Amerigo Vespucci Biography

Around the late 15th century, Amerigo Vespucci, an Italian-born merchant, and explorer participated in early trips to the New World on behalf of Spain. Between 1499 and 1502, he was a key figure in two journeys that explored the east coast of South America. During the second of these voyages, he learned that South America went far further south than Europeans had previously thought. This persuaded him that this territory belonged to a new continent. 

It was a bold claim at a time when other European explorers crossing the Atlantic believed they were approaching Asia. In this Amerigo Vespucci biography, we will learn who was Amerigo Vespucci, his voyage, discovery, and interesting facts about him.

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Early Life

Amerigo Vespucci was born on March 9, 1454, in Florence, Italy. He was Nastagio Vespucci's and Lisabetta Mini's third child. Vespucci's father was a notary in Florence. The strong Medicis were acquainted with their family. Amerigo Vespucci was educated by his uncle, Giorgio Antonio Vespucci, while he was a child. He grew multilingual and exhibited a keen interest in maps, astronomy, and navigational methods. After finishing his studies, Vespucci went to work as a clerk for the Medicis in Seville, Spain, in 1492, where he formed a partnership with another Florentine named Giannetto Berardi.

Vespucci was able to observe the famous explorers' ships being readied, which piqued his curiosity in travel and discovery. Berardi was a backer of Columbus' voyage. They aided Columbus by supplying him with ships and food for his expedition. In Seville, Vespucci had the opportunity to meet Columbus. When Berardi died in December 1495, he became the overseer of their ship outfitting firm. He was left in control of his company, which was in charge of procuring supplies for the Spanish ships. Amerigo made the decision to become an explorer and embarked on his first expedition. The “Lettera al Soderini”, a letter addressed to Piero Soderini, was released, suggesting that Vespucci conducted four expeditions to the Americas between 1497 and 1504. In 1507, the German Martin Waldseemüller published “Four Voyages of Amerigo Vespucci” a Latin translation. Some modern researchers dispute that this expedition occurred and believe that the letter is a hoax.

Vespucci’s Voyages

First Voyage

• According to a disputed letter dated May 10th, 1497, Amerigo Vespucci embarked on his inaugural voyage from Cadiz with a fleet of Spanish ships.

• In under five weeks, Vespucci's fleet arrived in South America. This would put Vespucci a year ahead of Christopher Columbus in discovering Venezuela. In October of 1498, Vespucci and his fleet returned to Spain.

Second Voyage

• He discovered Cape St. Augustine and the Amazon River on his second journey to South America (many say it was his first), which began on May 18, 1499.

• The expedition's captain was Alonso Ojeda, and the pilot was Juan de la Cosa. They took notes on the plants, creatures, and indigenous goods that they encountered.

Third Voyage

• Amerigo Vespucci embarked on his third expedition to the Americas, led by Gonzalo Coelho, in service to King Manuel I of Portugal, on May 14th, 1501. From Cape So Roque to Patagonia, Vespucci's ships cruised along the South American coast.

• He discovered Rio de Janeiro and Rio de la Plata on this voyage. His fleet returned, passing through Sierra Leone and the Azores on the way.

• Vespucci charted the southern hemisphere's stars and constellations. He noted that these were not like the constellations he was used to seeing in Europe.

• On his way back from the New World in 1502, Amerigo Vespucci named a few stars. Among other things, he named the Southern Cross.

• The journey of 1501–1502 represents a watershed moment in the history of geographic exploration. In September 1502 Vespucci returned to Lisbon, Portugal.

• He informed Lorenzo Medici in a letter that the place they had discovered was not an island, but rather a continent. Mundus Novus – Latin for "New World" – was his name for it. It was regarded as his most successful expedition.

Fourth Voyage

• In 1503, Vespucci sailed again, this time under the Portuguese flag and captained by Gonzalo Coelho. They saw a variety of fauna and encountered numerous native people along the journey, but no new discoveries were made. In 1504 he returned to Portugal. This was the last expedition of Amerigo Vespucci.

• Some believe Amerigo Vespucci's fourth journey was his last, while others say he made a fifth in 1505 and a sixth in 1507 alongside Juan de la Cosa.

