Amerigo Vespucci
Statue at the Uffizi, Florence. The Uffizi Gallery (Galleria degli Uffizi one of the oldest and most famous Art Museums in the world is housed in the Palazzo degli Uffizi, a
Born	March 9, 1454(1454-03-09) Florence, Italy
Died	February 22, 1512 (aged 57) Seville, Spain
Nationality	Italian
Other names	Américo Vespucio [es] Americus Vespucius [la]
Occupation	Merchant, Explorer, Cartographer
Known for	Demonstrating that the New World was not Asia but a previously-unknown fourth continent. Events 590 - Bahram Chobin is crowned as king Barham VI of Persia. Florence ( Italian: Firenze Florentia and Fiorenza) is the Capital City of the Italian region of Tuscany Italy (Italia officially the Italian Republic, (Repubblica Italiana is located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe, and on the two largest Events 1495 - King Charles VIII of France enters Naples to claim the city's throne Seville ( Spanish: Sevilla, see also different names) is the artistic cultural and financial capital of southern Spain. Spain () or the Kingdom of Spain (Reino de España is a country located mostly in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Latin ( lingua Latīna, laˈtiːna is an Italic language, historically spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. Merchants function as professionals who deal with Trade, dealing in commodities that they do not produce themselves in order to produce Profit. The New World is one of the names used for the non-Eurasian/non-African parts of the Earth specifically the Americas and Australia. A continent is one of several large Landmasses on Earth. They are generally identified by Convention rather than any strict criteria with seven regions [a]
Signature

The explorer and cartographer Amerigo Vespucci (March 9, 1454 - February 22, 1512) was the first person to demonstrate that the New World discovered by Christopher Columbus in 1492 was not the eastern appendage of Asia, but rather a previously-unknown "fourth" continent. Events 590 - Bahram Chobin is crowned as king Barham VI of Persia. Events 1495 - King Charles VIII of France enters Naples to claim the city's throne The New World is one of the names used for the non-Eurasian/non-African parts of the Earth specifically the Americas and Australia. Christopher Columbus (1451 &ndash May 20 1506 was an Italian Navigator, colonizer A continent is one of several large Landmasses on Earth. They are generally identified by Convention rather than any strict criteria with seven regions ^[a] The continents of North and South America (and, by extension, the United States) derive their name from the feminized Latin version of his first name. South America is a Continent of the Americas, situated entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a The United States of America —commonly referred to as the Latin ( lingua Latīna, laˈtiːna is an Italic language, historically spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. ^[1]

He played a senior role in two voyages which explored the east coast of South America between 1499 and 1502. South America is a Continent of the Americas, situated entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a On the first of these voyages he discovered that South America extended much further south than believed by other European explorers crossing the Atlantic, who thought they were reaching Asia (the Indies). The Indies or East Indies (or East India) is a term often used to refer to the islands of SE Asia, especially the Malay Archipelago Vespucci's voyages became widely known in Europe after two accounts attributed to him were published between 1502 and 1504. In 1507, Martin Waldseemüller produced a world map on which he named the new continent America after Vespucci's first name, Amerigo. The Americas are the lands of the Western hemisphere or New World, consisting of the Continents of North America and South America In an accompanying book, Waldseemüller published one of the Vespucci accounts, which led to criticism that Vespucci was trying to usurp Christopher Columbus' glory. Christopher Columbus (1451 &ndash May 20 1506 was an Italian Navigator, colonizer However, the rediscovery in the 18th century of other letters by Vespucci, primarily the Soderini Letter, has led to the view that the early published accounts were fabrications, not by Vespucci, but by others.

Biography

Amerigo Vespucci was born in 1454 in Florence, Italy. Amerigo Vespucci worked for Lorenzo de' Medici and his brother, Giovanni. In 1492 they sent him to work at their agency in Seville, Spain. Seville ( Spanish: Sevilla, see also different names) is the artistic cultural and financial capital of southern Spain. Spain () or the Kingdom of Spain (Reino de España is a country located mostly in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula.

