Who is americus vespucci

Soon after, he was forced to prematurely abort the voyage and return to Lisbon, Portugal, in There is some speculation as to whether Vespucci made additional voyages.

Based on Vespucci's accounts, some historians believe that he embarked on a fifth and sixth voyage with Juan de la Cosa, in and , respectively. Other accounts indicate that Vespucci's fourth journey was his last. The gesture was his means of honoring the person who discovered it, and indeed granted Vespucci the legacy of being America's namesake.

While the definition of America expanded to include more territory, Vespucci seemed to gain credit for areas that most would agree were actually first discovered by Columbus.

In , Vespucci, who was born and raised in Italy, became a naturalized citizen of Spain. Three years later, he was awarded the office of piloto mayor , or master navigator, of Spain.

In this role, Vespucci's job was to recruit and train other navigators, as well as to gather data on continued New World exploration.

Vespucci held the position for the remainder of his life. We strive for accuracy and fairness. If you see something that doesn't look right, contact us! Subscribe to the Biography newsletter to receive stories about the people who shaped our world and the stories that shaped their lives. Hernando de Soto was a Spanish explorer and conquistador who participated in the conquests of Central America and Peru and discovered the Mississippi River.

Explorer John Cabot made a British claim to land in Canada, mistaking it for Asia, during his voyage on the ship Matthew. Venetian merchant and adventurer Marco Polo traveled from Europe to Asia from to America was named after Amerigo Vespucci, a Florentine navigator and explorer who played a prominent role in exploring the New World. Olivia Rodrigo —. Megan Thee Stallion —. Bowen Yang —. Ventana al Conocimiento Knowledge Window. Estimated reading time Time 4 to read.

Portrait of Amerigo Vespucci. Source: Wikimedia In , the year Christopher Columbus arrived in what would from then on be called the West Indies, the Florentine merchant Amerigo Vespucci 9 March — 22 February had settled in Seville on business related to the affairs of his patrons, the Medicis.

Source: Les Grands Voyages Although Mundus Novus appears as a letter addressed to his former patron, Lorenzo di Pierfrancesco de Medici, it is believed that it is not in fact an original epistle, but rather the work of others as an embellished redrafting of authentic letters by Vespucci.

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Your comment will be published after validation. Please, try again later. Next article. Newsletter Keep up to date with our newsletter. Vespucci's ships traveled along the South American coast down to Patagonia. Along the way, he encountered the rivers Rio de Janeiro and Rio de la Plata. During this voyage, Vespucci came to suspect that he was looking at a continent entirely different from Asia. The book by Polo gave great detail on the geography, people, and rich opportunities of the continent.

Based on this information, Vespucci could make assumptions about the land they were exploring," said Cosme. He also took note of the coastlines they traveled, recording their distance and length of time traveled. Vespucci, again a very skilled cartographer and astronomer, carefully studied and pondered over all of his information. He found that the areas and land masses they had explored were actually larger and different than previous accounts of Asia's descriptions.

This led him to the conclusion that what they had explored was indeed an entirely new continent. He verified his suspicion when sailing south to within miles of Tierra del Fuego, the southernmost tip of South America.

This confirmed that he was encountering a new continent that extended far further south than anyone had guessed. While on this voyage, Vespucci wrote letters to a friend in Europe describing his travels and identifying the New World as a separate continent from Asia.

These letters also chronicle his encounters with the indigenous people and describe their culture. Vespucci described the natives' religious practices and beliefs, their diet, marriage habits, and, most appealingly to readers, their sexual and childbirth practices. These letters were published in several languages and sold well better than Columbus' letters across Europe. This pleased Vespucci who, who recorded his adventures to better leave "some fame behind me after I die.

Vespucci's later voyages were not as successful as the expedition, and scholars are unsure of exactly how many later voyages he embarked upon. In , he sailed to Brazil, but when his fleet failed to make any new discoveries, the ships disbanded.

Vespucci pressed on, however, and discovered the island of Bahia and South Georgia before returning to Lisbon ahead of schedule. Vespucci may have gone on two more voyages, in and , but accounts are unclear. In , he became a naturalized citizen of Spain, and in , he was named a Pilot Major of Spain.

This was a prestigious position that required him to use his considerable navigational skills. Vespucci helped develop and standardize navigational techniques and to select new pilots.