juan
Ponce de León?

3. Purpose of Expeditions
●To find The Fountain of Youth
●To find wealth and undiscovered islands to
the northwest of Hispaniola, an island in the
West Indies

4. Expeditions
●First voyage in 1513 with 200 men and 3 ships
●Sailed along the coast of Florida
●Second voyage in 1515 and third voyage in
1521

5. ●On his first voyage, Ponce de León ships
encountered strong currents
●The currents pushed his ships eastward into
the northeast shore of Cuba and his crew was
initially confused about their location
●The natives of Florida did not want Ponce de
León to conquer Florida and fought against
him
What
Happened

6. Accomplishments
●Named, was is now Florida, “La Florida”
●Became the first Governor of Puerto Rico
●One of the first explorers to claim part of the
north American Mainland for Spain

7. How he treated the natives
● Back on Puerto Rico, Ponce de León divided out the
native Tainos amongst himself and other settlers using
a system of forced labor known as encomienda.
● Many of the Spaniards treated the Tainos very harshly
and newly introduced diseases like smallpox and
measles took a severe toll on the local population.

8. Facts
-was a Spanish explorer and conquistador. He became
the first Governor of Puerto Rico by appointment of the
Spanish crown.
-He led the first known European expedition to La Florida,
which he named, and is associated with the legend of the
Fountain of Youth, supposed to be in Florida.