Exploration

Ponce de Leon: Describe Ponce de Leon's role in the settlement of Florida (including dates). Explain the legend of the ''Fountain of Youth'' (where Ponce de Leon learned

of the legend, and whether Ponce de Leon found the Fountain of Youth). Identify who killed Ponce de Leon

(and how).

Introduction

Hi! I’m Miss Holly.

Today we are going to talk about two explorers: Juan Ponce de Leon and Hernando de Soto. They had a tremendous impact on ‘discovering’ America.

Ponce de Leon

Juan Ponce de Leon (1460?-1521) was a Spanish explorer and soldier who was the first European to set foot in Florida.

Ponce de Leon

He also established the oldest European settlement in Puerto Rico and discovered the Gulf Stream (a current in the Atlantic Ocean).

Ponce de Leon

Ponce de Leon was searching for the legendary fountain of youth and other riches.

Ponce de Leon

Born in Santervas, Spain, in 1460 (the date is uncertain), Ponce de Leon was a soldier fighting Muslims in southern Spain in the early 1490's.

Ponce de Leon

Ponce de Leon sailed on Christopher Columbus' second expedition to the Americas in 1493.

Ponce de Leon

Ponce de Leon did not return to Spain with Columbus; he stayed in Santo Domingo (now called the Dominican Republic).

Ponce de Leon

He was appointed governor of the Dominican province of Higuey.

Ponce de LeonHe later heard of gold in the neighboring island of Borinquen (now called Puerto Rico) and brutally conquered the island, claiming it for Spain.

Ponce de Leon

He was then appointed governor of this island.

Ponce de Leon

Due to his extreme brutality to Native Americans, he was removed from office in 1511.

Ponce de Leon

While there, he heard many stories of a magical water source.

Ponce de Leon

People called it the "Fountain of Youth" and said that drinking its water kept you young.

Ponce de Leon

Ponce decided that he must find this water source. For the next few years, he tried to find out where this "Fountain of Youth" was.

Ponce de Leon

He finally believed he knew where it was, and he asked permission from Spain's King, Charles V, to go in search of it.

Ponce de Leon

The king agreed, as long as Ponce agreed to pay for the ships and crew.

Ponce de Leon

Ponce de Leon was given the right to find and take the island of Bimini (in the Bahamas);

Ponce de Leon

to search for riches and the fountain of youth, the legendary spring that gave people eternal life and health.

Ponce de LeonHe sailed from Puerto Rico on March 3, 1513, with three ships, the Santa Maria, the Santiago, and the San Cristobal, with about 200 men.

Ponce de Leon

After stops at Grand Turk Island and San Salvador, they reached the east coast of Florida (St. Augustine) in April 1513.

Ponce de Leon

Ponce de Leon named the land "Pascua de Florida" (feast of flowers) because they first spotted land on April 2, 1513, Palm Sunday.

Ponce de Leon

He then claimed the land for Spain.

They left on April 8, heading south in the warm current now known as the Gulf Stream.

Ponce de Leon

This oceanic current would become very important for Spanish trips from Europe to America.

Ponce de Leon

On the return trip, a fight broke out between Ponce de Leon's men and Native Americans in southern Florida.

Ponce de Leon

They sailed to Cuba, then headed north, again trying to find Bimini (but instead, finding Andros Island).

Ponce de LeonAfter returning to Puerto Rico, Ponce de Leon resumed fighting with the Native Americans (putting down their rebellions against Spanish rule).

Ponce de LeonHe returned to Spain and was named Captain General by the King of Spain on September 27, 1514, and again sailed to Puerto Rico to search for the elusive Bimini.

Ponce de Leon

His last expedition was another search for Bimini in 1521.

Ponce de Leon

His force of 200 men landed on the west coast of Florida,

Ponce de Leon

…but were met by Native American warriors, who wounded many of the men with arrows, including Ponce de Leon.

Ponce de Leon

Ponce de Leon later died in Havana, Cuba, from this wound (in July, 1521).

