amerigo

Jeffrey G. Butch
History 392.01
Dr. Tirado
October 25, 1996

Amerigo Vespucci

Who was Amerigo Vespucci? This is a question I asked myself as I was researching the man credited with the
discovery of the new world. Much information has been written about Christopher Columbus and very little about
Amerigo Vespucci. To understand who Amerigo Vespucci was is to look at his life and times in that time period. This
paper is an attempt to look at his history and try to get a better understanding of his life in the “Age of Discovery”. To
have a understanding of Vespucci is to remember that to the day of his death, Columbus persisted in claiming he
was in parts of Asia. This is part of the old world mentality and shows that Columbus never fully comprehended the
achievements of his voyages. Two continents are named after Amerigo Vespucci. A great achievement for a man
who many feel is a charlatan of geography. Did he discover America or was this honor bestowed on the wrong man?

“In the middle ages, Europe knew less about the earth than did some of the ancients, for the commercial decline of
Rome brought about the contraction of geographical knowledge.” [Pohl 6]. During this time period, men began to
disregard authority and learned to rely directly on their own investigations. This is the seed that brought about men
like Columbus and Vespucci. The period of the Renaissance is the fertile ground that brought about changes in the
world of inquiry and scientific achievement in Europe. “This new spirit of inquiry received its chief impetus from the
invention of the printing press whose importance outweighed even the greatest political event of the time.”[Pohl 9].
Printing led to the overthrow of authority and allowed the men of the period to come into immediate contact with each
other and stimulated intellectual dialogue. It is by no accident that Florence produced a man like Amerigo Vespucci.
The cultural environment of Florence and the availability of printed books with many opportunities led Amerigo
Vespucci to the sea and to complete the voyages Columbus failed to complete in the discovery of the mainland now
know as the America’s.

Amerigo Vespucci was born on March 9, 1454, the first year of the new age of printed material. He was the third son
of Ser Natasagio Vespucci and was named for his grandfather. “The Vespucci family was considered one of the most
cultured and respected aristocratic families of Florence.”[Pohl 14]. Amerigo was influenced by his uncle, Giorgio
Vespucci a scholar and collector of manuscripts. His uncle taught him the physical sciences which included the
teachings of Aristotle and Ptolemy. This included astronomy, cosmography and geography which will mold Amerigo
into a well rounded person of the times. Amerigo acquired a love for Vergil, Dante, and Petrarch under the watchful
eye of his uncle and became very skillful in mathematics and Latin. This education would also spark the investigation
and inquiry into the voyages of Columbus in his search for the spice trade to the west. Amerigo’s father wanted his
son to enter the commercial life of the mercantile career that was a custom for a son in those days. based on his
aptitude and educational training, Amerigo had the qualities to become the next Vespucci to advance family
business. “Fifteenth-Century intellectuals were more disposed to respect learning of the past than to pursue
independent research.” [Pohl 18]. In this century, Cosmography which was a theoretical science that included
physics and astronomy and Geography the practical science became an interest to Amerigo. His interest in these
sciences was to prove very beneficial to him at some later point in his life. The greatest known scholar at that time on
these two sciences was a man by the name of Paolo dal Pozzo Toscanelli. He was the most advanced person in
cosmography and geography in Florence and also influenced Christopher Columbus in his search for the Orient.
Although there is no proof of Vespucci and Toscanelli ever meeting, it is assumed that they probably met and were
acquainted. Even if they never met, there is a chance that Amerigo was informed of Toscanelli works by his uncle
which would have sparked his interest in a his idea of reaching Asia by sailing west. Being from an aristocratic and
wealthy family, the Vespucci family had important contacts with the royal family of Spain. They had a long friendship
with Spanish royalty. This will become important later in the voyages of Amerigo Vespucci.

