Legends of a “fountain of youth” led Ponce de Léon to explore Florida; rumors of gold led Cortés to conquer the Aztecs and inspired later explorers to press north.
Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de León is credited with the first recorded landing and the first detailed exploration of the Florida coast.
He heard of a mythical fountain of youth. Indians spoke of a legendary, magical spring whose water was believed to make older people young again. Ponce de León explored many areas, including the Bahamas and Bimini, for both gold and the mythical fountain, but he never found either.
In late March of 1513, his ships landed on Florida's east coast near present-day St. Augustine. Ponce de Leon named the peninsula he believed to be an island “La Florida” because his discovery came during the time of the Easter feast, or Pascua Florida.
Columbus’s discovery opened a floodgate of Spanish exploration. Inspired by tales of rivers of gold and timid, malleable native peoples, later Spanish explorers were relentless in their quest for land and gold.
Hernán Cortés arrived on Hispaniola in 1504 and participated in the conquest of the Island. Cortés then led the exploration of the Yucatán Peninsula in hopes of attaining glory.
In 1519, Cortés entered Tenochtitlán, the capital of the Aztec/Mexica Empire. He and his men were astonished by the sophisticated gardens and temples in the city, but they were horrified by the practice of human sacrifice. Above all, the Aztec wealth in gold fascinated the Spanish explorers.
For further reading, refer to links below:
sennhs.org
fcit.usf.edu
www.history.com
www.khanacademy.org