Illustration of the birthplace of Amerigo Vespucci.

In 1508, after only two voyages to the Americas, the position of chief of navigation of Spain (piloto mayor de Indias) was created for Vespucci, with the responsibility of planning navigation for ocean voyages. He died of malaria on February 22, 1512 in Seville, Spain. Malaria is a vector -borne Infectious disease caused by Protozoan Parasites It is widespread in tropical and subtropical regions including

Two letters attributed to Vespucci were published during his lifetime. Mundus Novus (New World) was a Latin translation of a lost Italian letter sent from Lisbon to Lorenzo di Pierfrancesco de' Medici. Lisbon (Lisboa liʒˈboɐ is the Capital and largest city of Portugal. It describes a voyage to South America in 1501-1502. Mundus Novus was published in late 1502 or early 1503 and soon reprinted and distributed in numerous European countries. ^[2] Lettera di Amerigo Vespucci delle isole nuovamente trovate in quattro suoi viaggi (Letter of Amerigo Vespucci concerning the isles newly discovered on his four voyages), known as Lettera al Soderini or just Lettera, was a letter in Italian addressed to Piero Soderini. Piero di Tommaso Soderini, also known as Pier Soderini, ( May 18, 1450 - June 13, 1522) was an Italian Statesman Printed in 1504 or 1505, it claimed to be an account of four voyages to the Americas made by Vespucci between 1497 and 1504. A Latin translation was published by the German Martin Waldseemüller in 1507 in Cosmographiae Introductio, a book on cosmography and geography, as Quattuor Americi Vespuccij navigationes (Four Voyages of Amerigo Vespucci). Martin Waldseemüller (Latinized Martinus Ilacomilus or Hylacomylus, c Cosmographiae Introductio ( Saint-Dié, 1507) was a book published in 1507 to accompany Martin Waldseemüller 's map of the world and Cosmography is the science that Maps the general features of the Universe; describes both Heaven and Earth (but without encroaching on Geography (from Greek γεωγραφία - geografia) is the study of the Earth and its lands features inhabitants and phenomena ^[2] In 1508, King Ferdinand made Vespucci Pilot Major of Spain at a huge salary and commissioned him to start a school for navigators out of his home to standardize and modernize navigation techniques used by Spanish sea captains exploring the world. Future luminaries such as Magellan learned at his knee, and Vespucci even developed a rudimentary method of determining a fairly accurate determinant for finding longitude (which only more accurate chronometers could later improve upon).

In the 18th century three unpublished familiar letters from Vespucci to Lorenzo de' Medici were rediscovered. One describes a voyage made in 1499-1500 which corresponds with the second of the "four voyages". Another was written from Cape Verde in 1501 in the early part of the third of the four voyages, before crossing the Atlantic. Cap-Vert is a Peninsula in Senegal, and the westernmost part of the continent of Africa. The third letter was sent from Lisbon after the completion of that voyage. `^[2]

Some have suggested that Vespucci, in the two letters published in his lifetime, was exaggerating his role and constructed deliberate fabrications. However, many scholars now believe that the two letters were not written by him but were fabrications by others based in part on genuine letters by Vespucci. It was the publication and widespread circulation of the letters that led Martin Waldseemüller to name the new continent America on his world map of 1507 in Lorraine. Martin Waldseemüller (Latinized Martinus Ilacomilus or Hylacomylus, c The Americas are the lands of the Western hemisphere or New World, consisting of the Continents of North America and South America Lorraine (Lorraine Lothringen is a historical area in present-day northeast France. Vespucci used a Latinised form of his name, Americus Vespucius, in his Latin writings, which Waldseemüller used as a base for the new name, taking the feminine form America. Latin ( lingua Latīna, laˈtiːna is an Italic language, historically spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. (See also Naming of America. The Americas are the lands of the Western hemisphere or New World, consisting of the Continents of North America and South America ) Amerigo itself is an Italian form of the medieval Latin Emericus (see also Saint Emeric of Hungary), which through the German form Heinrich (in English, Henry) derived from the Germanic name Haimirich. Italian ( or lingua italiana) is a Romance language spoken by about 63 million people as a First language, primarily in Italy. Note There was also a king of Hungary named Imre (Emeric who ruled from 1196 to 1204 The German language (de ''Deutsch'') is a West Germanic language and one of the world's major languages. Heinrich is a male Given name or Surname of Germanic origin Equivalents in other languages are Henry (English Hendrik (Dutch Enrico English is a West Germanic language originating in England and is the First language for most people in the United Kingdom, the United States The Germanic languages are a group of related languages that constitute a branch of the Indo-European (IE Language family. Haimirich is an old Middle High German Given name from which many modern names derive

