How Did Ronce De Leon?
In 1511, the word spread to Spain that there was undiscovered land northwest of Puerto Rico. This interested King Ferdinand and rewarded Ponce de Leon for all of his services by getting the chance to go and discover new land for Spain. This land was referred to by natives of Puerto Rico as “Benimy”. As said in David Marley’s book (2008), “Wars of the Americas: A chronology of armed conflict in the Western Hemisphere, 1492 to the present”, “Ponce de León readily agreed to a new venture, and in February 1512 a royal contract was dispatched outlining his rights and authorities to search for "the Islands of Benimy".”. Ponce de Leon was given exclusive rights to the discovery of Benimy and the surrounding islands for three years and he would be named governor for life if any lands were
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Spanish slave expeditions had been regularly raiding the Bahamas since 1494 and there is some evidence that one or more of these slavers made it as far as the shores of Florida.”. “Another piece of evidence that others came before Ponce de León is the Cantino Map from 1502, which shows a peninsula near Cuba that looks like Florida's and includes characteristic place names.” (Allen, J.L. 1997).
Legends, not facts, say that Ponce de Leon discovered Florida while in pursuit for the mythical Fountain of Youth. The story behind the Fountain of Youth, is that anyone who drinks from or bathes in the fountain will restore youthfulness in themselves. There was never any proof that de Leon was searching for the fountain and it was not until after his death that people said he was searching for these fountains to reverse his age. The lack of proof has disproved these assumptions of such explorations. Gold and other forms of wealth were more important and higher up on de Leon’s
Spanish slave expeditions had been regularly raiding the Bahamas since 1494 and there is some evidence that one or more of these slavers made it as far as the shores of Florida.”. “Another piece of evidence that others came before Ponce de León is the Cantino Map from 1502, which shows a peninsula near Cuba that looks like Florida's and includes characteristic place names.” (Allen, J.L. 1997).
Legends, not facts, say that Ponce de Leon discovered Florida while in pursuit for the mythical Fountain of Youth. The story behind the Fountain of Youth, is that anyone who drinks from or bathes in the fountain will restore youthfulness in themselves. There was never any proof that de Leon was searching for the fountain and it was not until after his death that people said he was searching for these fountains to reverse his age. The lack of proof has disproved these assumptions of such explorations. Gold and other forms of wealth were more important and higher up on de Leon’s