Ponce de Leon
By James Cindrario
The fountain of Youth
Ponce De Leon
Ponce De Leon is a famous explorer and a conquistador from Spain. He was born in 1460 and he is known for searching for the Fountain of Youth. He got permission to sail in 1508 by the Spanish crown.. When he heard about water that could turn people young in a far away place, he set sail from Puerto Rico in March 1513 looking for the Fountain of Youth. When he got to this strange land, he named it Florida because in Spain Florida means covered with flowers. Did you know Ponce De Leon was on Christopher Columbus’s 2nd voyage? Ponce De Leon chose to stay in Puerto Rico where he became governor of a small province known as Higuey. He became a conquistador. When he left Puerto Rico he was also looking for riches and land. He accomplished one of his goals by finding Florida and Bimini. He found Florida by looking for the fountain of youth. He died in 1521 in Spain.
Some of the ways technology changed from the 1500’s to now are the maps are more accurate because of technology advances and the ships are better constructed. For example, the maps are more accurate because back then the maps did not show all the land that we have today. Our technology has improved since then enabling us to find more land and to discover new parts of our earth. The first reason the ships are better constructed is because the sails are more sturdier. Another reason is that ships are also made out of stronger and better material that make the boat go faster. Also there are motors on boats and a lot more technology. In addition, communication from land to boat is improved by technology. For example, you could make a phone call from a boat to land. This is how technology improved. The result of this helped people get from one place to another.