Biography of Amerigo Vespucci is a chain of happy coincidences, accidents, events. Fate itself controlled his life, and he could only keep up with it, remaining an honest and decent person. It is generally accepted that Amerigo Vespucci is a traveler and discoverer of the New World. In fact, Alberigo (namely, such a name was given to him by his parents) was a good and conscientious lawyer, notary, and sales representative. His life is a series of luck and good fortune that continued to accompany this man even after his death. The mature years of Amerigo Vespucci's life are described by him honestly and reliably, which in itself is a rarity for travelers of that time. However, he left behind no less mysteries. We don't know anything about his personal life, or if he had a family or children. However, the personal life of celebrities is the lot of the yellow press of the 21st century ...
Childhood
Alberigo Vespucci was born in the spring of 1454. Many researchers indicate the date - March 9, but this is a very conditional statement, which is based on the records of the church books of St. Mark's Cathedral, where the future hero of Europe was baptized. Since the very attitude to time in the 15th century was very different from ours (“an error” of one to three days was considered quite acceptable and natural), it is almost impossible to accurately determine the time of a person’s birth. The Vespucci family was very respected and famous in Florence, Father Alberigo served as a public notary. The future traveler was educated by his uncle, a Dominican monk, who was engaged not only in education (it is known that knowledge in the field of geography, physics, Latin allowed Vespucci to enter the university at the age of 16), but also in education. Alberigo himself, already known throughout Europe, wrote more than once that he owes all his success to his uncle, who taught him the most important thing - Christian morality and responsibility for the task assigned.
Youth
Almost nothing is known about the years of study at the university. The only letter written in Latin to his father, where the young man proudly talks about his successes, is all that the researchers have at their disposal. Most likely, the training went quickly and without problems, because immediately after graduating from the university, another uncle, the merchant Guido, takes him to work. A wealthy relative needed a clerk in his Paris office. Young and educated Alberigo showed himself from the best side. He not only diligently carries out assignments, but also constantly replenishes his knowledge. He was one of the first to apply Pacioli's accounting method beyond. Uncle once boasted of the success of his nephew? the conversation was overheard by one of the Medicis. Already in 1480, Alberigo Vespucci was invited to work in this rich family of financiers. At the turn of the 15th and 16th centuries, there was no richer and more influential family in Europe than the Medici. It is known that the salary of the new secretary exceeded the monthly income of a major official of the Florentine Republic. Vespucci will serve the Medici faithfully for twenty years!
chargé d'affaires
After working for the Medici for ten years, Alberigo Vespucci was entrusted with the leadership of the wealthy family's representation. Financiers from all over Europe opened their offices there at the end of the 15th century. It's all about sea expeditions, promising fabulous profits. Through the efforts of Vespucci, the Medici took part in the largest and most reliable projects to find ways to. By this time, there is a letter to his eldest son, which mentions the representative of the Medici -. Columbus characterizes him as a decent, reliable and honest person. During the years of service from 1490 to 1499, Vespucci gained such great authority in organizational and financial affairs that he was invited to serve the Spanish crown. A Florentine lawyer is entrusted with organizing several expeditions at once towards new lands in the West. Alberigo copes with this task brilliantly. In 1499, Vespucci decides to personally set sail for new shores.
Scout or Passenger?
Total Amerigo Vespucci took part in three expeditions to the New World: one under the Spanish flag and two under the Portuguese. What pushed the 45-year-old successful lawyer and financier to participate in such risky and complex projects? Most likely, not without the Medici family. The oligarchs wanted to make sure that the financing of distant expeditions was justified, so they "asked" their most trusted agent to "participate" in the voyage personally. The first expedition took place in 1499-1500. During this trip, Vespucci gave the name of the bay in the north of South America - Venezuela, which means "tiny Venice". It must be said that it was from this expedition that the Spaniards first brought the American Indians to Europe. The merit of this is precisely Vespucci, who made sure that the captives were well fed and treated with care. In 1500, Alberigo was invited to serve by the king (again, a trace of the Medici, who had the closest financial ties with Lisbon). The second voyage with the participation of the "passenger" Vespucci took place from 1501 to 1502. This time, the Medici representative is not just "participating", he is actively mapping the coast of Brazil, studying the flora and fauna, traditions and customs of the local population. His travel reports, which he skilfully compiled in the form of friendly letters, have been the most valuable source of information for historians and geographers to this day. The third voyage (1504-1505) was the last in biographies of Amerigo Vespucci. This time he was even entrusted with the command of one of the ships. Vespucci was a nominal captain and was not strong in navigation, therefore, in fact, a competent and experienced assistant managed the ship.
