Americo Vespucio Was Born in Florence, Américo Vespucio was a great Italian navigator who would give origin to the name of the American continent.
He arrived in Spain as a simple merchant sometime before Columbus had his first departure and in this place, he had an important mission as a merchant and had great contacts and businesses with some prominent people of the time and place.
As we already know, Christopher Columbus died thinking that he had discovered the Indies, without suspecting for a moment that those islands were actually a new continent.
Américo Vespucio was the one in charge of informing the Crown of Castile, that these islands were not Asian, but, on the contrary, were part of a quarter.
His role was of great importance in the discovery of America, although all the merits went to Christopher Columbus. However, the story in the end gave its merits by giving it an important role in the discovery of the continent.
Personal information
- When was he born: March 4, 1454, in Florence
- When he died: February 22, 1512, in Seville
- Profession: Cartographer, Merchant, Cosmographer, and Explorer
Who was Americo Vespucci?
Américo Vespucio was an Italian merchant who arrived in Spain long before Christopher Columbus made his first voyage . He did important business and had many contacts. He was the one who had the task of informing the Crown of Castile that the place discovered was not Asia, but that it was a new continent.
- Biography of Américo Vespucio
- Travels of Américo Vespucio
- What Américo Vespucio discovered
- Plays
- Contributions of Américo Vespucio
Biography of Américo Vespucio
Originally from Florence, he was born on March 9, 1454, the son of Nastagio Vespucci, an important man dedicated to currency exchange, and Lisa di Giovanni Mini.
Naturalized Castilian in 1505 he dedicated himself to trade in Spain in the 15th century and was hired and sent by the Medicis who was a powerful and wealthy family of the time. He actively participated in two voyages of exploration in the New World, what we know today as America.
In the year 1508, he was appointed major pilot of the House of Seville and published two important works, the Mundus Novus and the letter to Soderini, in which the identification he made of America dates.
He opened a school for the children of the Florentine aristocrats and trained Amérigo with Aristotle’s own teachings on astronomy and geography. Américo Vespucio died in Seville in 1491.
Travels of Américo Vespucio
In the year 1502, he was aboard a fleet composed of three ships of Portuguese origin, which were under the command of Gonzalo Cohelo, during which time they found Pedro Álvarez Cabral’s ships and in them, he traveled the Atlantic coast of South America They did this tour from Rio de Janeiro to Argentine Patagonia.
Later, in March of that same year, he was already in command of these three ships, and in them, he made explorations along the Río de la Plata, this activity took place approximately on March 20 of that year, and at the beginning, he named the river like ” River Jordan “.
During the year 1505, he thought that America could be reached by means of some strait that would allow them to navigate freely, and for this reason, he decided to group with the Spanish navigator Juan de la Cosa, and with him, he made several trips through America, obtaining in each of their great wealth and profit.
Américo Vespucio only managed to make two different exploration trips to the New World, at least this is what we have certain knowledge about because many historians around the world based on his letters think that he could have made at least six different trips to the New World.
What Américo Vespucio discovered
Americo Vespucci is credited with discovering the American continent. When Vespucci returned to Lisbon, he was commissioned to write a letter to Pier Francesco de Medici informing him that the lands that Christopher Columbus had arrived in were not the Indies, but rather a new continent, that these lands were larger than what is known. had thought.
Plays
Two important works were published by Américo Vespucio, two letters. One of them called it ” New World ” and it was a Latin translation of the letter that he had originally sent to Pier Medici.
In this letter, he was in charge of carefully describing his trip to South America, made during the years 1501 and 1502. This letter was reprinted and then distributed throughout Europe very quickly.
The second letter was known as the ” Letter from Amérigo Vespucci about the newly discovered islands in his four voyages.” This letter was written in Italian and was addressed to Piero Soderini.
It was printed on an undetermined date between 1504 and 1505, and in it, Vespucci stated that he had traveled to America during his travels. A translation into Latin was made and it was published in the year 1507.
Contributions of Américo Vespucio
Américo Vespucio left us the contribution of having discovered that the land that Columbus had managed to reach was not part of Asia, but rather a completely new continent.
It is for this reason that the name of the discovered continent of America is given. In addition, Vespucio managed to embark on a fifth expedition that managed to reach the coasts of Brazil, Uruguay, and Argentina.