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107-567: The legend became particularly prominent in the 16th century, when it became associated with the Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de León , the first Governor of Puerto Rico. Ponce de León was supposedly searching for the Fountain of Youth when he traveled to Florida in 1513. Legend has it that Native Americans told Ponce de León that the Fountain of Youth was in Bimini . Herodotus mentions a fountain containing

214-554: A quadrant or a mariner's astrolabe , and obtained a reading of 30 degrees, 8 minutes of latitude, the coordinate recorded in the ship's log when it was closest to the landing site, as reported by Herrera (who had the original logbook) in 1601. This latitude corresponds to a spot north of St. Augustine between what is now the Guana Tolomato Matanzas National Estuarine Research Reserve and Ponte Vedra Beach . The expedition sailed north for

321-600: A Spanish historian who apparently had access to the original ships' logs or related secondary sources from which he created a summary of the voyage published in 1601. The brevity of the account and occasional gaps in the record have led historians to speculate and dispute many details of the voyage. The three ships in this small fleet were the Santiago , the San Cristobal and the Santa Maria de la Consolacion . Anton de Alaminos

428-482: A car accident in 1927. Walter B. Fraser, a transplant from Georgia who managed McConnell's attraction, then bought the property and made it one of the state's most successful tourist attractions. The first archaeological digs at the Fountain of Youth were performed in 1934 by the Smithsonian Institution . These digs revealed a large number of Christianized Timucua burials. These burials eventually pointed to

535-681: A fertile land with much gold to be found in the many rivers. Inspired by the possibility of riches, Ponce de León requested and received permission from Ovando to explore the island. The official settlement of San Juan by Spaniards is often dated to 1508, when Ponce landed in a caravel with about fifty men on the southern coast of the island, but there is documentation in the Archive of the Indies ( Archivo General de Indias ) that he had led an expedition there with several hundred men as early as 1506, under orders by Governor Ovando to explore, settle, and conquer

642-438: A fountain. Upon his return to Puerto Rico, Ponce de León found the island in turmoil. A party of Caribs from a neighboring island had attacked the settlement of Caparra , killed several Spaniards and burned it to the ground. Ponce de León's own house was destroyed and his family narrowly escaped. Colón used the attack as a pretext for renewing hostilities against the local Taíno tribes. The explorer suspected that Colón

749-443: A low-lying island, rising sea levels may cause the entire island to become submerged. South Bimini (pop. 182) houses an airstrip, South Bimini Airport , and offers a quiet alternative to the slow bustle of North Bimini. There is a small community of homes on South Bimini known as Port Royale. For many years, South Bimini tourists were limited to boaters because there were few accommodations other than private homes. Because Bimini

856-564: A loyal servant. However, Colón's position as Viceroy made him a powerful opponent and eventually it became clear that Ponce de León's position on San Juan was not tenable. Finally, on 28 November 1511, Ceron returned from Spain and was officially reinstated as governor. Rumors of undiscovered islands to the northwest of Hispaniola had reached Spain by 1511, and Ferdinand was interested in forestalling further exploration and discovery by Colón. In an effort to reward Ponce de León for his services, Ferdinand urged him to seek these new lands outside

963-433: A more southerly landing at a small harbor now called Ponce de León Inlet . Some believe that Ponce came ashore even farther south near the present location of Melbourne Beach , a hypothesis first proposed by Douglas Peck, an amateur historian who attempted to reconstruct the track of the voyage sailing in his 33-foot Bermuda-rigged sailboat. Samuel Turner dismisses this theory, pointing out that Ponce's fleet encountered

1070-457: A new contract was drawn up for Ponce de León confirming his rights to settle and govern Beniny and Florida, which was then presumed to be an island. In addition to the usual directions for sharing gold and other valuables with the king, the contract was one of the first to stipulate that the Requerimiento was to be read to the inhabitants of the islands prior to their conquest. Ponce de León

1177-551: A new town in Higüey, which he named Salvaleón . In 1508 King Ferdinand (Queen Isabella having opposed the exploitation of natives but dying in 1504) authorized Ponce de León to conquer the remaining Taínos and exploit them by forcing them to mine gold. Around this time, Ponce de León married Leonora, an innkeeper's daughter. They had three daughters, Juana, Isabel and María, and one son, Luis. The large stone house Ponce de León ordered built for his growing family still stands today near

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1284-566: A peninsula near Cuba that looks like Florida's and includes characteristic place names. According to a popular legend, Ponce de León discovered Florida while searching for the Fountain of Youth. Though stories of vitality-restoring waters were known on both sides of the Atlantic long before Ponce de León, the story of his searching for them was not attached to him until after his death. In his Historia general y natural de las Indias of 1535, Gonzalo Fernández de Oviedo y Valdés wrote that Ponce de León

1391-416: A pool that is as large as space allows. The people in the pool are youthful and naked, and after a while they leave it, and are shown fashionably dressed enjoying a courtly party, sometimes including a meal. There are countless indirect sources for the tale as well. Eternal youth is a gift frequently sought in myth and legend, and stories of things such as the philosopher's stone , universal panaceas , and