The two disputed letters claim that Vespucci made four voyages to America, while at most two can be verified from other sources. At the moment there is a dispute between historians on when Vespucci visited mainland the first time. Some great historians like German Arciniegas and Gabriel Camargo Perez think that his first voyage was done in June 1497 with the Spanish Juan de la Cosa. Little is known of his last voyage in 1503–1504 or even whether it actually took place. Vespucci's real historical importance may well be more in his letters, whether he wrote them all or not, than in his discoveries. From these letters, the European public learned about the newly discovered continent of the Americas for the first time; its existence became generally known throughout Europe within a few years of the letters' publication.

Voyages

Portrait of Americo Vespucci, part of the Madonna della Misericordia by Domenico Ghirlandaio at the Oggnissanti church in Florence

According to historians such as Martín Fernández de Navarrete, Germán Arciniegas and Gabriel Camargo Pérez, the first voyage of Amerigo Vespucci took place in 1497, probably in a trip organized by King Ferdinand, who wanted to clarify if the mainland of the landmass was far away from the island of Hispaniola, which had been discovered by Columbus. Domenico Ghirlandaio (1449 &ndash January 11, 1494) was a renowned Florentine Renaissance painter a contemporary of Botticelli Martín Fernández de Navarrete ( November 9, 1765 - October 8, 1844) was a Spanish Sailor and Historian who Germán Arciniegas ( December 6, 1900 in Bogotá – November 29 1999 was a Colombian Essayist and Historian. Hispaniola (from Spanish, La Española) is the second-largest and most populous Island of the Antilles, lying between the islands of

The captain of this company, which set sail in May 1497 was Vicente Yañez Pinzón, captain of the Niña on Columbus's first voyage, and may have included Juan Diaz de Solis. Accompanying Vespucci was pilot and cartographer Juan de la Cosa (the then-famous captain who had sailed with Columbus in 1492). Juan de la Cosa (c 1460 &ndash February 28, 1510) was a Spanish cartographer, Conquistador and explorer. Christopher Columbus (1451 &ndash May 20 1506 was an Italian Navigator, colonizer According to the first letter of Vespucci, they reached land at 16 degrees latitude, probably on the coast of La Guajira peninsula in present-day Colombia or the coast of Nicaragua. The Department of La Guajira or simply La Guajira (la ɰwa'hiɾa is a department of Colombia. Colombia (kəˈlʌmbɪə officially the Republic of Colombia () is a country in northwestern South America. They then followed the coastal land mass of central America before returning to the Atlantic Ocean via the Straits of Florida between Florida and Cuba. The Straits of Florida, Florida Straits, or Florida Strait is a Strait located south-southeast of the North American Mainland, generally accepted Florida ( is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States, bordering Alabama to the northwest and Georgia to the The Republic of Cuba (ˈkjuːbə or) consists of the island of Cuba (the largest and second-most populous island of the Greater Antilles) Isla de la

