Juan Ponce de León was born in 1460 in Tierra de Campos Palencia, Spain. Ponce de Leon was born into a noble family in Spain. Later in his life, he became a soldier. He fought the Muslim Moors in Granada, Spain. The Moors were a group of Muslims that invaded Southern Spain in the 1400's. After the wars against the Moors ended in Spain, there was no need for him to serve in the military. Ponce de Leon saw this as his opportunity to explore the world. In September 1493, about 1,200 sailors joined Christopher Columbus for his second voyage to the New World. Ponce de Leon was an exclusive member on the expedition, along with 200 other volunteers. .
In November 1493, they reached the Caribbean Islands. Although, they visited many other islands before reaching Hispaniola, present-day Haiti and Dominican Republic. They did reach the coast of Puerto Rico which would give Ponce de Leon a peek of his future role. In 1504, Ponce de Leon was appointed governor of the Higuey province in Puerto Rico. He was to control the rebellious group of people known as the Tainos. In 1508, Ponce de Leo married Leonora. She bore three daughters, Juana, Isabel, and Maria, along with a son, Luis, with him. Ponce de Leon built a house for his family in the city of Salvaleon, a city which Ponce de Leon founded in 1505, in Hispaniola. .
After hearing stories about gold that could be found in the rivers of the island San Juan, Ponce de Leon, a crew of 50 men, and a single ship set out on a voyage to San Juan. He and his crew had great gold-mining success on the island. However, his crew was running low on food and supplies. Because of his great success, he was appointed governor of San Juan. Rumors heard by King Ferdinand II about land northwest of Hispaniola led Ponce de Leon to his next expedition. On March 4, 1513, Ponce de Leon, about 200 men, and three ships took sail seeking for new lands. The three ships were named Santiago, San Cristobal, and Santa Maria de la Consolacion.
