Issue link: https://newsleader.uberflip.com/i/121369
ON THE EVE OF INVASION: PART II PONCE DE LEON MAKES A FAMOUS DISCOVERY 'IN THE TIME OF FLOWERY EASTER' By Stan Zimmerman City Editor Editor's note: To celebrate Florida's 500th anniversary, The Sarasota News Leader is happy to serialize portions of the second chapter of City Editor Stan Zimmerman's forthcoming Maritime History of Florida. Here he looks at the historical, religious, financial and psychological motives of the Spanish as they are about to explode into the New World. Next week, we will continue with the story of one of them — Juan Ponce de León, the man who named Florida. The man who discovered Florida and named it was born in 1460 at the town of San Servas in León, Spain. Juan Ponce de León, a nobleman of royal descent, accompanied Columbus on his second voyage in 1493. Ponce was a soldier, and in 1506-1507, he led the "peaceful conquest" of Puerto Rico. He was appointed governor of that large island in 1509 by the Spanish crown, and he managed the early colonization efforts. For his This is 500 years of naval architecture in one frame. What will airplanes look like 500 years from now, or cars? Who knows? But here 1513 meets 2013. Photo by Stan Zimmerman