Juan Ponce De León was born into a poor and noble family. He was born in Santervás de Campos, Spain, in 1460. He served as a page at the court of Aragon. He learned social skills, religion and military tactics at the Aragon. Later on he became a soldier and fought against in the Moors in Granada. Like other coquistadores, …show more content…
According to history.com, Puerto Rico was known as San Juan Bautista back then. Juan Ponce De León was given permission from Spain to explore the island of San Juan Bautista in 1508 to 1509. Juan Ponce De León might of explored the island before, its not known yet. Juan Ponce De León was named governor of Puerto Rico. When encouraged by the Spanish Crown, Juan Ponce, followed rumors that were spread by the Indians of the island. They spoke about an island known as “Bimini”. This island apparently had a fountain that granted youth to those who drank from it. As Juan Ponce De León was attempting to discover the mysterious island of Bimini and other lands and gold, he landed on the coast of what today is now known as ,Florida. He landed near the site of Modern Day St.Augustine. He named the land he landed on Florida because of the land’s lush and florid vegetation, according to History.com. He landed on Florida around Easter or Pascua which is translated to Florida in Spanish, that could have been another reason why he named it “Florida”. After discovering and exploring the land of Florida he traveled back to Puerto Rico where he went back to Spain from. He was named the military governor of both Bimini and Florida. He was also granted the permission to colonize the