Ponce De Leon, Celebrating La Florida, Jim Draper and the Feast of Flowers
By Laurie Sheldon Ponce De Leon, the Executive Summary Image from Ponce De Leon by Wyatt Blasingame Ponce De Leon did not return to Spain after sailing on Christopher Columbus' second expedition to the Americas (1493). He chose to stay in what is now called the Dominican Republic, where he first heard that a neighboring island (present-day Puerto Rico) had a good bit of gold. He took the island using brute force against the natives, claimed it as Spain's, and became its governor. He was just getting warmed up. In 1513 he sailed northwest with a 200-man, 3-galleon crew from Puerto Rico, hoping to find and conquer Bimini, a Bahamian island purported to contain riches and a legendary spring that gave people eternal life and health. After stopping in Grand Turk and San Salvador, the men caught sight of a low, flat stretch of land. It was Easter, April 2nd, "Pascua Florida," a Spanish reference to the holiday as a combination of both religious and natural si...