1460-1521

Spanish Explorer and Soldier

Juan Ponce de León was one of the leading early Spanish explorers and colonizers of the Western Hemisphere. He is best remembered for his discovery of Florida and for conquering and settling Puerto Rico.

Little is known of Ponce de León's early life. His family was part of the Spanish nobility, and he served as a page in the court of King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella. In 1492, he participated in a military campaign against the Moors in Granada that successfully expelled the Muslims from their last foothold in Spain.

The time in which Ponce de León lived was an age of exploration and Spanish expansion, and he took full advantage of the opportunities this afforded. His countryman Christopher Columbus (1451-1506) discovered America in 1492, thinking it to be the...