He named this land "Florida," from the Spanish phrase Pasqua florida, "flowery Easter." Ponce de Leon had reached the mainland of the present-day United States instead of the island he was seeking. He explored the southern and western coasts of the Florida peninsula before returning to Puerto Rico. In 1514 he was named military governor of Bimini and Florida and given permission to colonize those regions.
He spent the next few years in Puerto Rico fighting the natives. In 1521, he returned to Florida with a party of colonists, but they were attacked and Ponce de Leon was wounded by an arrow. After the attack, the expedition sailed for Cuba, where Ponce de Leon died.