What Did Amerigo Vespucci Discover?

He went to the Amazon River's mouth to investigate. In addition, he devised a method for calculating longitude. The discovery that the continent he was investigating was not Asia was perhaps Vespucci's most important achievement. It was, after all, a continent that most Europeans had never heard of. The continents of the western hemisphere were eventually dubbed North and South America, after Amerigo Vespucci. The journey of 1501–02 is significant in the history of geographic discovery because it convinced Vespucci and other scholars that the newly found regions were not part of Asia, but rather a "New World".

Amerigo Vespucci Personality

Amerigo Vespucci possessed innate leadership qualities as well as the ability to amass vast sums of money. He was a natural leader in all aspects of life, particularly in business and finance, where he added to the larger vision, purpose, and long-term goals. He was well-versed in the material world and intuitively understood what makes practically any business successful. Amerigo was most suited to careers in business, finance, real estate, law, science (especially history, archaeology, and physics), publishing, and large-scale institution management. He was drawn to positions of power and authority, and politics, social work, and education are just a few of the numerous fields in which he might excel.

Even when others were unable to see what he saw, he had the capacity to encourage others to join him in his quest. As a result, those around Amerigo Vespucci relied on him for direction, inspiration, and encouragement on a regular basis. Vespucci had a keen sense of character that helped him attract the proper individuals so that he could push them into action and steer them in the direction of his vision.

Amerigo's life challenge was to realize that power and influence must be used for the greater good of humanity rather than for personal gain. Otherwise, Amerigo Vespucci would undoubtedly suffer the repercussions of his greed and risk losing everything. He learned to overcome setbacks and defeats. Amerigo Vespucci possessed both the talent and the sheer courage to amass multiple fortunes and establish numerous profitable businesses.

Amerigo: America’s Namesake

In 1507, three scholars in Saint-Dié-des-Vosges, northern France, were working on Cosmographi Introduction, a geography book with huge cut-out maps that the reader could use to make his or her own globes. One of the book's writers, German cartographer Martin Waldseemüler, advocated that the newly found Brazilian region of the New World be named America, the feminine version of Amerigo, after Amerigo Vespucci. The gesture was his way of paying tribute to the discoverer, and it earned Vespucci the distinction of becoming America's namesake.

Working from the charts created at St-Dié, the mapmaker Mercator elected to mark the name America on both the northern and southern parts of the continent, rather than simply the southern portion, in 1538. While the notion of America grew to encompass more territory, Vespucci appeared to claim credit for places that most would agree were found by Columbus first.

Amerigo Vespucci Facts

• Amerigo Vespucci assisted Christopher Columbus in preparing his ships to sail to the New World in 1492.

• The journey of Vespucci from 1501 to 1502 was his most successful one.

• He was the first European to recognize America as a separate continent.

• Amerigo is the namesake for the newly found continent of America.

• He aided the distinguished position of Spanish pilot major.

• Amerigo was dispatched on a diplomatic mission to Paris in his early twenties and eventually ran a bank in Seville, Spain. He then became a Spanish citizen (in 1505).

• On May 14, 1501, Amerigo Vespucci embarked on his third expedition to the Americas, and it was during this mission that he discovered Rio de Janeiro and Rio de la Plata.

• On his way back from the New World in 1502, Amerigo Vespucci named a few stars. Among other things, he named the Southern Cross.

• Martin Waldseemuler, a German geographer, offered the name America in 1507 as a tribute to Amerigo Vespucci's role in the discovery of Brazil.

• In commemoration of Amerigo Vespucci, Italy built a ship in 1931. Amerigo Vespucci was the name given to it. A ship was also built and named after Christopher Columbus in Italy.

Amerigo Vespucci’s death was caused due to malaria. He died on February 22, 1512, in Seville, Spain. He was an Italian explorer, banker, navigator, and cartographer who was instrumental in the discovery of the New World. Vespucci was the first to recognize that the newly found regions were not part of Asia, but rather a different continent. He was the first to recognize North and South America as separate continents, of which Europeans, Asians, and Africans had previously been unaware.