Juan Ponce De Leon: A Hero Or Villain

The letter Christopher Columbus wrote back to Spain to report his findings in the New World sparked intrigued me and sparked my imagination. Why I have been so absorbed in this letter I can not explain. This letter is supposed to be about describing an unknown land, a land that has not been seen by anyone besides the natives, but it seems that there is more to it than that. Columbus is known in elementary schools as the man who found the New World, and is regarded as a hero. To the contrary, historians who have done more research on Columbus say that he was driven by fame and fortune and that he was tyrannical in his ways with the indigenous peoples of the places that he came to find. I feel that the contradictory tones Columbus uses

School taught us about the infamous Christopher Columbus who was known as the hero who found the Americas in 1492, but is that the truth? Is Columbus really the hero that grade school portrayed him to be? Columbus was not. Columbus was a greedy man who destroyed an entire race of people with genocide just so only he could benefit and become a man of money and power.

Christopher Columbus and Alvez Nunez Cabeza de Vaca were both explorers for Spain, but under different rulers and different times. The more famous, Christopher Columbus, came before de Vaca’s time. Columbus sailed a series of four voyages between 1492 and 1504 in search for a route to Asia which led accidentally to his discovery of new land inhabited with Indians. Christopher sailed under the Spanish monarchs, Ferdinand and Isabella for his journey to the “Indies,” whom he was loyal to by claiming everything in their name. De Vaca , followed in Christopher’s footsteps and journeyed to Hispanionola for Spain’s emperor, Charlves V, the grandson of Ferdinand and Isabella. Both, Columbus and de Vaca composed a series of letters addressing the

Juan Ponce de Leon was known as a great man who was always well prepared for voyages. A nickname that was given to him by the king was “Adelantado” meaning ahead. He was a great motivator to other explorers and was a husband and father. Many are led to believe that Juan Ponce de Leon was the first to discover Florida but this is not true. Juan Ponce de Leon was the first to discover the Gulf Stream and was the first to try to create a settlement on Florida and tried to inhabit the land with animals and a colony

Christopher Columbus was an Italian explorer who received credit for the discovery of the Americas in 1492. His goal was to discover another route to India instead, he sailed across the Atlantic Ocean and arrived in Hispaniola which is present day Haiti and the Dominican Republic. Although, historians argue he did not technically discover the Americas, he opened trade routes between the Old World and the New World. He influenced later explorers and impacted the development of the Columbian Exchange. The historians present their attitudes towards the consequences and outcomes of Christopher Columbus and his discovery. They also state their argument on his controversial legacy about whether Christopher Columbus should be perceived as a hero or a villain.

Explorer and conquistador Hernando de Soto was born c. 1500 to a noble but poor family in Jerez de los Caballeros, Spain. He was raised at the family manor. A generous patron named Pedro Arias Dávila funded de Soto's education at the

As a young man hernan cortes studied law, but decided to seek a fortune in the recently found New World that Christopher Columbus had recently stumbled upon. Cortes ended up first in the island of Santo Domingo the Dominican Republic in 1504 when Cortes was only 19 years of age. Hernan stayed for 11 years but then he took part in the conquest of Cuba, the year was 1511. Cortes was appointed mayor of Santiago de Cuba up until 1518. Hernan Cortes had a taste of power and enjoyed it greatly and because of this his appetite for more conquests was immense. Hernan Cortes was a hero for joining two worlds and conquering the most powerful civilization of America. Some people thought Cortes was a villain for making the Aztec Empire disappear. Hernan

Martin de León used his wealth for the good of others. In 1824, Martin de Leon moved forty-one families on the lower Guadalupe River that eventually became Victoria. He chose that land because it was near water and it would be good for ranching. He also chose that land so the people would be happy with it. And wouldn’t be mad at him and want to move out of the colony. He actually cared about what they wanted and he did his absolute best to make a colony that no one would forget. And that’s exactly what had happened, he made the best colony, and no one will ever forget what he did for

Juan Perez is an explorer know for discovering and mapping the northwest coast. Juan Perez is a Spanish explorer who came from Spain. He went on two voyages, but we only know mostly about the first voyage Juan Peres was born on 1725 in Majorca, Spain and died on November 3, 1775. Perez’s first voyage was in 1774, and he arrived in Vancouver, Canada, in the same year. When he got to Canada he was greeted by natives, but he did not get off his ship or go ashore. The natives brought him gifts and they traded. Juan Perez belongs in the hall of fame because he helped discover and map 4 major places in the world that no one had discovered yet.