In his letters, Vespucci described this trip, and once Juan de la Cosa returned to Spain, a famous world map, depicting Cuba as an island, was produced. About 1499–1500, Vespucci joined an expedition in the service of Spain, with Alonso de Ojeda (or Hojeda) as the fleet commander. Alonso de Ojeda (c 1465 &ndash 1515 was a Spanish explorer born of noble parentage in Cuenca. The intention was to sail around the southern end of the African mainland into the Indian Ocean. The Indian Ocean is the third largest of the world's Oceanic divisions covering about 20% of the water on the Earth 's surface ^[3] After hitting land at the coast of what is now Guyana, the two seem to have separated. Guyana (ɡaɪˈænə or /ɡiːˈɑːnə/ officially the Co-operative Republic of Guyana and previously known as British Guiana, is the only Nation state Vespucci sailed southward, discovering the mouth of the Amazon River and reaching 6°S, before turning around and seeing Trinidad and the Orinoco River and returning to Spain by way of Hispaniola. The Amazon River (Rio Amazonas Río Amazonas of South America is the largest river in the world by volume with a total river flow greater than the next top ten largest rivers Trinidad ( Spanish: " Trinity " is the largest and most populous of the two major islands and ORiNOCO is the brand name that was used for a family of wireless networking solutions by Proxim (previously Lucent) Hispaniola (from Spanish, La Española) is the second-largest and most populous Island of the Antilles, lying between the islands of The letter, to Lorenzo di Pierfrancesco de' Medici, claims that Vespucci determined his longitude celestially ^[4] on August 23, 1499, while on this voyage. Events 79 - Mount Vesuvius begins stirring on the feast day of Vulcan the Roman god of fire However, that claim may be fraudulent,^[4] which could cast doubt on the letter's credibility.

The last certain voyage of Vespucci was led by Gonçalo Coelho in 1501–1502 in the service of Portugal. Gonçalo Coelho (15th century/16th century Portuguese explorer of the South Atlantic and of the South American coast (expedition to Brazil Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic (República Portuguesa is a country on the Iberian Peninsula. Departing from Lisbon, the fleet sailed first to Cape Verde where they met two of Pedro Álvares Cabral's ships returning from India. Lisbon (Lisboa liʒˈboɐ is the Capital and largest city of Portugal. Cap-Vert is a Peninsula in Senegal, and the westernmost part of the continent of Africa. Pedro Álvares Cabral (about 1467/1468/1469 &ndash about 1520 ˈpeðɾʊ ˈaɫvɐɾɨʃ kɐˈβɾaɫ in Portuguese, ˈawvaɾiʃ caˈbɾaw in Brazilian) was India, officially the Republic of India (भारत गणराज्य inc-Latn Bhārat Gaṇarājya; see also other Indian languages) is a country In a letter from Cape Verde, Vespucci says that he hopes to visit the same lands that Álvares Cabral had explored, suggesting that the intention is to sail west to Asia, as on the 1499-1500 voyage. ^[3] On reaching the coast of Brazil, they sailed south along the coast of South America to Rio de Janeiro's bay. |utc_offset = -2 to -4 |time_zone_DST = BRST |utc_offset_DST = -2 to -5 |cctld South America is a Continent of the Americas, situated entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a Rio de Janeiro ("River of January" ˈhiw dʒi ʒʌˈnejɾu in Brazilian Portuguese, /ˈriːoʊ di ʒəˈnɛroʊ/ in English is the second largest city of Brazil If his own account is to be believed, he reached the latitude of Patagonia before turning back, although this also seems doubtful, since his account does not mention the broad estuary of the Río de la Plata, which he must have seen if he had gotten that far south. Llao LLaojpg|thumb|250px| Lake Nahuel Huapi, near Bariloche, Argentina The Río de la Plata ( Spanish: " Silver River" &mdash which is often referred to in English-speaking countries as the River Plate Portuguese maps of South America, created after the voyage of Coelho and Vespucci, do not show any land south of present-day Cananéia at 25° S, so this may represent the southernmost extent of their voyages. Cananéia is a beach region at the South of the state of São Paulo, Brazil, near to where the Tordesilhas Line passed

