Juan Ponce De Leon: Hero Or Villain?

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Juan Ponce de Leon: Hero or Villain? By Beau Klein Everywhere you go in St. Augustine, Juan Ponce de Leon’s name is on mostly everything. Was he really such a hero? True, he did “discover” Florida, but this brute was hostile as an explorer and a leader. He has performed too many wretched actions to be considered a hero. When Juan was looking for islands to expand the Spanish empire, he probably very well knew that there would be natives on some of those islands. And when he did find the inhabitants of the “Island”, Florida? He enslaved most of them. This was common for explorers to do, but that’s just wrong. Imagine this, you’re a peaceful native to a beautiful island, and then a big strange object comes ashore. You see strange men come