As it states in Document 3, he pretty much saved the life of one of the Indians and this got a good name. This was useful to his survival because if the Natives appreciated him, they wouldn’t hurt him. Another example is the instance that occurred as communicated in Document 4. The Indians and de Vaca were traveling and they came along some Spaniards who were on a slave-catching mission. The Spaniards demanded that they (the Indians) hand over de Vaca because as they said he had been lost for a long time and was a person of ill fortune and no worth.

Although Juan Ponce De Leon’s date of birth isn’t certain he was most likely born in 1474, he was born into a noble Spanish family and he was the son of a military hero. Juan Ponce De Leon was born in Santervas De Campos in Castilla which is now known as Spain. In his youth he spent his time working as a Page for a Spanish Knight. As a Page he cleaned his Knights clothing, cared for his weapons and tended to his horses. In return he was taught a code of honor and learned the way in which he could be expected to behave as a knight.

Juan Ponce de Leon was a Spanish conquistador who went on many expeditions to Florida around the late 15th century and early 16th century. Ponce de Leon started his exploration in joining Christopher Columbus on his second voyage to the Americas in 1493. They landed in Hispaniola and found a settlement to be destroyed and the sailors to be murdered. Columbus enforced a forced-labor policy and made the Natives rebuild the settlement and look for gold. In this voyage, Ponce de Leon learned many skills and tactics in which he would use in later voyages. In 1508, Ponce de Leon was sent to explore Puerto Rico and look for gold. He settled with 50 other soldiers in what is now San Juan and became the first governor of the eastern part of the country in 1509. He also discovered the Dry Tortugas, 10 small keys southwest of Key West. Ponce de Leon was governor for two years until he was replaced by the Columbus’s son. He then sailed north through the Bahamas in search of new

Juan Ponce de Leon was born in Spain in 1460. Looking for fame and fortune, he started his career as an explorer by assisting in Christopher Columbus’s second expedition. Later on, he started his own expeditions to search for gold. On his various expeditions, he is known for building settlements in Puerto Rico and finding Florida while on the search for the fountain of youth.

Juan Ponce de Leon was the first European known to have visited present-day United States in 1513. He also discovered Florida and the Bahama Channel, and colonized Puerto Rico according to the Mariners Museum website. In 1502, he left on a voyage with Frey Nicolás de Ovando and arrived at Santo Domingo. He lived there from 1502 to 1504 and was named the island’s captain by Ovando. De Leon then moved to Salvaleón and lived there from 1505 to 1508. In 1506, he made a request to travel to and conquer Borinquen. After receiving permission from Ovando, he started a settlement there and renamed it San Juan de Puerto Rico. On March 3rd 1513, he left Puerto Rico with 3 ships to explore north of Cuba. On March 27th 1513 he sighted mainland Florida.

He brought many accomplishments for Spain and was seen as a hero. Columbus was a very dedicated Christian. He started spreading it and tried to get others to see that God was very important (Doc. 3) Since he was a very true Christian, nuns came over and brought education to many people. They taught them needlework, embroidery, drawing, and other domestic arts (Doc.6). Columbus brought good to society, because of him many people were allowed an education. He allowed society to grow and flourish through education and Christianity. People thought Columbus brought diseases that caused so many to die. These diseases were caused by the natural world and were bound to happen . There is very few evidence to connect it to Columbus.(Doc.7) Although Columbus was responsible for a certain percentage of natives death there is insufficient evidence to connect him to the deaths that happened simultaneously and after his