After the first half of the expedition, Vespucci mapped Alpha and Beta Centauri, as well as the constellation Crux, the Southern Cross. Alpha Centauri (α Centauri / α Cen also known as Rigil Kentaurus, Rigil Kent, or Toliman, is the brightest Star in the southern Constellation Beta Centauri (β Cen / β Centauri also known as Hadar or Agena, is the second brightest star in the Constellation Centaurus and the In common usage a constellation is a group of celestial bodies that are connected together in some arrangement typically stars to form a visible figure or picture CRUX is a lightweight I686 -optimized Linux distribution targeted at experienced Linux users ^[4] Although these stars had been known to the ancient Greeks, gradual precession had lowered them below the European skyline so that they were forgotten. A star is a massive luminous ball of plasma. The nearest star to Earth is the Sun, which is the source of most of the Energy on Earth Greece (Ελλάδα transliterated: Elláda, historically, Ellás,) officially the Hellenic Republic (Ελληνική Δημοκρατία Precession refers to a change in the direction of the axis of a rotating object ^[5]

On his return to Lisbon, Vespucci wrote in a letter to de' Medici that the land masses they explored were much larger than anticipated and different from the Asia described by earlier Europeans and, therefore, must be a New World, that is, a previously unknown fourth continent, after Europe, Asia, and Africa.

See also

• Naming of America

Notes

^a Europeans had long conceptualized the Afro-Eurasian landmass as divided into the same three continents we know today: Europe, Asia, and Africa. The Americas are the lands of the Western hemisphere or New World, consisting of the Continents of North America and South America Afro-Eurasia or less commonly Afrasia or Eurafrasia Normally it is divided at the Suez Canal into Eurasia and Africa the former of which can be subdivided Once cosmographers was realized that the New World was not connected to the Old (but before its true geography was fully mapped), they considered the Americas to be a single, fourth continent. Cosmography is the science that Maps the general features of the Universe; describes both Heaven and Earth (but without encroaching on The New World is one of the names used for the non-Eurasian/non-African parts of the Earth specifically the Americas and Australia. The Old World consists of those parts of Earth known to Europeans Asians and Africans in the 15th century Geography (from Greek γεωγραφία - geografia) is the study of the Earth and its lands features inhabitants and phenomena A map is a visual representation of an area—a symbolic depiction highlighting relationships between elements of that space such as objects, Regions, and Themes The Americas are the lands of the Western hemisphere or New World, consisting of the Continents of North America and South America A continent is one of several large Landmasses on Earth. They are generally identified by Convention rather than any strict criteria with seven regions

References

• Amerigo: the Man Who Gave His Name to America by Fernández-Armesto, Felipe; Weidenfeld & Nicolson [2006] (hardcover, ISBN 0-297-84802-X).
• Amerigo and the New World by Arciniegas, German; Alfred A. Knopf [1955]
• Heroes of American History: Amerigo Vespucci by Ober, Frederick A. ; Harper & Brothers [1907]
• Amerigo Vespucci: Pilot Major by Pohl, Frederick J. ; Columbia University Press [1944]
• Norbert Schulz: Amerigo Vespucci, Mundus Novus (mit Zweittexten). M. M. O. VERLAG ZUR FÖRDERUNG DES MITTEL- UND NEULATEINISCHEN, Butjadingen 2007. (Neulateinische Texte für den altsprachlichen Unterricht (Vivarium (Series neolatina, Band II))) ISBN 978-3-9811144-2-3

External links

• Canaday, James A. The Life of Amerigo Vespucci.
• Account of 'The First Voyage', 1497: Letter of Amerigo Vespucci To Pier Soderini - Fordham University (U.S.) Internet Modern History Sourcebook
• A scale model - A scaled wooden model of the Amerigo Vespucci.
• Amerigo Vespucci by Frederick A. Ober, available at Project Gutenberg. Project Gutenberg, abbreviated as PG, is a volunteer effort to Digitize, archive and distribute Cultural works
• 'I am America.' - New York Times: Five hundred years ago, our continent was given a name. We still don’t know what it means.