Melbourne Beach, Fla. — Statues across the U.S. and the world have become targets of vandals and Ponce de Leon, the man who gave Florida it’s name, is on the list.
Ten day ago a statue of the man known to have searched for the Fountain of Youth was targeted in Miami, four days ago one was defaced in St. Augustine and Sunday night, the statue at Ponce de Leon landing in Brevard County was marred with red paint and the words AIS Murder.
One BLM supporter on twitter noted that Ponce de Leon “did terrible things “ to Native Americans.
@JessOnACNH also notes that “he died from wounds inflicted by natives.”
We learned about Juan Ponce de León who named Florida and he has a sick statue in St. Augustine. However, I believe he also did terrible things and for sure died from wounds inflicted by natives in FL
— Jess🤘🏻BLM (@JessOnACNH) June 13, 2020
In fact, historians believe Ponce de Leon died from a poison arrow during an attack by indigenous people.
The statue in Brevard County is located at Ponce de Leon landing which commemorates the epic 1513 voyage of Ponce de Leon and his first steps on the shore of Florida on April 2 near the site of the park.
Ponce de León named the land (which he claimed for Spain) La Florida.
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