Juan Ponce De Leon Research Paper

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In 1474, years after Prince Henry the Navigator’s death, Juan Ponce de Leon was born to a noble, yet poor, family in Santervás de Campos, Spain. Although early historians placed his birth in 1460, more recent evidence shows he was likely born in 1474. Juan Ponce de Leon wanted what everyone wanted, fame and fortune. So as a young man, Juan Ponce de Leon would deliver messages to the royal court. Once he had finished doing this, he met up with Pedro Nunez de Guzman, Knight Commander of the Order of Calatrava., who was well known to train young boys to become knights. Ponce de Leon served as a squire with him. Guzman not only taught Leon important fighting skills, but the importance of religion and manners along with other traits. As Leon grew …show more content…

In September 1493, Ponce de Leon went on Columbus’ 2nd voyage as one of the 200 “gentlemen volunteers.” His boat reached the Caribbean in November 1493. He and his other sea mates visited several islands before arriving at their primary destination in Hispaniola. During his time in Hispaniola, Ponce de Leon was assigned many jobs like crushing rebellions and to establish new towns. Once Ponce de Leon had settled in and gotten more responsibility and power, he was allowed to explore Puerto Rico for gold and other good things for trade. During his exploration, he got a good understanding of the geographic features of the land and did confirm the presence of gold. His exploration was a success and he was appointed governor of San Juan Bautista (Puerto Rico). He was later instructed to extend the land and look for more gold. While Ponce de Leon went out to explore, he used a system called Encomienda, which allows you to use natives to work for you. He used his slaves to grow crops and help mine for gold. During his time exploring the land, Diego Colon (Columbus’ son) had arrived in Hispaniola as acting Viceroy. This caused a political struggle between Colón and Ponce de León. Colón's position as Viceroy made him more powerful than Ponce de Leon so Ponce’s position in San Juan was not

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