Ponce de Leon in Search of the Fountain of Youth

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2: Southern Spain

This is where Ponce de Leon started his journey with Christopher Columbus in 1493, in search of the "Fountain of Youth". Juan Ponce de Leon was born in Santervas, Spain. He came from a noble Spanish family and was well educated as befitted his status. In the 1490's he travelled the seas as a Privateer, attacking ships belonging to the Moors. Then in 1493, the second voyage of Christopher Columbus sailed from Cadiz with 16 ships, carrying about 1500 men - including Juan Ponce de Leon. He accompanied Columbus exploring Hispaniola (Jamaica) and encountered hostile Carib and Arawak native indians. Columbus established a Spanish settlement in Haiti and searched for gold. Juan Ponce de Leon gained a wealth of experience from this voyage of discovery.

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3: Santo Domingo

In 1494 Christopher Columbus returned to Spain but Juan Ponce de Leon stayed in Santo Domingo (now called the Dominican Republic). He was eventually appointed governor of the Dominican province of Higuey. He later discovered that there was gold on the neighboring island of Boriquen. Ponce de Leon gained permission to colonize a nearby island named Borinquin. With a few men and a greyhound dog that the Indians were afraid of, Ponce de Leon easily conquered Borinquin, which would later become known as Puerto Rico. He was awarded the governorship of that island and served for a period of two years.

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4: Puerto Rico

Ponce de Leon brutally conquered the island of Puerto Rico, claiming it for Spain. He was then appointed governor of this island. Due to his extreme brutality to the Native Americans, he was removed from office in 1511. He sailed from Puerto Rico on March 3, 1513, with three ships, the Santa Maria, the Santiago, and the San Cristobal, and about 200 men. During this time Ponce de Leon began to hear fantastic stories from the natives about a paradise land in the area known as Bimini. The land was said to have trees that bore huge, golden delicious fruit, and a river whose waters when bathed in or drank from would restore youth. It was said beautiful and friendly natives inhabited this place. Flowers were abundant and the earth was rich with gold. Historians argue whether Ponce de Leon was most interested in finding the miraculous waters referred to as the ‘fountain of youth’, or more gold to add to his wealth. Regardless of his reasons, in early spring 1512, Ponce de Leon sailed from Puerto Rico with ships rigged at his own expense, to find the land spoken of by the Puerto Rican Indians.

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5: Bimini, Bahamas

Ponce de Leon was given the right to find and take the isalnd of Bimini (in the Bahamas), but he found no trace of the Fountain of Youth or the gold. He and his men reboarded their ships and once again set sail.

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6: Grand Turk Island

Traveling from island to island in the Bahamas, Ponce de Leon and his men would taste the waters and search for the trees bearing the huge fruits and earth rich with gold. Not finding the paradise he was looking for, he extended his search in a northwesterly direction.

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7: San Salvador

On March 14, 1513 Juan Ponce de Leon reached San Salvador island ,where Christopher Columbus had first sighted land. A quick exploration of the island revealed no gold and no fountain of youth. They again set out to sea.

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8: St. Augustine, Florida

After only a few days of sailing they once again came upon land. On the shore were big trees with magnificent flowers. Ponce de Leon and his crew were hopeful when they landed on the shore. Ponce de Leon named the land "Pascua de Florida" (feast of flowers) because they first saw land on April 2, 1513, Palm Sunday. Ponce de Leon was 38 years old when he discovered Florida. During his lifetime he was considered a giant among men, literally. He stood 4’11” in height, whereas the average Spaniard was only 4’8” – 4’10”. The life expectancy of a Spaniard in those days was also quite short. If you were to live 50 years you were quite lucky. So, at the age of 38, Ponce de Leon was well into mid-life. Soon after landing at what would eventually be named St. Augustine, Ponce de Leon met the native Indians of the area. They stood 6-7 feet tall, and were living well into their eighty's! This was proof, Ponce de Leon believed, that they had reached the land where he would find the waters that preserved youth. He claimed the land in the name of the sovereign of Castile, and continued his exploration of what he assumed was a large island. Unfortunately, Ponce de Leon never discovered gold or the Fountain of Youth.

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