Amerigo Vespucci was a 16th-century Italian merchant and explorer remembered not only for his voyages that altered the course of history but for bestowing the New World with the name “America.”
Early Life and
Education
Born March 9, 1454, in Florence, Italy, during the
height of the Renaissance, Vespucci came from a prominent family with ties to
the Medici dynasty. His father, a government notary, and
his uncle, respected humanist Dominican friar Giorgio Antonio Vespucci, played
influential roles in his education. Immersed in a world of trade and maritime
culture from a young age, Vespucci developed interests and aptitude in
astronomy, math, navigation and foreign languages.
Early in his career, Vespucci worked for the Medici
family as a banker and later supervised ship operations in Seville, Spain.
Accounts vary, but many believe that Vespucci met Christopher Columbus in
Seville in 1496, after Columbus’s historic 1492 voyage, and assisted Columbus
in preparing for future expeditions.
Vespucci's Voyages
Fueled by his own passion for discovery, Vespucci joined
a Spanish expedition while in his 40s, serving as an astronomer and mapmaker in
search of a passage to India. Led by Spanish explorer Alonso de Ojeda, they set
sail from Cadiz, Spain, in May 1499 and reached the northeastern coast of South
America.
Despite their belief that they had arrived in Asia, Ojeda
explored the coast of Venezuela while Vespucci ventured south to coastal
Brazil. During the voyage, Vespucci charted the constellations, noting their
differences from those seen in Europe. He also documented the diverse flora and
fauna, made extensive observations about the indigenous tribes he encountered
and described what he thought was the Ganges River, but is now known to be the
mouth of the Amazon
River.
In a letter recounting the journey, he wrote of
discovering “an infinite number of birds or various forms and colors and trees
so beautiful and fragrant that we thought we had entered the earthly
Paradise.”
In May 1501, Vespucci embarked on another voyage, this
time under the patronage of King Manuel I of
Portugal, again seeking passage to India.
Sailing along the Brazilian and Argentinian coasts, Vespucci ventured further
south to present-day Rio de Janeiro and the La Plata River. Once again, he
observed unfamiliar constellations, unexplained equatorial currents and an
absence of the riches he expected to find in India. Realizing that he was not
in India or on an undiscovered island but on a separate continent across the
Atlantic Ocean, he dubbed the land Mundus Novus, or the New World.
There are varying accounts and unconfirmed reports of
Vespucci undertaking a third voyage to the New World in 1503, also in the name
of Portugal.
Although Vespucci’s discoveries were not considered
highly significant at the time, the publication of his correspondence with
friends and colleagues chronicling his voyages, known as the “Vespucci
Letters,” played a pivotal role in dispelling the belief that Columbus had
reached Asia. The letters brought Vespucci fame (although some believe the
letters are fake).
Vespucci's Namesake and Reputation
The
term “America” first took shape in 1507, when German cartographer Martin
Waldseemüller drew a map of the newly
recognized continent and labeled it “Americus” in Vespucci’s honor. This map,
often referred to as “America’s birth certificate,” marked the usage of the
name “America.”
Vespucci,
who became a naturalized citizen of Spain in 1505, was given the prestigious
title of master navigator of Spain in 1508. Charged with training and
recruiting navigators and managing the country’s map collections, he held the
position until he died of malaria in Seville on February 22, 1512, at the age
of 58.
Sources
“The Map That Named America,” U.S. Library of Congress
“Amerigo Vespucci,” by Frederick A.Ober
“Amerigo Vespucci: Italian explorer who named America,”LiveScience“
Amerigo Vespucci,” The
Martimers’ Museum and Park
Amerigo
Vespucci
URL:https://www.history.com/topics/exploration/amerigo-vespucci