Florida Explorers
Who are they and why did they come to Florida?
Born in Santervas, Spain around 1460, Ponce de Leon was born a soldier and explorer. He was on Christopher Columbus’ second expedition to the Americas in 1493 and never returned to Spain with Columbus because he decided to take over islands and land as quickly as he discovered them. At one point, he was appointed the governor of the Dominican province of Higuey but left with hopes of discovering gold in the neighboring island of Borinquen (known today as Puerto Rico). Upon landing ashore, de Leon used brutal force to conquer the island, claim it for Spain and again, become appointed governor. This brutality didn’t go unnoticed as he was removed from office in 1511 and cited for mistreatment of the Native Americans. It’s quite clear that the reason for his journey to Borinquen was after the gold and riches of the island (Enchanted, 1996).
Ponce de Leon’s journeys continued when he was “given the right to find and take the island of Bimini – a Bahamian Island – in search of riches and the fountain of youth” (Enchanted, 1996). His journey began in April of 1513 with three ships – The Santa Maria, the Santiago and the San Cristobal – and about 200 men. After a couple of stops along the way, de Leon and his crew reached the east coast of the Americas. He and his expedition crew first landed on the coast of St. Augustine, along the northeastern coast of the state, where he quickly claimed the land for Spain and named the land “Florida” after the season of “Pascua Florida” which means flowery Easter (FLSenate.gov, 2010).
Following the discovery of Florida, Ponce de Leon and his crew headed back for Puerto Rico. However, before leaving the newly founded land, de Leon and the Native Americans broke into a fight. The reason for the fight is unclear but it’s stated that de Leon was “putting down their rebellions against the Spanish rule” (Enchanted, 1996). Instead of Puerto Rico, the ships headed for Spain where Ponce de Leon was named a Captain General by the King.
Ponce de Leon headed for yet another search for Bimini in 1521 but instead landed on the west coast of Florida. This west-coast-discovery was kept short as they were promptly greeted by Native American warriors who fought de Leon and his crew of 200 arrows and spears. Many men were killed and several more were wounded including de Leon. He later dies in Havana, Cuba from his wounds and was buried in San Juan, Puerto Rico in July of 1521 (Enchanted, 1996).
According to Enchanted Learning (1996), Hernando de Soto was busy exploring the coast of Florida and other islands around the same time as Ponce de Leon. His expeditions include Nicaragua, Peru, Spain, Cuba and Florida. It’s cited that de Soto “arrived on the west coast of Florida on May 30, 1539 with 10 ships carrying over 600 soldiers, priests, and explorers.” De Soto spent the winter of 1539 in present day Tallahassee then resumed his journey over the southeast, crossing the Mississippi river two times (FLSenate.gov, 2010). The reason for this journey was the hopes of finding silver and gold, exploring the area, and brutally fighting (and killing) Native American societies. Hernando de Soto later died in 1542 during an exploration with a crew of only 300 men. He was buried along the banks of the Mississippi River and the remaining crew set sail for Cuba.
Another explorer that graced the coast of Florida is “Estevanico” – also known as Esteban Dorantes – whom was a Muslim slave from Azamor, Morocco. In 1528 Dorantes and his slave owner Andres Dorantes de Carranza set sail for Tampa Bay, Florida. Along the way, the explorers and their crew ran into several hurricanes and fought the Native Americans. These fights killed most of the crew so the pilot of the ship sailed to Mexico to abandon the men and get away from the Native Americans. Dorantes was able to escape and went on several more discoveries before he finally settled into Mexico City where he later “sold as a slave and killed by Zuni Indians as he entered their pueblo” (Enchanted, 1996).
Bringing present day Europe into the picture, France was among the first to make the trip to the Americas. In 1562 the French landed on the coast of Florida under Jean Ribault’s order. “With a fleet of 150 colonists, the ships crossed the Atlantic Ocean and explored the mouth of the St. John’s River – known today as Jacksonville” (FLSenate.gov, 2010). “A stone monument was erected on land as proof of the French claim to the land” (US History.com, 2010). Ribault’s crew left Florida and set sail for the Sea Islands of present day South Carolina.
As the years passed, the coasts of Florida continued being landed upon by explorers from around the globe. Most were in search of riches in the form of gold or silver, but few came ashore simply to explore the land and brawl with the Native Americans to gain control of the land. Originally, Spain is credited with the conquering and control of Florida but ultimately England emerged as the control center.