Honorable old age
After returning from the third trip, Vespucci learns that he is again "invited" to the Spanish service. The Medici bargained for themselves more favorable terms from the Spanish monarch, which means that the most valuable worker should be there. Officially, Vespucci recommended Columbus to King, out of friendship, of course. The position of "chief helmsman of the Indian campaigns of the Spanish kingdom" was pecuniary, honorary and respected. All financial issues related to numerous expeditions to the New World were now decided by the "Medici man". He served in this position from 1508 to 1512. Until death.
America or Alberica?
Where did the name "America" come from? The irony of history is that the name of the new continent appeared due to a typo in the German edition of the letters of the "Florentine traveller". This is how Amerigo Vespucci was born. In a fit of admiration for the writings of such a profitable author (books with letters sold like hot cakes, they were published four times in Germany alone!), the German publisher Waldseemüller suggested that the new mainland be named after Amerigo. This is how America was born. If there had been no typo, it is quite possible that we would have called the mainland Alberica ...
European countries have long competed with each other for a sea route to India. This led to the search for another way and the discovery of new lands. Subsequent events changed the history of not only the European powers, but also the peoples of the open continents.
The article is devoted to Amerigo Vespucci, whose brief biography is connected with the main sea discoveries of the fifteenth century. Was he really the one who opened up a new continent for the countries of Europe? Let's figure it out.
Son of a public notary
Amerigo Vespucci was born (a brief biography is associated with the discovery of America) on 05/09/1454. It happened in Florence. He became the youngest son of Anastasio Vespucci. The father of the family served as a public notary.
The boy was educated by his uncle Giorgio. Brother Anastasio was a Dominican monk in one of the monasteries in Florence. Amerigo studied Latin, physics, nautical astronomy, geography. He later entered the University of Pisa.
After graduating, Amerigo began working as a secretary to his uncle Guido, who was the Florentine ambassador. By the nature of his service, he lived in France. This went on for two years.
From 1480, Vespucci became an employee of the Medici trading house. Later, he began to represent the interests of the Medici family in maritime trade.
Participation in expeditions
New lands began to attract interest from influential people. The Medici were no exception. They began to finance expeditions to the New World. Amerigo Vespucci, whose brief biography is associated with fifteenth-century navigation, also succumbed to euphoria and a desire to explore new worlds.
Expeditions in which the navigator Amerigo Vespucci took part:
- 1497 - Alonso de Ojeda led the expedition. The navigators crossed the Atlantic Ocean, the Caribbean Sea, the shores of the Gulf of Mexico and entered the Delaware.
- 1499 - Alonso de Ojeda led the voyage. There is little information about the expedition. It is known that Vespucci visited the Gulf of Maracaibo. There he saw dwellings built on piles. Travelers called the village of these dwellings Venezuela, that is, "little Venice." The sailors also visited the West Indies before returning to Spain.
- The Portuguese expeditions of 1501 and 1504 under the command of Goncalo Coelho - Vespucci participated in it as a navigator, geographer, cartographer. Navigators visited the shores of the New World. In one of the voyages, he steered the ship.
The main source of information about his travels are the letters that remained after the death of Vespucci. He died on February 22, 1512 in Seville.
The assumption that brought Vespucci world fame
Amerigo Vespucci (a brief biography intersected with Columbus) was able to write a description of the new mainland. He was the first to suggest that the open areas were not Asia, as Columbus thought. Nor did Amerigo consider them islands. He decided that these lands are a huge continent on which people live.
He described his assumptions in letters. For example, in 1503 he wrote to the Medici that in the southern regions there is a mainland densely populated by people and animals. The climate on the island was more favorable than in Europe.
Three years after the letter was written, a German cartographer by the name of Waldseemüller published the brochure Introduction to Cosmography. In it, he posted Amerigo's letters, as well as his map. The cartographer proposed to name the open continent in honor of Amerigo Vespucci - America. Thirty years later, this name has become generally accepted. Subsequently, on the Mercator map, both continents began to be called America.
Who was the first?
