What did amerigo vespucci discover

Amerigo Vespucci: Italian Navigator and Explorer

Amerigo Vespucci, an Italian navigator and explorer, was born on March 9, 1454, in Florence. He is the namesake of both Americas. Vespucci was of Florentine origin and received a humanistic education in his family. He served for a long time in the Medici banking house before moving to Spain in 1490.

In Spain, Vespucci worked as an agent for the same firm in Seville, mainly involved in equipping ships. He thoroughly studied the structure of ships, mastered navigation and astronomy, and created various maps. In 1492, he joined the Spanish maritime service and participated in the outfitting of Christopher Columbus' second and third expeditions, with whom he was friends.

From 1499 to 1500, Vespucci served as a pilot on Alonso de Ojeda's expedition, commanding two ships equipped at his own expense. In July 1499, the fleet approached the northern coast of South America at 5° or 6° north latitude, where they split up. Vespucci headed southeast and, on July 2nd, discovered the delta of the Amazon River and its estuary, the Para River, venturing up 100 km. He then continued sailing southeast to the Bay of San Marcos (44° west longitude), uncovering approximately 1200 km of the northern coastal strip of South America, and discovering the Guiana Current. Vespucci turned back and, in August, caught up with Alonso de Ojeda near 66° west longitude.

Together, they explored over 1600 km of the southern coast of the continent, including the Paraguana and Guaira peninsulas, the Triste and Venezuelan gulfs, the Maracaibo lagoon, and several islands, including Curacao. In the autumn, Vespucci separated from Ojeda again, surveyed the South American coast for 300 km southwest, and returned to Spain in June 1500.

From 1501 to 1502, Vespucci served in the Portuguese fleet as an astronomer, navigator, and historiographer on the first Portuguese expedition led by Gonçalo Coelho. In mid-August 1501, they reached the Atlantic coast of South America at 5°30' south latitude and sailed as far as 16°, duplicating the discoveries of Spaniard Vicente Yáñez Pinzón (1500). On January 1, 1502, the expedition discovered the bay of Rio de Janeiro (Guanabara), traced the coast for 2000 km southwest (to 25° south latitude), and, convinced that the land continued in the same direction, turned back.

One caravel arrived in Portugal at the end of June, and the other, with Coelho and Vespucci, arrived in early September (the third, which became unserviceable, had to be burned). From 1503 to 1504, Vespucci commanded a caravel in the second expedition of Gonçalo Coelho, consisting of six ships. In early August 1503, one of their ships sank near Ascension Island (8° south latitude), and three others disappeared without a trace.

Vespucci and Coelho's caravels reached the bay of "All Saints," previously discovered at 13°. Following Vespucci's orders, a detachment landed and became the first to climb the steep slope of the Brazilian Highlands and penetrate 250 km into the country. In the harbor at 23° south latitude, during a 5-month stay, the Portuguese built a fleet and left 24 sailors, returning to Lisbon at the end of June 1504 with a cargo of sandalwood. As a result of his voyages along the northern and eastern coasts of the newly discovered land, Vespucci developed a correct understanding of it as a southern transatlantic continent. In 1503, he proposed naming the continent the "New World."

In 1507, the Lorraine cartographer Martin Waldseemüller attributed the discovery of the "fourth part of the world" made by Columbus and Vespucci and "christened" this continent America in honor of Amerigo Vespucci. In 1538, this widely recognized name was extended to North America on Mercator's map. In 1505, after moving to Spain again, Vespucci acquired Castilian citizenship. In 1508, he was appointed as the chief pilot of Spain, a newly established position which he held until his death.

According to his contemporaries, Vespucci was remarkably honest, intelligent, and observant. Possessing exceptional literary talent, he often exaggerated and described the nature of the newly discovered lands, the appearance and way of life of the indigenous people, and the southern hemisphere's starry sky, but consistently omitted the leaders of the expeditions and his own role in them. Vespucci never sought to overshadow Columbus' achievements, and Columbus' sons also made no claims against him. He died on February 22, 1512, in Seville.