“In 1482, Ser Natasagio Vespucci died and so did Toscanelli which led Amerigo to become the chief money-earner
for his family.” [Pohl 27]. Trained in business, Amerigo handled all the financial affairs of the family. Being trained in
the affairs of business, Amerigo was given the duties of manager of the Medici family fortune. This was to take up his
time for sixteen years of his life. Amerigo was an agent for the Medici family and had the responsibility of buying,
selling, and procuring safe goods. It was during this period that he accumulated wealth that allowed him to indulge in
his hobby of collecting maps and books that eventually helped him in his voyages to the west. His duties for the
Medici family eventually took Amerigo to Spain. Spain was considered a land of great opportunities for business and
foreign merchants. They were welcomed there by the recently married King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella. With the
recent problems Spain has been having, Queen Isabella established the Royal Constabulary to establish law and
order to the Country. She supported the Holy Office (Official name for the Inquisition) and their reasons for
persecuting the heretics in Spain. Spain was overrun with Moors and she was determined to drive out all those
unbelieving people not of the Christian faith. This existed in Spain due to the lack of intellectual culture that existed in
Florence. Jews were the target of the Holy Office and since this barbaric act of exterminating people not of the
Christian faith was draining Spain of merchants, there existed opportunities for merchants of all nationalities in the
country. Fearing French domination of Europe, Italy looked to Spain for her salvation and to Spain Amerigo Vespucci
went as a merchant, Italian and Florentine.

In 1492, Amerigo Vespucci was in Barcelona Spain. As a merchant for the Medici family, Amerigo established many
contacts. In Spain he was in the middle of the Columbus voyages. These contacts led to his prominence in the ship
outfitting business. He lived among mariners and was finally in an atmosphere that allowed him to discuss his love of
cosmography and geography. Amerigo’s love of maps was finally appreciated. Although an expert in business
affairs, Amerigo was finally in the environment that opened up his intellectual curiosity to the voyages of finding a
direct sea route to the west. “In 1493, Amerigo heard mariners talking about the most famous voyages that ever
taken place, the voyage of Bartolomeu Dias to the Cape of Good Hope.” [Pohl 37]. Discussion of voyages of great
mariners were always being discussed and this of course sparked an interest to Amerigo Vespucci. He heard of the
voyage of Columbus that departed with three ships sailing westward from Palos to locate India and the spice trade.
Months after he arrived in Seville, Amerigo heard sailors talking about Columbus finding the route to India. The
success of the Columbus voyage made the world seem smaller than most people ever dreamed at that time. This
voyage made geography a political issue for Spain and Portugal and almost brought both countries to war over this
trip by Columbus. Based on his business contacts, it is very likely that some of Amerigo Vespucci’s customers
invested money in the second voyage of Christopher Columbus.

Columbus and Vespucci were different types of people. Amerigo Vespucci was considered a modern man from the
Renaissance period of scientific inquiry that allowed men to independently question events of the times. These men
took nothing for granted. They had the thirst for knowledge and had to be shown the reasons in scientific methods
for all facts. Columbus on the other hand was a man from the old world and not having the advantages of the
Renaissance period believed without question the reasons given for events in his time. Columbus believed in
tradition and faith of his world while Vespucci had the modern mentality of the Renaissance period.

With the third voyage of Columbus and the route to Asia having not yet been discovered, Amerigo Vespucci felt it
was time for another type of explorer. His intellectual inquisition of finding what Columbus failed to find now became
in the forefront of his mind. He wanted to be the first to reach India directly from sea by going west. Having the
training and background as a business leader and his love for cosmography, geography and mathematics gave him
all the needed ingredients to become a successful mariner in search of the direct route to Asia. “In may of 1499, he
sailed with Alonso de Hojeda as a astronomer because of his knowledge of cosmography and as a merchant.” [Pohl
49]. On his first voyage, Amerigo Vespucci sighted land that was to be called Brazil. This was the first European view
of the coast of Brazil. He sailed thirty-seven hundred miles in twenty-four days and was impressed by the fragrance
and beauty of the land. He also sailed up the Amazon River and noted that the water close to the shore of Brazil was
less salty then other sea water. On this particular voyage, he made many astronomical observations that brought out
the scholar in him. His business sense now became subordinate to his intellectual abilities that brought out the pure
inquisitiveness always in his mind and heart. Amerigo Vespucci was a scientific scholar awaiting to be awakened.
This finally happened and he became a true mariner aching for new discoveries. The driving force in his new
personality was to add to man’s understanding of the world he inhabited. This was the driving force behind his
exploration of the new land to the west. “His passion for geography and astronomy became an all-absorbing passion
for him.” [Pohl 56].” The Juan de la Cosa World Chart, 1500 is the first map, now known, made after 1492, which
pictures discoveries on the western side of the Atlantic.” [Pohl 60].