1498-536: A resident of the islands, Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. visited in 1964 and worked on his Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech while there. South Bimini was home to Colonel Joseph C. Mackey, the founder of Mackey Airlines , which was later bought by Eastern Airlines. He built a home on the southern tip of South Bimini. This structure would become the Sunshine Inn and is currently a bar and restaurant, though

1605-534: A slaving voyage or had been sent by Diego Colón to spy on Ponce de León. Shortly thereafter Miruelo's ship was wrecked in a storm and Ponce de León rescued the stranded crew. From here the little fleet disbanded. Ponce de León tasked the Santa Maria with further exploration while he returned home with the rest of crew. Ponce de León reached Puerto Rico on 19 October 1513 after having been away for almost eight months. The other ship, after further explorations returned safely on 20 February 1514. Although Ponce de León

1712-531: A son of Ponce Vela de Cabrera and his wife Teresa Rodríguez Girón named Pedro Ponce de Cabrera married Aldonza Alfonso , an illegitimate daughter of King Alfonso IX of León . The descendants of this marriage added the "de León" to their patronymic and were known thereafter by the name Ponce de León. Although the identity of Juan Ponce de León's parents is still a matter of conjecture, according to Fuson and Arnade, citing Puerto Rican historian Aurelio Tió, Pedro Ponce de León and Leonor de Figueroa were most likely

1819-516: A special kind of water in the land of the Macrobians , which gives the Macrobians their exceptional longevity. The Ichthyophagid then in their turn questioned the king concerning the term of life, and diet of his people, and were told that most of them lived to be a hundred and twenty years old, while some even went beyond that age—they ate boiled flesh, and had for their drink nothing but milk. When

1926-458: A storm on 30 March, sailing in it for two days, with no indication in Herrera of the wind direction or how strong it was, and that this fact complicates any attempt to reconstruct the voyage (not to mention that Peck's boat was nothing like the Spanish ships). On 2 April, after the weather improved, Ponce's pilot Anton de Alaminos took a navigational fix by the sun at noon in nine fathoms of water with

2033-489: A suitable site about two miles from the bay. Here he erected a storehouse and a fortified house, creating the first settlement in Puerto Rico, Caparra . Although a few crops were planted, the settlers spent most of their time and energy searching for gold . By early 1509 Ponce de León decided to return to Hispaniola. His expedition had collected a good quantity of gold but was running low on food and supplies. The expedition

2140-450: A troupe of adventurers and sailed north, never to return. Found within the salt water mangrove swamp that covers 6 kilometres (3.7 mi) of the shoreline of North Bimini is The Healing Hole , a pool that lies at the end of a network of winding tunnels. During outgoing tides, these channels pump cool, mineral-laden fresh water into the pool. Because this well was carved out of the limestone rock by ground water thousands of years ago it

2247-417: Is a very common, fast-moving lizard on the island. The smalltooth sawfish ( Pristis pectinata ) is one of the rarest fish in the world, sometimes listed as a critically endangered species by conservation groups. The Bimini Biological Field Station (BBFS) has captured and recorded 13 species of sharks in the shallow waters around Bimini. However, the number of sharks around the island is higher, considering

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2354-451: Is close to Miami, Florida, many American anglers go to the islands by boat to fish or to enjoy the local nightlife. Scuba diving and snorkeling are also popular activities, as there are many shipwrecks in the area, such as the wreck of the SS ; Sapona , which ran aground in 1926 during a hurricane . The top of the ship is exposed to the air while the bottom half is submerged. Parts of

2461-532: Is especially high in calcium and magnesium . Magnesium, which has been shown to improve longevity and reproductive health, is present in large quantities in the sea water. While it is not known whether any legend about healing waters was widespread among the indigenous peoples of the Caribbean, the Italian -born chronicler Peter Martyr attached such a story drawn from ancient and medieval European sources to his account of

2568-463: Is geographically not a part of the Bimini Islands but a separate unit. North Bimini is about 11 km (7 mi) long and 200 m (700 ft) wide. Its main settlement is Alice Town , a collection of shops , restaurants , and bars on a road known as "The King's Highway". The second major road is called Queens Highway and runs almost the length of the island parallel to Kings Highway. As

2675-467: Is known about his family, he was of noble birth and served in the Spanish military from a young age. He first came to the Americas as a "gentleman volunteer" with Christopher Columbus 's second expedition in 1493. By the early 1500s, Ponce de León was a top military official in the colonial government of Hispaniola , where he helped crush a rebellion of the native Taíno people. He was authorized to explore

2782-490: Is speculative in nature, and experts in various fields have opined across the full spectrum of explanation. The most contentious of these sites is Bimini Road . During the period of Prohibition in the United States , Bimini was a favorite haven and supply point for the rum-running trade. Some claim that the term " the real McCoy " was applied to the rum provided by William McCoy , who used Bimini to transport whiskey to

2889-571: Is the closest point in the Bahamas to the mainland United States and approximately 210 km (130 mi) west-northwest of Nassau . The population is 2,417 as of the 2022 census. Bimini's largest islands are North Bimini, South Bimini, and East Bimini. Smaller islands in the Bimini chain include Gun Cay, North Cat Cay, South Cat Cay, and Ocean Cay . The District of Bimini also includes Cay Sal Bank , more than 100 km (60 mi) further south, which

