It is known that America was discovered by Columbus, but this land was not named in his honor. The name was given to her in the sixteenth century in honor of Amerigo Vespucci, but few people know why.
Instructions
Step 1
Amerigo Vespucci was born in Florence. He graduated from the University of Pisa, after which he served as secretary to the Florentine ambassador in Paris. Then Vespucci returned to his hometown, entered the bank of the Medici family. Then in 1491 he left for Seville, where Vespucci worked in the representative office of the Medici house for maritime trade. By the way, he actively participated in the preparations for the expeditions of Columbus himself and was even familiar with him. It was the success of Columbus that inspired Vespucci to leave commerce and go in search of a new land.
Step 2
Amerigo Vespucci participated in the expedition led by Alonso Ojeda. She studied the coastline of modern Brazil, studied the mouth of the Amazon and the Orinoco delta. This expedition mapped approximately 1,200 kilometers of coastline before returning to Europe.
Step 3
In subsequent expeditions led by Gonçalo Cuella, Vespucci took part as a navigator, cartographer and astronomer. During the expeditions, more than 2000 kilometers of the coastline of South America were studied. During the second expedition, Amerigo went ashore and went inland, away from the coastline. Having got acquainted with the culture and customs of the local population, as well as having studied nature, it was Amerigo who concluded that the investigated continent was not the edge of Asia, as Columbus believed. Vespucci suggested calling these lands the New World. He voiced his ideas in letters to his homeland.
Step 4
However, America was named for Vespucci, as his letters generated considerable interest among his noble friends. They spread information about his discoveries. In addition, Christopher Columbus explored a very small part of Central America, which he mistakenly considered the eastern coast of Asia, he did not expand on travel. And friends of the Florentine Vespucci published several travel diaries, which served to his fame. That is why the cartographer Waldseemüller attributed the discovery of this continent to Vespucci in 1507, and named it America. It is not known what this continent would have been called if Columbus had the same friends as Vespucci.
