When Ponce de Leon was not off exploring, he spent most of his time on the island of Puerto Rico. Despite having conquered it himself with ease however, his life there was far from straightforward. His governorship was challenged by both the indigenous inhabitants who launched a protracted rebellion, and rival Spaniards who hoped to control the island themselves. ...
As the Spanish expanded outwards from their base in the Caribbean, there was one region right next door that they had so far failed to colonise. Florida and the rest of North America was less than 100 miles from Cuba, and now it was where they turned their attention. This episode will tell the story of the Ayllon expedition, and the first European settlement in the United States. ...
While the conquistadors were off exploring and conquering the Americas, back in Spain change was afoot. Ferdinand and Isabella both died within the first couple of decades of the 1500s, and this set off an ugly political struggle. The end result was that Spain would come under control of a new family of kings, and would become part of a much larger and more powerful political unit. ...