2996-460: Is widely credited with the discovery of Florida, he almost certainly was not the first European to reach the peninsula. Spanish slave expeditions had been regularly raiding the Bahamas since 1494 and there is some evidence that one or more of these slavers made it as far as the shores of Florida. Another piece of evidence that others came before Ponce de León is the Cantino Map from 1502, which shows

3103-582: The Alexander Romance were very popular in Spain during and after the period of Moorish rule , and would have been known to the explorers who journeyed to America. These earlier accounts inspired the popular medieval fantasy The Travels of Sir John Mandeville , which also mentions the Fountain of Youth as located at the foot of a mountain outside Polombe (modern Kollam ) in India. Due to the influence of these tales,

3210-657: The Compleat Angler Hotel , was destroyed by fire. The bar is remembered for the photographs and memorabilia of Ernest Hemingway that lined its walls and were lost in the fire, which also took the life of owner Julian Brown. The final scene of the 1991 film The Silence of the Lambs was shot in Alice Town. The movie's producers thanked the Bahamas Film Production Bureau as well as the district of Bimini in

3317-709: The Granada War , but Arnade cautions, "Without proof the biographers of the conquistador state that he accompanied Pedro Núñez de Guzmán in the war against the Moors during the Granada campaign". In September 1493, some 1,200 sailors, colonists, and soldiers joined Christopher Columbus for his second voyage to the New World. Ponce de León, nineteen years old, was able to get passage in this expedition, with Núñez de Guzmán's help, as one of 200 "gentleman volunteers". The fleet reached

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3424-587: The Nasrid Kingdom of Granada , the last Muslim polity surviving in the Iberian peninsula. Puerto Rican historian Vicente Murga Sanz states that as the squire of Pedro Núñez de Guzmán, it is possible that Juan Ponce de León fought on the side of Rodrigo Ponce de León at the Battle of Granada. Fernandez de Oviedo writes that when Juan Ponce de León arrived in the Americas he was a military man who had gained his experience in

3531-499: The Spaniards treated the Taínos very harshly and death rates were very high. The demand for slaves kidnapped from other islands grew. By June 1511, the Taínos, pushed to the limits of their endurance, began a short-lived rebellion, which was forcibly put down by Ponce de León and a small force of troops armed with crossbows and arquebuses (long guns). Even as Ponce de León was settling

3638-532: The elixir of life are common throughout Eurasia and elsewhere. An additional inspiration may have been taken from the account of the Pool of Bethesda where a paralytic man was healed in the Gospel of John . In the possibly interpolated John 5:2–4 , the pool is said to be periodically stirred by an angel, upon which the first person to step into the water would be healed of whatever afflicted them. According to legend,

3745-489: The 1514 voyage of Juan Diaz de Solis in a letter to the Pope in 1516, though he did not believe the stories and was dismayed that so many others did. In the 16th century the story of the Fountain of Youth became attached to the biography of the conquistador Juan Ponce de León . As attested by his royal charter, Ponce de León was charged with discovering the land of Beniny . Although the indigenous peoples were probably describing

3852-650: The 1860s; the tourist attraction in its present form was created by Luella Day McConnell in 1904. Having abandoned her practice as a physician in Chicago and gone to the Yukon during the Klondike gold rush of the 1890s, she purchased the Park property in 1904 from Henry H. Williams, a British horticulturalist, with cash and diamonds, for which she became known in St. Augustine as "Diamond Lil". Around

3959-453: The Bahamas, which had been depopulated by slaving ventures, some scholars believe that this "island" was actually Florida, as it was thought to be an island for several years after its formal discovery. Historian and marine archeologist Samuel Turner says that Ponce de León sighted the Florida coast on Easter Sunday of 1513, and that many historians have misinterpreted Herrera's text by claiming it

4066-602: The Caribbean in November 1493. They visited several islands before arriving at their primary destination in Hispaniola , and anchored on the coast of a large island the native people called Borikén (Boriquen in Spanish), "the land of the brave lord", which would eventually become known as Puerto Rico . This was Ponce de León's first glimpse of the place that would play a major role in his future. Historians are divided on what he did during

4173-412: The Florida coast for the legendary fountain. The city of St. Augustine, Florida , is home to the Fountain of Youth Archaeological Park, a tribute to the spot where Ponce de León was supposed to have landed according to promotional literature, although there is no historical or archaeological evidence to support the claim. There were several instances of the property being used as an attraction as early as

4280-578: The Fountain of Youth legend was popular in courtly Gothic art , appearing for example on the ivory Casket with Scenes of Romances (Walters 71264) and several ivory mirror-cases, and remained popular through the European Age of Exploration . European iconography is fairly consistent, as the Cranach painting and mirror-case Fons Juventutis ( The Fountain of Youth ) from 200 years earlier demonstrate: old people, often carried, enter at left, strip, and enter