Ponce de Leon

He is buried in San Juan, Puerto Rico

Hernando De Soto

Hernando De Soto: Describe the 1539 Spanish expedition led by Hernando de Soto to Florida.

Include the battle with the Cherokee Indians and how de Soto was associated with the Mississippi River.

Identify how de Soto died and where he was buried.

Hernando De Soto

Hernando De Soto (1500?-1542) was a Spanish explorer who sailed the Atlantic Ocean and was the first European to explore Florida and the southeastern US.

Hernando De Soto

De Soto was born in the Spanish province of Extremadura (near Portugal).

Hernando De Soto

In 1524, he went on an expedition to Nicaragua, Central America, with Francisco de Cordoba.

Hernando De Soto

De Soto sided against Cordoba (who had tried to claim land for himself), and Cordoba was killed.

Hernando De Soto

De Soto lived for a while in Nicaragua, prospering by engaging in the slave trade.

Hernando De Soto

Francisco Pizarro enlisted de Soto for an expedition to Peru (1531-1532).

Hernando De Soto

During this expedition they met and killed Atahualpa, the ruler of the Incas, and conquered the Inca empire.

Hernando De Soto

Through lies and treachery, this deceitful duo managed to trick the Incan emperor Atahulapa into an ambush.

Hernando De Soto

Although the Inca people paid an enormous ransom for their emperor, the Spanish executed him anyway and kept the money.

Hernando De Soto

De Soto returned to Spain in 1536, and was granted the rights to conquer Florida and was named governor of Cuba in 1537.

Hernando De Soto

De Soto arrived on the west coast of Florida on May 30, 1539 with 10 ships carrying over 600 soldiers, priests, and explorers.

Hernando de Soto

They spent years searching for gold and silver, exploring the area, and brutally contacting native societies.

Hernando de Soto

Cherokee leaders welcomed the foreigners diplomatically,

Hernando de Soto

…even though they must have known that De Soto and his men had been killing and enslaving other Native Americans nearby.

Hernando de Soto

This worked for a while. But then De Soto tried to make the leaders of the Cherokee tell him where all their gold and silver was, and where the gold and silver mines were.

Hernando de Soto

De Soto thought all of North America was just covered in gold and silver treasure - but he was wrong.

Hernando de Soto

The Cherokee chiefs could not understand what he wanted. They didn't have any gold or silver.

Hernando de Soto

De Soto got very angry and killed some of the Cherokee men and took other men and women away to be slaves for the Spanish men.

Hernando de SotoFor the next four years de Soto and his men explored the southeastern United States, facing ambushes and enslaving natives along the way.

Hernando de Soto

After Florida, came Georgia, and then Alabama. In Alabama, de Soto encountered his worst battle yet, against Indians in Tuscaloosa.

Hernando de Soto

Victorious, de Soto and his men next headed westward, discovering the mouth of the Mississippi River in the process.

Hernando de Soto

De Soto’s voyage would, in fact, mark the first time that a European team of explorers had traveled via the Mississippi River

Hernando De Soto

De Soto died during the explorations and was buried on the banks of the Mississippi River in late June, 1542.

In conclusion…

Ponce de Leon found and named Florida while searching for the Fountain of Youth, which he never found. He died from an arrow wound while fighting Natives.

In conclusion…

And De Soto searched for gold and silver, conquering and enslaving Natives. He was the first European to find the Mississippi River. He died from fever and was buried in the river.

Extension activities

• Don’t forget, you have a reading activity to complete on Puerto Rico.

• Also, you have a worksheet on the Native American tribe, Seminole.

Good bye!

• See you next time.

References

• http://www.enchantedlearning.com/explorers/page/d/deleon.shtml

• http://www.socialstudiesforkids.com/articles/worldhistory/juanponcedeleon2.htm

• http://allaboutexplorers.com/explorers/desoto/• http://www.biography.com/people/hernando-

de-soto-38469/• http://www.historyforkids.org/learn/

northamerica/after1500/history/cherokee.htm