Who was Ponce de Leon? – An explorer of new lands and the first governor of Puerto Rico.
Juan Ponce de Leon (1474-1521) was
born in Santervas del Campo in northwest Spain. His father was a count from a
well-respected aristocratic family. His mother is not known.
As a boy of noble blood, he was
sent to live with a relative Pedro Nunez Guzman, Knight Commander of the Order
of Calatrava, who was a personal friend of King Ferdinand. Juan as a boy began
working as a page for his guardian, Pedro, but he longed for adventure.
He lived in a Catholic country and
learned teachings of his church and believed that everyone must convert to
Catholicism.
Spain wanted to conquer the
remaining part of Spain – Granada, which was under Moors control. Juan and
others reached Granada in April 1491. After eight months, the sultan
surrendered Granada to Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain.
Afterwards, Muslims and Jews were
given a choice – either convert to Christianity or leave Spain.
Ferdinand and Isabella’s victory
over Granada convinced them that God wanted them to spread Christianity. They
believed they should go and conquer lands and convert them to Christianity. Now,
they needed conquistadors who were enticed by profits.
Juan wasn’t interested in
conquering lands; rather gaining profits was of his interest.
At nineteen, he joined Columbus on
his return mission to Hispaniola (Haiti and the Dominican Republic) in the
Caribbean Sea.
In order to claim the island, they
had to conquer Taino – native people, which they did.
When Columbus set sails to return
to Spain, Juan stayed on the island, where he met a Spanish woman Leonora. They
got married around 1502.
In 1504, the Taino people attacked
a Spanish settlement on the eastern side of the island. Juan was sent there and
crushed the natives. He was appointed as frontier governor in charge of the
entire province. He also received a large piece of land and some enslaved
Taino. He used them in raising crops as they knew the land. From them, he also
learned about Borinquen island.
Life on a plantation wasn’t
exciting to him. He craved adventure and more riches. In 1508, after obtaining
permission, he landed on Borinquen island. The natives already knew about the
terrible weapons of the Spanish and surrendered. He created a settlement near
what is now San Juan, where he set up a farming colony as well as native crops
including cassava – which was good for making bread that didn’t rot in see air.
He already had a plan for that – to sell the bread to ships crossing the
Atlantic Ocean.
In 1521, the island was renamed to
Puerto Rico, meaning rich port. He settled here with his family as he was
appointed the governor of the island.
The Spaniards also brought diseases
with them for which natives didn’t have immunity. In results, many natives died
of those diseases.
Juan’s success in Puerto Rico drew
attention, and in 1493 Diego Columbus, son of Christopher Columbus, convinced
King Ferdinand that his father stopped briefly on this island first and he was
the rightful governor of the island.
Juan had to search for a new island
and he heard of Bimini from the natives.
On April 2, 1513, they landed at
the tip of what looked like an island but was a peninsula. On the new land, he
saw bright flowers, birds and butterflies and named the land La Florida, meaning
flowery.
It is assumed; they landed at what
is now Saint Augustine. But the natives already knew what happened to other
natives on Hispanola and Puerto Rico and fought fearlessly.
Juan turned the ships south toward
home but on the way back to Puerto Rico he discovered the chain of islands, now
Florida Keys. They saw variety of animals, including sea turtles. He named the
islands Las Tortugas (The Turtles). Today, it’s called Dry Tortugas as there is
no fresh water there.
When he returned to Puerto Rico, he
no longer had his place there as Diego Columbus didn’t like him. So Juan took
his family and returned to Spain in 1514.
King Ferdinand was happy to see him
and to hear about Florida and Bimini. As a reward, Juan received his own coat
of arms. Besides settling new lands, the king also asked him to put down the
rebellions of Carib tribe in the Caribbean Basin.
Juan fought many battles in 1515,
but in January 1516 when King Ferdinand died, Juan worried that he might lose
his privileges. So he returned to Spain, where sixteen-year-old Charles I was
the new ruler.
Juan’s next expeditions failed, but
he was determined to conquer Florida.
