Ponce de Leon Report

By Ilari

Introduction

Imagine moving through the waters of Florida at top speed... backwards. Imagine governing the entire island of Puerto Rico, and being one of the most respected people in the aristocracy of the most influential empire in the world. These are just some of the many things Ponce de Leon did and was. I will be talking about one of these things: The discovery of "La Florida," and why Ponce de Leon wanted to discover it. Also, I will be explaining if Ponce de Leon was searching for the Fountain of Youth, and if he was, why? To tell this, I will discuss Ponce de Leon's personality, the fountain of Youth legend, what Ponce's motives were, and finally, his actual voyage.

Ponce de Leon: The Man

First, you may want to briefly want to know who Ponce de Leon was. Ponce de Leon was born in San Tervas del Campo, supposedly in a well-respected family. However, the details of his young life have yet to be unearthed. Ponce de Leon was a Spanish explorer who came to Cuba after a job shortage. This job shortage resulted when the Moors were finally driven out of Spain and all the knights were suddenly out of their jobs. Fortunately, there was the New World. The Spanish leaders thought that this would be a good place to send the knights and for them to get their jobs back. Therefore, many of the knights, including Ponce de Leon, were sent off to Cuba and Hispaniola. Ponce made his reputation by successfully governing both Puerto Rico and a large portion of Hispaniola. This is where my description and analysis begins.

Ponce de Leon's Personality

Ponce de Leon was not a man of his time. Ponce de Leon was very adventurous man. Ruling Puerto Rico was not enough for him. Ponce de Leon was a true conquistador. He only wanted to explore, not to rule or to be powerful. To Ponce de Leon, having power was just one of the many things that came from exploring new lands. He was also like his father in many ways. His father was adventurous, and so was Ponce de Leon. He was also persistent. For example, Ponce de Leon took a second trip to Florida and endured the Indians there even though he was defeated. He wanted the Indians to see that the Spanish were the ultimate power in the world and not to be dealt with. Also, Ponce de Leon would get lots of money for discovering Florida and exploiting its riches. Ponce de Leon, as you might foretell, was very ruthless in dealing with the Indians. He used all his resources to kill as many Indians as he could, and he did kill many. However, many people say that Ponce de Leon was not really intending to kill. Those people say that he killed when he had to and tried to make peace whenever he could. Finally, Ponce de Leon was an excellent leader. Before he came to Puerto Rico, it was in chaos. The island was used for the breeding of people, not chickens or other animals. Cannibalism was rampant. But, when Ponce de Leon arrived, he governed the people under Spanish law and built up a thriving European culture. There was even a large-scale revolution, but Ponce de Leon successfully controlled it.

The Fountain of Youth Legend

Now for the legend of the Fountain of Youth. The Fountain of Youth was supposed to make a person young again, or make a person live forever. The fountain itself was supposed to have been somewhere in Florida, or at Ponce de Leon's time, The Island of Bimini. However, this legend has become a bit twisted. The original legend stated that it would restore youth, but nothing about living forever. The origin of the legend is not known. One possibility is that a member of the Spanish Aristocracy was making up tales, and they eventually traveled all around Spain and into the New World. Another possibility is that Ponce de Leon felt rejuvenated by the waters of Florida. They are at 68 degrees, compared to the 70 or 80 degree air temperature in Florida.

Ponce de Leon's Motives

Ponce de Leon must have had a reason to go to Florida. I will now discuss some of his possible reasons. One commonly accepted reason is that he may have wanted to live forever. This, however, may not be a plausible reason. First of all, Ponce de Leon was a hardy 39 year- old conquistador when he went on his journey to Florida. Also, being forever young would make life very sad and boring. Second of all, all of Ponce de Leon's friends and associates would die during his extraordinarily long lifetime, leaving him mentally impoverished and wishing that he had died earlier. Also, new technologies would spring up. Ponce de Leon's mind might not be able to keep up with the incredible pace of events. Also, if events went really slowly, living for a couple hundred years would start to get rather boring. A better reason for going to Florida would be to enjoy the flowers and other new things there. Ponce de Leon would really like to be the master of this land of flowers and streams, with warm weather and all the possible great things in life. It would be a distinguished and prominent place to live, along with being beautiful. It would also be a great place to die.

Ponce de Leon's Voyages

I have explained much about Ponce de Leon's personality, but I have not explained anything about his actual voyage. This may help you understand fully why Ponce de Leon went to Florida and searched for the Fountain of Youth. First, during the conquistador job crisis, Ponce de Leon came from Spain to Hispaniola for work. Ponce de Leon built his reputation there by conquering most of the eastern part of the island. Then, he found himself to be bored at the plain government of Hispaniola and very little adventure that island offered. Therefore, Ponce de Leon set out to conquer Puerto Rico. The governor of Hispaniola told him not to use many troops, but Ponce de Leon went, paying no heed. Then, sure enough, Ponce de Leon conquered Puerto Rico and earned an even higher position in the Spanish Aristocracy. Ponce de Leon even became bored governing Puerto Rico. He then wanted to travel to the Island of Bimini, also called "La Florida" because of the amount of flowers there. However, when Ponce de Leon arrived in Florida, it was relatively barren with no flowers to be seen. Even after this disappointment, he and his crew pressed on. They sailed down the eastern coast of Florida, down the Keys, and arrived in the middle of the Carribean sea. According to the maps of Ponce's time, the "island" of Bimini was more wide than long, so if he sailed upward, he might come back to the island again. That is exactly what Ponce de Leon did. He sailed upward, and encountered the western coast of Florida. This time, there were flowers. Ponce de Leon was overjoyed. However, his joy did not last. There just happed to be some of the meanest natives of Florida at his landing site. These natives were also quite powerful. Ponce de Leon was defeated immediately when huge forces of natives tried to take his ship. He had to sail back. Ponce fixed his ship and stayed for a bit in Puerto Rico, then went back to Florida. The natives were not any nicer. This time, a poison arrow hit Ponce de Leon. He was rushed to Puerto Rico for medical aid, but he died on the ship.

Conclusion

In conclusion, Ponce de Leon was a very brave man, but in being brave, he killed himself. There were many legends about the Fountain of Youth, but we do not have proof as to how many of them are true. But most importantly, Ponce de Leon probably went to Florida to live in peace with nature, and to live in a beautiful place. He also might have wanted to be young forever, but this is not as plausible. What do you imagine would have been going through Ponce de Leon's mind when he landed in Florida and did not find flowers, but a cold, dreary, dismal, wasteland?

Bibliography

Lawson, Edward W. The Discovery of Florida, Edward W. Lawson, 1946.

Ober, Frederick A. Heroes of American History: Ponce de Leon, Harper & Brothers, 1908.

Devereux, Anthony Q. Juan Ponce de Leon, King Ferdinand, and the Fountain of Youth, Waccamaw Press, 1993.

Peck, Douglas T. Ponce de Leon and the Discovery of Florida, Pogo Press, 1993.

"The Discovery of Florida" David Coverston, 1998. URL: http://www.magicnet.net/~dac/poncedeleon.html

"Ponce de Leon, Juan" Columbia University Press, 1993. URL: http://www.infoplease.com/ce5/CE041650.html

"Ponce de Leon" Mara Koeller, September 1997. URL: http://www.rochester.k12.mn.us/century/explorers/deleon.html

"Ponce de Leon" Microsoft Map, No Date Available. URL: http://www.greencastle.k12.in.us/stark/deleon.htm

"Ponce de Leon" Craig, No Date Available. URL: http://www.pen.k12.va.us/anthology...udhomme/explorers/poncedeleon.html