Essay On Juan Ponce De Leon

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. In the first decade of 1500, Ponce de León built settlements in modern-day Haiti and the Dominican Republic, started farms and constructed defenses in hopes of establishing an island colony for Spain. His efforts paid off and he prospered well, selling produce and livestock to Spanish ships returning home. After helping suppress a native Carib uprising in Hispaniola, in 1504 Ponce de León was named the provincial governor of the eastern part of the country. On a return trip to Spain around this time, he married a woman named Leonora, with whom he would

The Spanish crown also ordered him to organize a small army to subdue a native uprising on Puerto Rico that had continued in his absence. He left Spain with a small fleet in May 1515. Historical accounts of his encounters with the Caribs on Puerto Rico are vague, but it seems there was a series of military engagements with no clear outcome. Ponce de León eventually broke off hostilities upon learning that his major supporter, King Ferdinand, had died in Spain, and he quickly returned to protect his claims and titles. He stayed there for two years, until he finally received assurances that his financial empire was secure and returned to Puerto