During his trip with Alonso de Hojeda, he derived a valid astronomical method in determining longitude. Previous to
this mariners used dead reckoning in their navigation at sea. He brought a fresh mind to the determination of
longitude and used his scientific mind in the determination of longitude. By his methods, it is reasonable to say that
the distances between longitude could be determined within two degrees. Amerigo’s method of determining longitude
became the standard for approximately three hundred years. Being an astronomer, his longitudinal problem remains
one of the human genius of that time period.

Upon his return to Spain, Amerigo wrote a letter to Lorenzo di Pier Francesco de’Medici. In this letter he describes
his trip and the beautiful things he saw such as animals, flowers, fragrances, trees and the stars he saw in the skies
of the areas of his voyage. He wrote about the grayish and brownish color of the natives he saw on the different
islands. He described the various a very large anaconda which he describes as a serpent. It was so large that his
men became frightened and returned to the ship. His sailing up the coast let him see numerous numbers of different
people with different languages. Having been tired of the voyage and longing for home, Amerigo Vespucci and his
crew returned home. He loaded up his ship with inhabitants as slaves and took them back to Spain. On his return
home, Vespucci was saddened that Portugal had sailed around Africa and beat Spain in the race to India. There has
always competition between Spain and Portugal in the navigation and exploration of the seas. After his return to
Spain in 1500, Amerigo Vespucci was about to embark on another journey. He changed flags from sailing for the
Spain to sailing for Portugal. The Spanish king was concerned more with land acquisition then pure exploration of
uncharted lands. This seems to have embarrassed him so he refused the offer of three ships from the Spanish King
and was given a Portuguese commission to sail with three ships under the flag of Portugal. There is no clear
indication of why he declined the Spanish Kings offer, but it is quite possible that with his merchant contacts, the
Portugal connection was made by some of those long established merchant contacts of friends he met years earlier.
Even though he was sailing for Portugal, he was honor bound not to reveal any Spanish secrets. Being an honorable
man, Spain would trust him in his service to Portugal.

In seamanship, Portugal excelled among the people of the Mediterranean. Their ship were faster, stronger and built
better than those of Spain. He was given three ships with complete control over the voyages. “Amerigo Vespucci was
the first explorer in the service of Portugal to cross the ocean to the southwest.” [Pohl 104] This voyage for Portugal
would make Amerigo Vespucci famous for he made a geographical discovery that would set him apart for other
explorers of his time. He discovered a new continent that was not in Asia or India. This was done with his accurate
perception of the circumference of the world. “He became aware of the inconsistencies between accepted notions of
geography and the facts as he observed them. He had discovered a new continent in the only way it was possible by
extensive exploration with well founded deductions of the circumference of the earth.” [Pohl 138] Vespucci
revolutionized geography and stated there was another ocean to cross which Columbus never dreamed and larger
than the one in which Columbus navigated. His discovery smashed the theory of one ocean covering the earth.

The real importance of Amerigo Vespucci lies in his ability to map out the longitudinal degrees of the earth. This
where his great importance lies in the history of the world explorers. His ability to use the intellect of the times to
figure out how to navigate in the oceans is just as important if not more than his discovery of a new continent. Some
would argue this point but from my research, Amerigo Vespucci was truly the founder of modern navigation that
brought civilization out of the dark ages to the modern era. He was truly a man of his times.
Works Cited

Cohen, Jonathen. “The Naming of America: Vespucci’s Good Name”. Encounters 7:16-20

Pohl, Frederick, J. “America Vespucci”, Pilot Major. New York: Octagon Books, INc., 1966

Arciniegas, German. Amerigo and the New World: The life and Times Of Amerigo Vespucci. Knopf, NY, 1955

Lester, C. Edwards. The life and Voyages of Americus Vespucius, New York: New Amsterdam Publoishing, 1903.

