Exploration of Pueto Rico
Juan Ponce de Leon was named provincial Governor of the Eastern part of Hispaniola, after stooping a native uprising. Soon after Spain heard of all the gold and riches in Puerto Rico so in 1508 Ponce de eon was sent by the Spanish queen to explore the island.(There are records of him unofficially exploring the island 2 years earlier on his own) He took 50 soldiers with him and one boat landing then settling near what is now San Juan. The the expedition was a complete success and he returned to Hispaniola for supplies, bringing with him lots of gold and riches. Ponce de Leon was told by the Spanish government to keep exploring the island, and set up a gold mining colony and would be named governor of Puerto Rico. So he returned to the island this time taking his wife and kids with him.
Search for Youth and the Discovery of Florida
Spain encouraged Juan Ponce de Leon to keep exploring new lands to look for more gold and to expand the Spanish empire. Around the same time the native of the island told him about the island of Bimini said to be home of a magic fountain that who ever drank from its waters would never grow old (the Fountain of Youth). In 1513 he set out in search for the fountain, but instead of landing on a magical island he landed on the nearby coast of now day Florida, in the city now known as St. Augustine. He didn't realize he had landed on the coast of soon to be the United states, he thought he had landed on just another nearby island. He named the area Florida because of its lush vegetation and wide variety of wild flowers.
dE Leon vs the Calusa Indians
Juan Ponce de Leon continued to explore his new mistakenly found land and decided to try and make a settlement. He and his crew went deeper inland looking for a fresh water body to settle by but they found something else. They stumbled upon a large settlement of natives called the Calusa Indians, they quickly discovered that they were not a friendly tribe. The two forces fought for a months but the settlers were quickly forced to retreat back to Puerto Rico.
A Fatal Return
After 6 years of being in Puerto Rico Juan Ponce de Leon set sail again fr Florida in 1521, taking with him 200 settlers and 2 ships. They landed in the gulf near now day Charlett harbor and Estero Bay. but while looking for fresh water they again stumbled upon the Calusa tribe. The fighting lasted a short one and a half months, but the settlers had to retreat when de Leon was shot in the leg with a poisoned arrow. So they retreated to nearby Cuba wit only enough settlers to fill one ship. Juan Ponce de Leon died one month later. He died April 1521, he was 61.