Juan Ponce de León

"No, I told you, Ponce de León died two hundred years ago." "Aye, but he died searching for something, didn't he?" "...The Fountain of Youth."

- Captain, Fisherman and King Ferdinand

Juan Ponce de León y Figueroa was a Spanish explorer and conquistador in the early 1500s. He was best known for his quest to find the fabled Fountain of Youth, a legendary spring which was said to grant eternal life. Ponce de León captained the Santiago during his search for the Fountain until his death.

Early life
Juan Ponce de León y Figueroa was born to a noble Spanish family in the late 15th century. Although born into a noble family, he was poor, and like many in similar situations, he sought fame and fortune as a soldier. He received an education in fighting skills, manners, and religion while serving a knight named Pedro Nunez de Guzman, and later helped in the ten-year conquest of the Muslim kingdom of Granada in southern Spain.

Discovery of the New World
Juan Ponce de León accompanied Christopher Columbus on his second voyage to the New World, later he helped conquering eastern Hispaniola and was appointed governor of the province of Higuey. He conquered Puerto Rico and was appointed it's first governor. In 1512 he removed from office and started an expedition to the lands north of Cuba.

First discovery
In 1513, he discovered Florida during his quest for the Fountain of Youth, but legends say that he never found it. He returned to Spain, later he tried to conquer Guadeloupe and was re-appointed Governor of Puerto Rico. In 1521 he organized another expedition to Florida, during which he was wounded with a poisoned arrow. He aborted the expedition and returned to Havanna.

Second search
"The Santiago. Famously captained by Ponce de León."

- Jack Sparrow

Two years later, Ponce de León led another expedition to discover wonders of the New World, but his ship, the Santiago, was caught in a storm, and ended up on the edge of the cliff on an unchartered island. All members of the crew were soon dead. Ponce de León's corpse remained in the bed in his cabin, with a personal map of the island in his hand.

In 1750, during the quest for the Fountain of Youth, Ponce de León's corpse would still be in the bed aboard the Santiago. When Jack Sparrow and Hector Barbossa were searching for the Chalices of Cartagena, Jack wanted to take a look at the map of Fort San Miguel Ponce's corpse held. But when he put his hands on it, the corpse's head turned towards him, and then turned back after Barbossa told him to not touch the map. The body of Ponce de León would remain on the bed aboard the Santiago, examining the map for all eternity.

Behind the scenes

 * Juan Ponce de León was portrayed by a skeleton prop in Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides. This prop was made to look like the "skeleton in the bed" seen from the POTC ride.
 * In real-world history, Juan Ponce de León died in 1521 on Cuba because of a wound from the poisoned arrow.
 * In the first screenplay draft of Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End, Barbossa starts to search for the Fountain of Youth, using the captain's journal of Juan Ponce de León that he took from Tia Dalma, who received it from a mermaid.
 * Juan Ponce de León is a minor character in the novel On Stranger Tides, which was used as the basis for Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides. In the novel, he found the Fountain on his first expedition, and prolonged his life for the next two centuries. By 1718, he was known as Governor Sawney, an old drunkard on New Providence.
 * In LEGO Pirates of the Caribbean: The Video Game, Ponce de León's portrait hangs on the wall of his cabin on the Santiago. The portrait shows him holding the Chalices of Cartagena.

Appearances

 * Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End
 * Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides
 * LEGO Pirates of the Caribbean: The Video Game