Wills, Garry.Forward. Letters From A New World. Ed. Luciano Formisano, New York, Marsilo Publishers, 1992

Amerigo Vespucci

Vespucci was the one person for whom North and South America was named after. Vespucci had a wonderful life
and found many things on his voyages. Amerigo Vespucci was born in Florence, Italy in March of 1451, and grew
up in a considerable mansion near the river. As a young boy, Amerigo's happiest moments studying the stars. He
excelled in mathematics and his hobby was copying maps. His dream as a young boy was to travel and get a better
picture about what the Earth looked like. Amerigo spent half of his life as a business man hoping to strike it rich so
he could explore. Amerigo was the third son, there were two older brothers, Antonio and Girolamo, the youngest
was Bernardo. The parents were Stagio and Elisabetta Vespucci. Italy, at this time was not yet a civilized country.
Italy was a bunch of city- states each self governed and looking for money for it's own purposes and not for the
benefit of the country. Florence, where Amerigo was born and grew up, was in the city-state governed by the
powerful Medici family. Later in Vespucci's life he ends up working for this family helping govern the city-state. Italy,
at this time was not a good country as it is today. In 1492 Vespucci left Florence for Seville, Spain because Italy
had the monopoly and didn't need, or want, exploration. Well into his forties, around 1495, Vespucci became the
director of a ship company that supplied ships for long voyages. This was the first opportunity Vespucci had to
make voyages and he was very happy about this, therefore he was only looking for "new worlds" to discover and
not money or rewards for finding exotic places. In 1497 Vespucci said that he went on a voyage to the "New
World." Little is known about this because there was not much evidence to support that he actually made this
voyage such as: journals, maps they used, or any crew members journals about what happened. He was said to be
back in 1498. Later on down the road, after this journey was said to take place people began to doubt this and
Columbus became known as the founder of the "New World" even though he thought he was in India.

In 1499 Vespucci was said to have made his second voyage with Alonso de Ojeda as the captain. This voyage
could be backed by a great deal of evidence and is supposed to have occurred. The watchman finally did spot
land, the Cape Verde Islands, and this is the first time anyone has been purposely to the "New World." On this first
journey Vespucci explored the north eastern coast of South America and also came in contact with Cuba,
Hispaniola, and the Bahaman Islands. Vespucci got back to Spain in 1500 and told everyone about his findings of
the land and the people. On May 19, 1501 Vespucci left from the ports of the sponsoring Spain on his third
voyage. On this voyage Vespucci was second in charge behind Gonocalo Coelho, another one of Spains'
explorers. They explored on this expedition the Cape Santo Agostinho at the shoulder of present day Brazil. This
voyage was one of the less successful because they explored only limited water area. On the fourth, and last,
voyage Vespucci explored more of South America.

In 1503, on this journey, led by Amerigo Vespuccci himself, the captain and crew explored the south eastern side
of South America. They ran along the coast and visited such places as Cape Soo Roque, Guanabara Bay, Rio de
la Plata, Cape Santo Agostinho, San Julian and spotted the Falkland Islands. His crew returned back to Spain in
1504 and told their story to mapmakers to put on the maps. After the findings of the "New World" a mapmaker
suggested they call it America, after the knowing founder. Martin Waldseemuller a German mapmaker was one of
the first to believe that Vespucci was the first European to reach the "New World." In 1507, he suggested they call
it America and soon this name was used throughout and eventually used officially in the naming of the continent.

Vespucci left a controversy when he died saying that he did not make the voyage that started in 1497. Today
scholars still doubt that Vespucci made the voyage. Vespucci also claimed, in his writings, that he captioned all the
journeys himself when he only captained one of the four reported expedition. The results to Vespucci's findings
was that North and South America were named after him, and back in the late 1400's and the early 1500's they
would know that there was a "New World" out there and they didn't have to go on believing that Asia was just
beyond the horizon and that in reality there was two of the biggest continents in the way of their destination, Asia.

Bibliography

1. Baker, Nina Amerigo Vespucci McCelland & Stewart Limited Canada, 1956

2. World Book Encyclopedia 1985 Vol. 29 (V) p.p. 274

3. Bohler, Richard World Explorers and Discovers Mac Millan Publishing Company New York, 1992 p.p. 439-441