4387-622: The House had acted unconstitutionally when it excluded Powell, a duly elected member. In 1972, Powell died of cancer in Miami. Following his funeral in New York, his ashes were taken to Bimini and scattered in the waters surrounding the islands. [1] There is rumor of the famed Chicano civil rights lawyer, Oscar Zeta Acosta , of Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas fame potentially meeting his end after returning from

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4494-510: The Ichthyophagi showed wonder at the number of the years, he led them to a fountain, wherein when they had washed, they found their flesh all glossy and sleek, as if they had bathed in oil- and a scent came from the spring like that of violets. The water was so weak, they said, that nothing would float in it, neither wood, nor any lighter substance, but all went to the bottom. If the account of this fountain be true, it would be their constant use of

4601-636: The Park as the location of the first Christian mission in the United States. Called the Mission Nombre de Dios , this mission was begun by Franciscan friars in 1587. Succeeding decades have seen the unearthing of items which positively identify the Park as the location of Pedro Menéndez de Avilés 's 1565 settlement of St. Augustine, the oldest continuously inhabited European settlement in North America. The park currently exhibits native and colonial artifacts to celebrate Ponce de León and Pedro Menéndez de Avilés,

4708-443: The Spanish province of Valladolid . Although early historians placed his birth in 1460, and this date has been used traditionally, more recent evidence shows he was likely born in 1474. The surname Ponce de León dates from the 13th century. The Ponce de León lineage began with Ponce Vélaz de Cabrera , descendant of count Bermudo Núñez , and Sancha Ponce de Cabrera , daughter of Ponce Giraldo de Cabrera . Before October 1235,

4815-408: The Spanish crown in 1504 had commissioned Vicente Yáñez Pinzón to explore the island and build a fort. Pinzón did not fulfill his commission and it expired in 1507, leaving the way clear for Ponce de León. His earlier exploration had confirmed the presence of gold and gave him a good understanding of the geography of the island. In 1508, Ferdinand II of Aragon gave permission to Ponce de León for

4922-546: The Spanish heard of Bimini from the Arawaks in Hispaniola , Cuba , and Puerto Rico . The Caribbean islanders described a mythical land of Beimeni or Beniny (whence Bimini ), a land of wealth and prosperity, which became conflated with the fountain legend. By the time of Ponce de Leon, the land was thought to be located northwest towards the Bahamas (called la Vieja during the Ponce expedition). The natives were probably referring to

5029-475: The Spanish in the New World. Fontaneda had spent seventeen years as an Indian captive after being shipwrecked in Florida as a boy. In his Memoir he tells of the curative waters of a lost river he calls " Jordan " and refers to de León looking for it. However, Fontaneda makes it clear he is skeptical about these stories he includes, and says he doubts de León was actually looking for the fabled stream when he came to Florida. Herrera makes that connection definite in

5136-552: The U.S. during Prohibition, although the phrase pre-dates the Prohibition Era, first recorded in the U.S. in 1908 – and the phrase is the subject of numerous fanciful folk etymologies . Chalk's International Airlines operated seaplane flights between Miami Harbor and the Bahamas from 1917, so the company was an island institution for generations. As goods on the island were expensive because of shipping costs, many locals used Chalk's flights to buy cheaper goods in Florida and take

5243-713: The advice of the sympathetic King Ferdinand and explore more of the Caribbean Sea . In 1513, Ponce de León led the first known European expedition to La Florida , which he named during his first voyage to the area. He landed somewhere along Florida's east coast, then charted the Atlantic coast down to the Florida Keys and north along the Gulf coast; historian John R. Swanton believed that he sailed perhaps as far as Apalachee Bay on Florida's western coast. Though in popular culture he

5350-414: The area and possibly two or three other encounters. The campaign came to an abrupt end in 1516 when Ferdinand died. The king had been a strong supporter and Ponce de León felt it was imperative he return to Spain and defend his privileges and titles. He did receive assurances of support from Cardinal Francisco Jiménez de Cisneros , the regent appointed to govern Castile, but it was nearly two years before he

5457-521: The area occupied by the Maya . This land also became confused with the Boinca or Boyuca mentioned by Juan de Solis , although Solis's navigational data placed it in the Gulf of Honduras . It was this Boinca that originally held a legendary fountain of youth, rather than Bimini itself. Sequene , an Arawak chief from Cuba , purportedly was unable to resist the lure of Bimini and its restorative fountain. He gathered

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5564-510: The authority of Colón. Ponce de León readily agreed to a new venture, and in February 1512 a royal contract was dispatched outlining his rights and authorities to search for "the Islands of Beniny". The contract stipulated that Ponce de León held exclusive rights to the discovery of Beniny and neighboring islands for the next three years. He would be governor for life of any lands he discovered, but he

5671-458: The city of San Rafael del Yuma ; he named it Salvaleón after his grandmother's estate in Castile. As provincial governor, Ponce de León heard stories from Island Caribs who had been captured when they raided Spanish colonies. They told him of gold on the neighboring island of San Juan, now Puerto Rico , which he had first seen as a member of Christopher Columbus's second voyage in 1493, describing

