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or allowed to go unenforced, and in many
respects Portugal slid backward into her
pre-enlightened state.
springs questionable. He seems also to have
concluded that Florida, while probably not
“Bimini,” was an island. Back in Puerto
Rico by 1514 he undertook various mis-
sions for the Crown, including an attempted
conquest of Guadalupe, where the Caribs
proved too fierce to be subdued.
It was not until 1521 that Ponce de León,
encouraged by a new decree confirming him
as
ADELANTADO
of Florida, set out again to
that territory, this time with a large number
of potential settlers, farm animals, and the
full intention to plant a permanent colony
on the peninsula. Near the site of Tampa, his
people were constructing cabins when
attacked by an indigenous group, who killed
and wounded so many of the Spaniards that
the project was abandoned. Finding refuge
in C
UBA
, the aged conquistador succumbed
to his wounds, and Florida remained an
unfulfilled dream for Spaniards.
One of the earliest arrivals and most vig-
orous soldier-administrators among the
conquistadores, Ponce de León attained a
mixed reputation for both benevolence and
brutality toward the indigenous population
of the Caribbean during the first phase of
the conquest. His reputation has been
clouded in more recent times by the end-
lessly repeated story of his Quixotic search
for the “Fountain of Youth.” This idea
played no significant part in the motiva-
tions of a practical conquistador driven by
the desire for gold and glory.
Ponce de León, Juan
(1460-1521)
Spanish explorer and soldier
A member of an aristocratic family, Ponce
de León served in his youth as a page at the
royal court. During the 1480s he took part
in the final stages of the war against the
Muslims. He was one of the first Spanish
adventurers to travel to the New World,
sailing in 1493 on the second expedition of
C
HRISTOPHER
C
OLUMBUS
. Having played an
important role in pacifying western H
ISPAN
-
IOLA
, he was named governor in the eastern
part of the island (the present-day D
OMINI
-
CAN
R
EPUBLIC
). Lured by native accounts of
abundant gold in the nearby island of Bori-
quén (P
UERTO
R
ICO
), he secured a commis-
sion to conquer that land, waged successful
campaigns there, and became the first gov-
ernor. Not satisfied with these accomplish-
ments, he obtained permission to seek out
the legendary island of Bimini, which,
according to some traditions, contained a
fountain of eternal youth. Enriched by his
governorship in Puerto Rico, Ponce de León
was able to outfit at his own expense an
expedition of three ships and 200 men to
take possession of that island. Arriving at
the coast of present-day F
LORIDA
on Easter
of 1513, he marked the joyous holiday and
the lush vegetation of this new land by
bestowing the name it has since borne.
Although he sailed from his initial landing
on the east coast (near modern St. Augus-
tine) through the Florida Keys and part way
up the west coast, Ponce de León found the
natives violently hostile and the prospect
for settlement, enrichment, or even magical
Porto
Portugal, national identity of
Portugal has been called an arbitrary, or
even accidental, country; in fact, there is no
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