Ponce de León

Columbus told Ferdie and Izzie of the Tainos, a peaceloving tribe willing to share all they had. So on his return to Hispaniola, each tribe member was required to pay a tribute in gold or cotton to Spain or die.

For some reason the peaceful Tainos of Borinquen, or Puerto Rico, did not like this arrangement. Nor did they care for the manner in which the new governor, Juan Ponce de León, forced them to grow crops for Spain and mine gold for Spain and die of smallpox for Spain, and so alligned with neighboring tribes in revolt. The governor violently disagreed.

And so to dispatch him from their presence, it was then that the Tainos told Ponce de León about the Fountain of Youth to be found in the land to the west.

Okay, that last part is a lie. In fact, the story of life restoring waters is altogether a fiction and a legend. Juan Ponce de León did sail to Florida, but not in search of any fountain. It was gold he was after. That fabulous sign of wealth that brought poverty and death to so many.

But was he the first Spaniard to reach Florida? Most likely not. It's believed the slave traders beat him there.