5778-574: The conservation of the ocean's ecosystems. Located on South Bimini Island, it has done much research regarding the lemon shark . For elections to the Parliament of the Bahamas , it is part of the West Grand Bahama and Bimini constituency. Ernest Hemingway lived on Bimini from 1935 to 1937, staying at the Compleat Angler Hotel . He worked on To Have and Have Not and wrote a few articles, but mostly he fished aboard his boat Pilar , trolling

5885-406: The death of King Ferdinand in 1516, after which Ponce de León again traveled to Spain to defend his grants and titles. He did not return to Puerto Rico for two years. In March 1521, Ponce de León finally returned to Southwest Florida with the first large-scale attempt to establish a Spanish colony in what is now the continental United States . However, the native Calusa people fiercely resisted

5992-579: The deep blue offshore waters for marlin, tuna and swordfish. Hemingway was attracted to Bimini by tales of the incredible fishing available in the Gulf Stream , the legendary “river” of warm water that rushes north past the Bahamas. An Atlantic blue marlin with a mass of 500 pounds (230 kg) caught off Bimini allegedly inspired Hemingway to write The Old Man and the Sea and Islands in The Stream . While not

6099-461: The end credits. Juan Ponce de León and his search for the Fountain of Youth included references to Bimini ("Beniny"). Arawak and/or Taíno spoke of a land called Beimini where the fountain could be found. Although the location was erroneously associated with the Bahamas, the natives referred to a location in the Gulf of Honduras . Although de León's expedition brought him to Florida, the fountain

6206-430: The exact site of their landfall is controversial. The vicinity of Charlotte Harbor is the most commonly identified spot, while some assert a landing further north at Tampa Bay or even Pensacola . Other historians have argued the distances were too great to cover in the available time and the more likely location was Cape Romano or Cape Sable . Here Ponce de León anchored for several days to take on water and repair

6313-499: The first official expedition to the island, which the Spanish then called San Juan Bautista. Ponce de León led a small exploratory party to Puerto Rico in 1508 that found placer deposits of gold in the western end of the island. This expedition, consisting of about 50 men in one ship, left Hispaniola on 12 July 1508 and eventually anchored in San Juan Bay , near today's city of San Juan. Ponce de León searched inland until he found

6420-527: The first conquistador to receive these honors. He also visited Casa de Contratación in Seville , which was the central bureaucracy and clearinghouse for all of Spain's activities in the New World. The Casa took detailed notes of his discoveries and added them to the Padrón Real , a master map which served as the basis for official navigation charts provided to Spanish captains and pilots. During his stay in Spain,

6527-523: The fleet reached and named Biscayne Bay . They took on water at an island they named Santa Marta (now Key Biscayne ) and explored the Tequesta Miami mound town at the mouth of the Miami River. The Tequesta people did not engage the Spanish, but instead evacuated into the coastal woodlands. On 15 May they left Biscayne Bay and sailed along the Florida Keys , looking for a passage to head north and explore

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6634-469: The founder of St. Augustine. Exhibits of Timucua and Spanish heritage are also on display. Juan Ponce de Le%C3%B3n Juan Ponce de León ( c.  1474 – July 1521 ) was a Spanish explorer and conquistador known for leading the first official European expedition to Puerto Rico in 1508 and Florida in 1513. He was born in Santervás de Campos , Valladolid , Spain, in 1474. Though little

6741-435: The goods to Bimini. A seaplane operated by Miami Airways ditched into the sea off the coast of Bimini on March 22, 1922. All five passengers subsequently drowned. A Grumman Turbo Mallard of Flight 101 was en route to Bimini when it crashed on December 19, 2005, killing all 18 passengers and two crew; at least 11 of the passengers were Bimini residents. On January 13, 2006, one of the more famous establishments in Bimini,

6848-464: The hotel was damaged by a hurricane and was subsequently demolished. Among Port Royale's notable residents was Adam Clayton Powell Jr. , who was excluded from the U.S. House of Representatives because of allegations that he misappropriated committee funds for personal use. He stayed in Bimini from January 1967 to April 1969 in self-imposed exile until the Supreme Court of the United States ruled that

6955-501: The incursion, and Ponce de Léon was seriously wounded in a skirmish. The colonization attempt was abandoned, and he died from his wounds soon after returning to Cuba in early July. He was interred in Puerto Rico; his tomb is located inside the Cathedral of San Juan Bautista in San Juan . Juan Ponce de León was born in the village of Santervás de Campos in the northern part of what is now

7062-411: The island of Bimini to Key Biscayne in 1974 during a failed attempt to smuggle drugs. According to the story told to Hunter S. Thompson, upon their boat nearly reaching the shoreline of the southern tip Key Biscayne, Acosta and his companions were ambushed when they suddenly found themselves surrounded by bright lights from boats that "appeared out of nowhere". Gunfire erupted and one of Acosta's companions

7169-533: The island of San Juan, significant changes were taking place in the politics and government of the Spanish West Indies . On 10 July 1509, Diego Colón , the son of Christopher Columbus , arrived in Hispaniola as acting Viceroy , replacing Nicolás de Ovando. For several years Diego Colón had been waging a legal battle over his rights to inherit the titles and privileges granted to his father. The Crown regretted

