Juan Ponce de Leon - The First European to Reach the USA

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Juan Ponce de Leon was a Spanish explorer and nobleman who also became the first Governor of Puerto Rico under the Spanish Empire. He was the first European to reach Florida (now in the USA), which was also the initial exploration of the mainland USA (area south of Canada and north of Mexico).

Early Life

Juan Ponce was born in 1474 in the now-Spanish province of Valladolid. During his youth, he took part in the fights against the Muslim rule of Granada for the re-conquest of Spain. 

A portrait of Juan Ponce de Leon
Juan Ponce was the first governor of Puerto Rico


Arrival in the Americas

After the re-conquest of Spain in 1492, the chance of a military expedition in Spain ended for Juan Ponce. Therefore, he decided to go abroad to test his luck. He joined Christopher Columbus for his second voyage to the New World in 1493, along with 1200 men. After visiting several islands, their fleet reached the final destination of the Caribbean island of Hispaniola (now the Dominican Republic and Haiti).

The Tainos (indigenous people of Hispaniola and other Caribbean areas) were very rebellious, and Juan received orders in 1504 to maintain peace in the region. He did so after a massacre in Higuey (easternmost Hispaniola). After this achievement, he was later appointed the frontier Governor of this newly conquered province.

In 1508, he took an expedition to modern-day Puerto Rico with the permission of the Spanish king to find gold. The mission was quite successful, but he had to return after a few months with his companions due to a shortage of food and other commodities. Later in 1509, Ponce was appointed governor of San Juan Bautista (now the capital of Puerto Rico). He continued his efforts to explore gold in this area. In 1511, Juan Ceron replaced Juan Ponce as governor after a long political and legal battle with Diego Colon (son of Christopher Columbus). He was made Viceroy of the Spanish West Indies on the orders of a court in July 1509. 

Discovery of Florida

In 1511, there were rumors in Spain about the undiscovered islands northwest of Hispaniola. Spanish king Ferdinand was eager to discover this area for Spain. Ferdinand wanted to reward Ponce for his services and made a contract with him in 1512. According to this contract, Juan Ponce received special rights to discover the islands of Benimy and its neighboring islands for the next three years. In case of success, he would remain governor of these new islands for his entire life. 

In March 1513, Ponce set out with 200 men and three ships from Puerto Rico. On 27th March, they reached the island of Great Abaco (northern Bahamas). On 2nd April 1513, Ponce and his men arrived at another island, which he named La Florida (land of flowers) due to an abundance of flowers. There, the Spanish clashed against the Calusa Native Americans and lost some of their men in several skirmishes. Later, they sailed to the southwest of Florida and reached the Dry Tortugas islands on 21st June. Then they arrived at Grand Bahama on 8th July and Puerto Rico on 19th October 1513. 

Quest for the Fountain of Youth

drawing of men in green area with a fountain
Juan Ponce discovered Florida while searching for Fountain of Youth

According to a legend, the discovery of Florida by Juan Ponce was not only for gold and expansion of the Spanish Empire, but he was also in pursuit of the Fountain of Youth. It was an imaginary fountain with stories that its water restores the youth of an aged person. Juan Ponce was also getting old and wanted to bring back his passing youth. Though there was no such fountain, Juan Ponce achieved a historic milestone in this process; the discovery of the Continental USA for the Europeans. 

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