Disputes about who first discovered America still do not fade away. Many researchers believe that discovered Amerigo Vespucci. However, the navigator himself never even tried to claim the glory of Columbus.
They were friends. Amerigo helped his friend in collecting equipment for expeditions. He was attracted not by fame, but by the very process of searching for new lands.
There is another version of who can be considered the discoverer of the New World.
Version about Ricardo America
For many, the question of what Amerigo Vespucci discovered is not a problem. But there is documentary information, according to which, at the same time as Christopher Columbus and Amerigo Vespucci, John Cabot, a resident of Bristol, went on an expedition. He was financed in this by Ricardo Americo.
Cabot was able to reach the shores of the new mainland before Vespucci. The Bristol navigator mapped the shores of the northern mainland of the Northern Hemisphere. He named it after his sponsor. It happened in 1497. This is evidenced by the entry of the Bristol calendar. It states that merchants from Bristol found the land of America, sailing on the ship "Matthew".
Adherents of this version believe that Vespucci took the nickname Amerigo for himself in honor of the already named mainland.
Both versions cannot be refuted, they have their adherents and opponents. However, official school textbooks adhere to the version that Columbus and Vespucci became the discoverers.
This navigator did not become famous for circumnavigating the world like the Portuguese. For a long time, Amerigo Vespucci was considered a liar who tried to take away fame from the famous. Later it became clear that the Italian made a brilliant contribution to geography, having thoroughly studied the mainland, in the future called South America. Vespucci made a discovery of the life of the Indians living on the mainland, his manuscripts became a real world bestseller of the 16th century.
Childhood and youth
The future traveler was born on March 9, 1451 (1454) in sunny Italy, in the glorious city of Florence. The poor father of the navigator Anastasio Vespucci worked as a notary of the republic, and scientists know nothing about the biography of the mother of the Florentine Lisabetta di Giovanni Mini. In addition to Amergo, the Vespucci family had two more children: the eldest boy Antonio began his career as a scientist at the University of Pisa in the future, and the middle brother of the traveler Geronimo became a Syrian merchant.
Amerigo grew up as an inquisitive and calm boy, from an early age he began to be interested in physics, and also diligently studied maritime geography and astronomy.
Giorgio Antonio Vespucci, a scientist and monk of the monastery of St. Mark, helped his future eminent nephew get a proper education: thanks to his uncle, the Italian perfectly learned Latin.
In 1470, the young man entered the University of Pisa, after which Amerigo made a career as an economist.
On the way to the commune of Tuscany, the Italian acquires an ancient map of the Mediterranean Sea for 130 crowns and diligently examines it. In the future, Amerigo Vespucci will independently master cartography, a navigation system, and also study the structure of sea ships.
Discovery of America
Before sailing, Amerigo was engaged in financial affairs. In 1490, the future discoverer with his nephew went to study trade in Seville. There he began working for the famous and wealthy Italian Danoto Berardi and in 1493 met the Italian admiral Christopher Columbus, helping him equip the second and third expeditions.
Since 1498, Amerigo Vespucci has been supplying sea expeditions and also paying salaries to sailors. But a year later, in 1499.45-year-old man personally sets off on a long journey.
Why Amerigo spontaneously decided to change his field of activity remains a mystery. On this occasion, the bibliographers had two assumptions. According to one guess, despite the financial service, the Italian lived poorly. The salary was small, and conscience did not allow the Florentine to appropriate other people's money, which he disposed of. According to the opposite opinion, Vespucci, the head of maritime affairs, lived richly and made a considerable fortune in 30 years of service. However, the expeditions of Columbus awakened in the Italian a thirst for adventure and adventure.
Realizing that navigation is not only an interesting, but also a profitable business, the Florentine leaves economic activity and prepares to conquer the Earth's water space at his own expense.
Map with the travel route of Amerigo Vespucci In 1499, Amerigo sets out on his first sea voyage with Alonso Ojedi, an associate of Christopher Columbus, who on May 20 undertook an expedition on four ships. According to one opinion, Amerigo was in the position of navigator, according to another, he commanded a sea vessel. The Italian explores the ocean, the mouth of the Amazon and the coast of South America. The first trip did not bring money to the Florentine, but he gained invaluable experience as a sailor.