7276-447: The island, effectively overriding the authority of the governor. This situation prevailed until 2 March 1510, when Ferdinand issued orders reaffirming Ponce de León's position as governor. Ponce de León then had Ceron and Diaz arrested and sent back to Spain. The political struggle between Colón and Ponce de León continued in this manner for the next few years. Ponce de León had influential supporters in Spain and Ferdinand regarded him as

7383-524: The island. Puerto Rican scholar Aurelio Tió wrote two books which contain much archival material concerning Ponce de León, including documentation he discovered in Spain and in Puerto Rico. He writes in detail of the Probanza de Juan González , according to which a temporary base was established on the west coast of Puerto Rico near the Bay of Añasco in 1506. This earlier trip was said to have been done quietly because

7490-568: The land of the Maya in Yucatán , the name—and legends about Boinca's fountain of youth—became associated with the Bahamas instead. However, Ponce de León did not mention the fountain in any of his writings throughout the course of his expedition. The connection was made in Gonzalo Fernández de Oviedo y Valdés 's Historia general y natural de las Indias of 1535, in which he wrote that Ponce de León

7597-563: The native Taínos , and consequently authorized the Jaragua massacre in November 1503. In 1504, when Taínos overran a small Spanish garrison in Higüey on the island's eastern side, Ovando assigned Ponce de León to crush the rebellion. Ponce de León was actively involved in the Higüey massacre, about which friar Bartolomé de las Casas attempted to notify Spanish authorities. Ovando rewarded his victorious commander by appointing him frontier governor of

7704-514: The neighboring island of Puerto Rico in 1508 and to take office as the first Governor of Puerto Rico by appointment of the Spanish crown in 1509. While Ponce de León grew quite wealthy from his plantations and mines, he faced an ongoing legal conflict with Diego Colón , the late Christopher Columbus's son, over the right to govern Puerto Rico. After a long court battle, Columbus replaced Ponce de León as governor in 1511. Ponce de León decided to follow

7811-435: The newly conquered province, then named Higüey also. Ponce de León received a substantial land grant with an encomienda of sufficient Indian labor to farm his new estate. Ponce de León prospered in this new role. He found a ready market for his farm produce and livestock at nearby Boca de Yuma where Spanish ships stocked supplies before the long voyage back to Spain. In 1505 Ovando authorized Ponce de León to establish

7918-462: The next several years, but it is possible that he returned to Spain at some point and made his way back to Hispaniola with Nicolás de Ovando . In 1502 the newly appointed governor, Nicolás de Ovando , arrived in Hispaniola , with the Spanish Crown expecting him to bring order to a colony in disarray, a task in which he succeeded. Ovando interpreted his instructions as authorizing subjugation of

8025-528: The parents of Juan Ponce de León. Thus Ponce appears to have been a member of a distinguished and influential noble family. His relatives included Rodrigo Ponce de León, Duke of Cádiz , a celebrated figure in the Moorish wars (sometimes known as a "new Cid "), and Juan Ponce de León's first cousin. Aurelio Tió, in his Nuevas fuentes para la historia de Puerto Rico , made a vigorous case for Juan Ponce's aristocratic heritage, determining that Juan Ponce's father

8132-405: The pool. Because this well was carved out of the limestone rock by ground water thousands of years ago, it is especially high in calcium and magnesium. Bimini is home to several unique, endemic and threatened species. The Bimini Boa ( Epicrates striatus fosteri ), protected by Bahamian law, is the largest of the terrestrial reptiles on Bimini. The Bimini Ameiva ( Ameiva auberi richmondi )

8239-458: The powerful currents pushing them eastward, they struck the northeast shore of Cuba and were initially confused about their location. Once they regained their bearings, the fleet retraced their route east along the Florida Keys and around the Florida peninsula, reaching Grand Bahama on 8 July. They were surprised to come across another Spanish ship, piloted by Diego Miruelo , who was either on

8346-432: The remainder of the day before anchoring for the night and rowing ashore the next morning. After remaining in the area of their first landing for about five days, the ships turned south for further exploration of the coast. On 8 April they encountered a current so strong that it pushed them backwards and forced them to seek anchorage. The smallest ship, the San Cristobal , was carried out of sight and lost for two days. This

8453-524: The romanticized version of Fontaneda's story included in his Historia general de los hechos de los Castellanos en las islas y tierra firme del Mar Oceano . Herrera states that local caciques paid regular visits to the fountain. A frail old man could become so completely restored that he could resume "all manly exercises … take a new wife and beget more children." Herrera adds that the Spaniards had unsuccessfully searched every "river, brook, lagoon or pool" along

8560-553: The sharks of the deep waters off Bimini's western shores. Along with the species featured below, the BBFS has witnessed and recorded captures of shortfin mako ( Isurus oxyrinchus ), bigeye thresher ( Alopias superciliosus ), spiny dogfish ( Squalus acanthias ), and sixgill ( Hexanchus sp.) sharks . The Shark Lab is a world-famous facility owned and operated by shark biologist Dr. Samuel Gruber . The Shark Lab offers internships in marine biology to people interested in shark research and