In 1521, he landed on Sanibel
Island, southwest of Florida coast, but Calusa natives were relentless in
protecting their lands. Juan with his people had to retreat. While in retreat,
he got wounded. When he arrived in Cuba, the wound was already infected, and he
died at forty-seven.
This biography exemplifies a man
who lived the life he longed for and became a hero during his time and the
following centuries. He was certainly an adventurer and discoverer, even if
other people already lived on the lands he discovered as at the time those
lands were not known in Europe. But the moral aspect - how the natives of their
lands were treated - is under the question. I don’t believe that making a
villain of someone is the answer to such question. It’s about learning from
history and making sure that it doesn’t happen again. It seems as natives
around the world are gaining more and more respect as the rest of us are waking
up from our stupor and arrogance that we know things the best. As our
unconscious bias turns into conscious understanding what life is about, we
start to make decisions that benefit all humanity, not just us and our
surroundings.
Source: Penguin Workshop, 2022
TRENDING INSPIRATION: Go back to ancient roots and explore its wisdom. Natives around the world are gaining more and more respect – explore it yourself by asking why?
Traits:
·
He grew up in an
environment where he believed that everyone must convert to Catholicism. –
Unprocessed emotions hide behind childhood beliefs and often backfire in
adulthood unless emotions are understood and processed.
·
From young age he
craved adventure which opened up to him during the age of exploration under the
patronage of Ferdinand and Isabela of Spain. – He acted on his passion when
opportunity presented to him, and it wasn’t a safe opportunity, it involved
100% uncertainty.
·
Juan wasn’t interested
in conquering lands; rather gaining profits was of his interest. – Any
individual gain is short lived unless later it’s turned to serve humanity.
There are still a few good millionaires and billionaires who are not running
after titles but rather to serve humanity with the position they gained through
their success.
·
For “settling” native
people, meaning enslaving them, he was gaining financial profits and titles. –
It’s a classic example of acting with unconscious mind vs conscious one. Your
conscious mind would never allow you to do this despite the time you grew up
in. Look at the figures of those who walked upon earth and now are called
saints – they acted with conscious mind – meaning they acted upon what their
heart told then, not the head.
·
Life on a plantation
wasn’t exciting to him. He craved adventure and more riches. – At least, he was
good at recognizing what made him happy. Most of the people live stagnant
lives, and that’s not what life is about. The problem with Juan was the hunger
for riches over the enslavement of another human being.
FURTHER INSPIRATION AND RECOMMENDATION:
Dipping into unknown takes courage, but the most important part is to stay open and keep trying something new. Maybe astrology is something that would resonate with you at this point in your life.
This astrology book with esoteric approach is a helpful tool in understanding oneself and others.
I Don’t
Believe in Astrology by Debra Silverman
The purpose of this
book is to use the tools of astrology to access your true self.
The author was a
sceptic about astrology. She didn’t like the feel of astrological signs to
limit her possibilities. However, ones she understood that astrology could help
her in understanding her inherent nature, she realized that what she saw as
limited now became expanded.
Astrology shows you
who you really are. Each sign inherits a struggle, thus, it helps you discover
what you are here to learn. Your challenges happen for a reason. It’s an
efficient route to self-knowledge.
We’ve been
conditioned to think or act certain way, but it doesn’t mean it’s the right way
and we’ve been programmed to think it’s the right way.
The author calls the
observer as the thirteenth sign. The observer is an important part in any
emotionally charged situation. When you feel reactive, pause, and become the
observer of the situation. See your behavior from a distance, looking back with
objectivity and neutrality.
Most astrology books
focus on the outer world. In esoteric astrology, the body represents your soul,
listen to your gut reactions. And the rising sign is to help to access the
soul, the higher parts of you.
“New Age,” namely the
Aquarian Age began when science started supporting metaphysics, which is
happening now. Science backs up such things as mystical or supernatural, from
quantum physics to string theory to the existence of beings on other planets.
Our humanity is based
on fear and greed which is shifting to love and unity.
It was interesting to
read that Saturn demands that you change something about your life every seven
years. I was aware of taste possibly changing every seven years, but it looks
like it’s something we should strive for.
Source: St. Martin’s
Essentials
