Amerigo Vespucci

Amerigo Vespucci ( March 9 1451 1452 or 1454 in Florence, † February 22, 1512 in Seville) was a merchant, sailor, navigator and explorer. During his journeys, he explored much of the coast of South America. According to him, America is named.

Life and work

Amerigo Vespucci was born as the third child of a respected Florentine family. Since 1482 he was in the service of the powerful Medici family of bankers who sent him in 1491 in their branch to Seville. He went there in 1492 to a company with Giannotto Berardi, managing director of the branch, and Christopher Columbus, which financed the equipment of ships for Columbus' first voyage. He took over after the death of Berardi 1495 the management of the branch; the company with Columbus was dissolved.

According to the information in the controversial Soderini letter he already took on May 10, 1497 to October 15, 1497 on a first trip to America in part. Secured at least one South American journey of 18 May 1499 to June 1500 under Alonso de Ojeda and Juan de la Cosa. On May 14, 1501 to September 7, 1502 he took, this time under the Portuguese flag, on a reconnaissance trip under Gonçalo Coelho in part, from this trip, he reported in the famous Mundus Novus. Another trip in Portuguese behalf he undertook, according to the Soderini letter of 10 May 1503 to 18 June or August 1504.

During his travels, he explored a considerable part of the eastern coast of South America. The respective places, he was often named, for example, Venezuela ( " Little Venice ", as the locals had built on the site stilt houses ) - 1499 he discovered the place by Captain Alonso de Ojeda the Spanish flag. Or Rio de Janeiro ( "January River " ) - on January 1, 1502, he discovered the place under its Gonçalo Coelho and line with the captain André Gonçalves, who is erroneously sometimes called in Germany as a name. He also described the plant and animal world very accurately and vividly.

1508 he was appointed by the Spanish Queen Juana to Piloto Mayor. He was responsible for updating the Padrón Real, the map on which all discoveries were detained.

Amerigo Vespucci gave the first European to his belief that the New World was a separate continent. The numerous editions of his writings, especially his description of the second voyage, which was published under the title Mundus Novus, contributed significantly to spreading the truth about the extent and significance of the discovery of America at: Not some islands had been discovered, but, as he repeatedly stresses, a whole new world, a new continent. Only after Vespucci's death, in 1513, Vasco Núñez de Balboa discovered from the Pacific Ocean from the west coast of Panama, which was evidence that this is indeed not to Asia, but to its own continent in the newly discovered coasts.

Until the court ruling in Madrid mid-16th century, sought by the grandson of Columbus and the Spanish crown, Amerigo Vespucci was officially considered the most important discoverer of America.

Controversial letters

Vespucci's role has been widely discussed, mainly because of two letters whose authenticity has been questioned:

The Latin Mundus Novus report ( "New World ") was probably the first time in 1502 /03 printed in Florence and Paris, the first dated edition was published in 1504 by Johann Otmar in Augsburg; to travel there described the transcripts of two Italian Vespucci's letters are received on 4 June 1501 and from 1502 in the Civil Vaglienti.

The so-called Soderini letter first appeared in Italian 1504-1506 in Florence, but is best known for the Latin translation of the title Quatuor Americi Vesputii Navigationes ( "four voyages of Amerigo Vespucci "), which entered into Martin Waldseemüller Cosmographiae Introductio of 1507 is. Here, too, there is a copy of the letter of Vespucci of 10 September 1504 Pier Soderini in the aforementioned Civil Vaglienti.

During his lifetime, his Vespucci's letters were not questioned, on the contrary, you were a part of the map by Martin Waldseemüller and Matthias ring man. Sailors who went to the provisions of maps Waldseemüller and consequently, according to Vespucci, arrived at the right places. Vespucci's Mundus Novus was in contrast to the Columbus letters of the late 15th century as a work of scientific geography and was printed in the 16th century in 37 different languages.

The doubts of some historians relate particularly three false position information, the Amerigo Vespucci in his letters on his first ride in 1497, stating during his fourth voyage in 1503. The questions whether the position information of Vespucci are transmission or tradition error are entitled. Even with his year of birth or of his Latin name Transfer and Delivery error incurred in the course of time. Some insist that he was born in 1454, others claim in 1451st Recently, Robert Wallisch attempted to refute the objections to the authenticity of the Mundus Novus letter, and led linguistic arguments for authorship Vespucci into field.

Amerigo Vespucci as a namesake of America

On the wide distribution of these letters of Vespucci, the decision of the German cartographer Martin Waldseemüller to call on his world map of 1507 the new continent America. Waldseemüller derived the name from the Latinized name Americus Vespucius and wrote with Matthias ring man together in the Cosmographiae Introductio in 1507 the following:

" Now in truth these parts of the New World were particularly explored and discovered another part of Americus Vesputius ... and there is no reason why someone should ban it, to name the new country Amerige, Land of Americus, after its discoverer Americus, a particularly astute man, or America, since both Europe and Asia their names from women ... "

With the appointment of the New World after his person was Amerigo Vespucci's desire to play in his book Van den nygen Insulen ( Middle Low German, 1506), even during his lifetime come true: ". Vp dat myn gedechtniß by the mynschen bliue "

This naming can be seen as justified because Christopher Columbus was always believed to have discovered a new sea route to Asia. Therefore he called the discovered by him, supposedly west of India and West Indies islands and their inhabitants Indians. Christopher Columbus was encountered American islands, but only Amerigo Vespucci realized that it was a new continent.

Find out more

The Florentine church of Ognissanti ( All Saints, Borgognissanti 42) was the home church of the Vespucci. Inside the church, on the right just after the entrance, there is a fresco by Ghirlandaio in the year 1473, a Virgin of Mercy. Under the right hand of the Madonna is a portrait of Amerigo Vespucci.

According to him the now still in operation sail training ship of the Italian Navy was named ( home port of Livorno) and the airport his hometown of Florence.