8667-443: The ships. They were approached by Calusa , who initially indicated an interest in trading, but relations soon turned hostile. Several skirmishes followed with casualties on both sides. The Spaniards captured eight Calusa (four men and four women) and seized five war canoes abandoned by the retreating warriors. On 5 June, a final confrontation occurred when some 80 Calusa warriors attacked a party of eleven Spanish sailors. The result

8774-492: The smuggling attempt. This came to represent one of a number of possible Acosta sightings that Thompson had been told of, which he would term "buffalo sightings", from all around the world following Acosta's official disappearance in 1974 under suspicious circumstances. In May 1987, Colorado Senator Gary Hart 's presidential bid was derailed after media reports exposed a relationship with model Donna Rice . A well known photo of Rice sitting on Hart's lap on one of Bimini's docks

8881-495: The sweeping powers that had been granted to Columbus and his heirs and sought to establish more direct control in the New World. In spite of the Crown's opposition, Colón prevailed in court and Ferdinand was required to appoint him Viceroy. Although the courts had ordered that Ponce de León should remain in office, Colón circumvented this directive on 28 October 1509 by appointing Juan Ceron chief justice and Miguel Diaz chief constable of

8988-665: The water from it which makes them so long-lived. A story of the "Water of Life" appears in the Eastern versions of the Alexander romance , which describes Alexander the Great and his servant crossing the Land of Darkness to find the restorative spring. The servant in that story is in turn derived from Middle Eastern legends of Al-Khidr , a sage who appears also in the Qur'an . Arabic and Aljamiado versions of

9095-532: The way of life of the Taíno native people. Back on his island, Ponce de León parceled out the native Taínos among himself and other settlers using the system of forced labor known as encomienda . The Indians were put to work growing food crops and mining for gold. Ponce put those assigned to his personal encomienda , Hacienda Grande , to work searching for gold in the Toa Valley just east of San Juan. Many of

9202-632: The west coast of the Florida peninsula. From a distance the Keys reminded Ponce de León of men who were suffering, so he named them Los Martires (the Martyrs). Eventually they found a gap in the reefs and sailed "to the north and other times to the northeast" until they reached the Florida mainland on 23 May, where they encountered the Calusa , who refused to trade and drove off the Spanish ships by surrounding them with warriors in sea canoes armed with long bows. Again,

9309-529: The wreck were stripped over the years and some of the wood was used in the construction of the Compleat Angler Hotel and bar on North Bimini. The first inhabitants on the island were the Lucayans , and the name Bimini means "two islands" or "the twins" in the Lucayan language. Bimini is home to several landmarks said to contain mystical properties of obscure origins. Much of the historical data about these places

9416-436: The year 1909 she began advertising the attraction, charging admission, and selling post cards and water from a well dug in 1875 for Williams by Philip Gomez and Philip Capo. McConnell later claimed to have "discovered" on the grounds a large cross made of coquina rock, asserting it was placed there by Ponce de León himself. She continued to fabricate stories to amuse and appall the city's residents and tourists until her death in

9523-467: Was Pedro Ponce de León, the Fourth Lord of Villagarcía, and his mother was Leonor de Figueroa, the daughter of Lorenzo Suárez de Figueroa, Lord of Salvaleón, and María Manuel; consequently Juan Ponce's paternal grandmother, Teresa de Guzmán (Teresa Ponce de León y Guzmán), was La Señora de la Casa Toral, making Juan Ponce a Ponce de León on both sides of his family. Through this grandmother, Ponce de León

9630-560: Was a standoff with neither party willing to come within striking distance of their opponents' weapons. On 14 June they set sail again looking for a chain of islands in the west that had been described by their captives. They reached the Dry Tortugas on 21 June. There they captured giant sea turtles, Caribbean monk seals , and thousands of seabirds. From these islands they sailed southwest in an apparent attempt to circle around Cuba and return home to Puerto Rico. Failing to take into account

9737-468: Was able to return home to Puerto Rico. Meanwhile, there had been at least two unauthorized voyages to "his" Florida both ending in repulsion by the native Calusa or Tequesta warriors. Ponce de León realized he had to act soon if he was to maintain his claim. Bimini Bimini / ˈ b ɪ m ɪ n iː / is the westernmost district of the Bahamas and comprises a chain of islands located about 80 kilometres (50 mi) due east of Miami . Bimini

9844-514: Was also ordered to organize an armada for the purpose of attacking and subduing the Caribs, who continued to attack Spanish settlements in the Caribbean. Three ships were purchased for his armada and after repairs and provisioning Ponce de León left Spain on 14 May 1515 with his little fleet. The record of his activities against the Caribs is vague. There was one engagement in Guadeloupe on his return to

9951-516: Was another island. He named it La Florida in recognition of the verdant landscape and because it was the Easter season, which the Spaniards called Pascua Florida (Festival of Flowers). The following day they came ashore to seek information and take possession of this new land. The precise location of their landing on the Florida coast has been disputed for many years. Some historians believe it occurred at or near St. Augustine , but others prefer

10058-418: Was deemed a great success and Ovando appointed Ponce de León governor of San Juan Bautista. This appointment was later confirmed by Ferdinand II on 14 August 1509. He was instructed to extend the settlement of the island and continue mining for gold. The new governor returned to the island as instructed, bringing with him his wife and children. The rush of Spaniards from Hispaniola wanting to mine gold disrupted

