Who Was Ponce de León?By: Pam Pollack, Meg Belviso, Who HQ Illustrator: Dede Putra Series: Who Was? Learn the story of Spanish conquistador Juan Ponce de Len and how he shaped the history of both Florida and Puerto Rico during the Age of Exploration in this new book from the #1 New York Times bestselling series. In the early 1500s, Ponce de Leon was one of the most important Spanish military figures in the Caribbean. He made his first voyage across the Atlantic with