Juan Ponce de Le n (1474 - July 1521) was a Spanish explorer and conquistador. He became the first Governor of Puerto Rico by appointment of the Spanish crown. Rumours of undiscovered islands to the northwest of Hispaniola had reached Spain by 1511. In an effort to reward Ponce de Le n for his services,Ferdinand urged him to seek these new lands. Ponce de Le n equipped three ships with at least 200 men at his own expense and set out from Puerto Rico on March 4,1513. For the next several days the fleet crossed open water until April 2,1513,when they sighted land which Ponce de Le n believed was another island. He named it La Florida in recognition of the verdant landscape and because it was the Easter season,which the Spaniards called Pascua Florida (Festival of Flowers). Although he is widely credited with the discovery of Florida,he was not the first European to reach the peninsula. Spanish slave expeditions had been regularly raiding the | |
Lizenzart: | Lizenzpflichtig |
Credit: | Science Photo Library / LOC / Science Source |
Bildgröße: | 2305 px × 2700 px |
Modell-Rechte: | nicht erforderlich |
Eigentums-Rechte: | nicht erforderlich |
Restrictions: |
|