10165-518: Was expected to finance all costs of exploration and settlement himself. In addition, the contract gave specific instructions for the distribution of gold, Native Americans, and other profits extracted from the new lands; the contract made no mention of a rejuvenating fountain. Ponce de León equipped three ships with at least 200 men at his own expense and set out from Puerto Rico on 4 March 1513. The only near contemporary description known for this expedition comes from Antonio de Herrera y Tordesillas ,

10272-445: Was immediately killed by being shot in the head. Acosta, acting quickly, floored the boat's throttle and plowed into and over one of the ambusher's boats and, upon making it to shore, he grabbed a small suitcase likely containing drugs and ran off inland into the island. It is worth noting that the veracity of this story was deemed questionable by Thompson, as he had heard it secondhand from the individual whose boat Acosta had borrowed for

10379-589: Was looking for the waters of Bimini . A similar account appears in Francisco López de Gómara 's Historia general de las Indias of 1551. Then in 1575, Hernando de Escalante Fontaneda , a shipwreck survivor who had lived with the Native Americans of Florida for 17 years, published his memoir in which he locates the waters called the River Jordan (flowing out of Eden) in Florida, and says that Ponce de León

10486-570: Was looking for the waters of Bimini to regain youthfulness. Some researchers have suggested that Oviedo's account may have been politically inspired to generate favor in the courts. A similar account appears in Francisco López de Gómara 's Historia general de las Indias of 1551. In the Memoir of Hernando d'Escalante Fontaneda in 1575, the author places the restorative waters in Florida and mentions de León looking for them there; his account influenced Antonio de Herrera y Tordesillas ' unreliable history of

10593-533: Was one of the Bahama Islands Ponce saw on that date. Turner writes that because Beimini is described as an island, they assume that Herrera refers to one of the Bahama Islands, variously proposing that this "island" was Eleuthera , Man-O-War Cay , Great Abaco , or Grand Bahama . For the next several days the fleet crossed open water until 2 April , when they sighted land which Ponce de León believed

10700-620: Was published by the National Enquirer after Hart suspended his presidential campaign. Jody Weech, Miss Commonwealth Bahamas 1992, was from Bimini. She made the Top 10 in the Miss World contest in Sun City, South Africa. She received the title Miss World Caribbean. In May 2008 marine conservationist Jean-Michel Cousteau criticized Bimini Bay Resort, now Resorts World Bimini by Hilton, calling it

10807-638: Was related to another notable family, the Núñez de Guzmáns; a contemporary chronicler, Gonzalo Fernández de Oviedo y Valdés , says that as a young man he served as a page and then as a squire to Pedro Núñez de Guzmán, Knight Commander of the Order of Calatrava . Devereux says Ponce de León probably joined the Spanish campaigns against the Muslims in the Granada War in which the Catholic Monarchs finally conquered in 1492

10914-563: Was rumored to exist within the shallow pools of South Bimini. Today there is a small freshwater well with a plaque commemorating the Fountain of Youth, on the road leading to the South Bimini Airport . Found within the brackish mangrove swamp that covers 6 kilometres ( 3 + 1 ⁄ 2  mi) of the shoreline of North Bimini is The Healing Hole , a pool that lies at the end of a network of winding tunnels. During outgoing tides, these channels pump cool, mineral-laden fresh water into

11021-528: Was supposed to have looked for them there. Though Fontaneda doubted that Ponce de León had really gone to Florida looking for the waters, the account was included in the Historia general de los hechos de los castellanos of Antonio de Herrera y Tordesillas of 1615. Most historians hold that the search for gold and the expansion of the Spanish Empire were far more imperative than any potential search for such

11128-428: Was supposedly searching for the Fountain of Youth , there is no contemporary evidence to support the story, which most modern historians consider a myth. Ponce de León returned to Spain in 1514 and was knighted by King Ferdinand, who also reinstated him as the governor of Puerto Rico and authorized him to settle Florida. He returned to the Caribbean in 1515, but plans to organize an expedition to Florida were delayed by

11235-470: Was the first known encounter by Europeans with the Gulf Stream , occurring where it reaches maximum force between the Florida coast and the Bahamas. Because of the powerful boost provided by the current, it would soon become the primary route for eastbound ships leaving the Spanish West Indies bound for Europe. They continued down the coast hugging the shore to avoid the strong head current. By 4 May

11342-494: Was their chief pilot. He was already an experienced sailor, and would become one of the most respected pilots in the region. After leaving Puerto Rico, they sailed northwest along the great chain of Bahama Islands, known then as the Lucayos. Herrera wrote that on 27 March 1513, Easter Sunday, they sighted land he described as an island that was unfamiliar to the sailors on the expedition. Because many Spanish seamen were acquainted with

11449-523: Was working to further undermine his position on the island and perhaps even to take his claims for the newly discovered Florida. Ponce de León decided he should return to Spain and personally report the results of his recent expedition. He left Puerto Rico in April 1514 and was warmly received by Ferdinand when he arrived at court in Valladolid . There he was knighted, and given a personal coat of arms , becoming

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