This research activity of the Italian does not end there. Manuel I the Happy invites a native of Florence to Lisbon, so Amerigo goes on two other expeditions under the Portuguese flag.
The second voyage began in 1501, and the third in 1503 under the command of Admiral Gonzalo Coelho.
In 1502, Amerigo Vespucci became one of the discoverers of the Brazilian area, which received the name Rio de Janeiro, which literally translates from Portuguese as "January River", because the bay was explored in January.
Under the leadership of Coelho, the Italian explores the Brazilian continents and independently manages a small ship. Then Amerigo builds his own point of view, different from the opinion of Columbus. According to the assumption of the former financier, the coast of Brazil is not an island located in Asia, but an independent unknown territory, which the traveler calls the New World.
Having a literary talent, the Italian leaves an epistolary legacy of about 30 pages. Exploring new continents and coasts, the navigator scrupulously recorded the impressions of his travels and sent them to Lorenzo Medici and godfather Piero Soderini. Amerigo's letters became so popular that they were reprinted about 60 times, while the manuscripts of Columbus were subject to publication only 12 times.
In addition to exotic descriptions of South America, Amerigo carefully recorded the life and customs of unknown Indian tribes. It is noteworthy that the text of the Italian is endowed with a share of eroticism, he spoke without hesitation about beautiful and lustful women who are not embarrassed by their nudity. Vespucci's stories were popular with Puritan society, because in times of religious austerity, the traveler's stories were of interest.
An unknown Italian publishing house included the compatriot's letters in a collection with a memorable title: "The New World and New Countries Discovered by Amerigo Vespucci from Florence." The book has been translated into many languages of the world. In 1507, a map was published in France with the contours of a new mainland, called "the land of Amerigo" or America. According to another guess, the navigator's friend was the first to draw a map of America with a portrait of a Florentine on the contours of the mainland. The artist and scientist made such a gesture as a token of gratitude, because because of an Italian acquaintance, Leonardo became the first tobacco smoker in Europe.
According to another opinion, America did not get its name from Vespucci at all: the mainland was named after a merchant from Bristol, Richard America.
Personal life
Nothing is known about the personal life of a native of Italy, scientists cannot say whether Amerigo had children who faithfully awaited their father from long sea expeditions. After exhausting voyages, in 1505 Vespucci moved to Spain in search of a quiet life and soon married.
The Italian was an adventurer who was not afraid to exchange a quiet life for risky expeditions, and also had insight, observation and literary talent. Amerigo was spoken of as an exceptionally honest person, Vespucci did not take advantage of the glory of Christopher Columbus and did not claim the honors deserved by the Spanish admiral, Christopher himself spoke of him as a decent person.
Death
The Italian navigator died at the age of 58 in the city of Seville in southern Spain on February 22, 1512. The cause of death of Amerigo Vesspucci is unknown, scientists only know that the discoverer of the New World died quietly and imperceptibly, and only a few people accompanied his coffin.
Sailboat "Amerigo Vespucci" In honor of the Italian traveler, in February 1931, the Amerigo Vespucci sailboat was launched from Naples.
Amerigo Vespucci (born March 9, 1454 - death February 22, 1512) navigator, Florentine traveler, whose name, perhaps,. It is believed that he received this nickname or named himself so in honor of the already named continent. He took part in several Spanish and Portuguese expeditions (1499-1504) to the shores of South America, which he called the New World. One of the discoverers of the Amazon Delta, the Gulf of Venezuela, the Maracaibo Lagoon and the Brazilian Highlands; chief pilot (navigator) of Spain (1508)
It was Amerigo Vespucci who first expressed the opinion that the open land is not Asia, not islands, but a new continent!
early years
Vespucci was born in the family of a poor Florentine official, received a liberal arts education at home, studied the sciences and languages from his uncle, Giorgio Vespucci, a Dominican monk. Didn't attend school. His father, Anastasio Vespucci, was a public notary.
Amerigo served for a long time in the banking house of the Medici. 1490 - moved to Spain, where he worked as an agent of the same company in Seville, as a rule, he was engaged in equipping ships. He thoroughly studied the structure of ships, mastered navigation and astronomy, compiled various maps. 1492 - transferred to the Spanish naval service, participated in the equipment of the second and third expeditions, with whom he was friends. Until 1499, Vespucci did not sail anywhere.
Maiden voyage
In 1499-1500. was navigator on the expedition of Alonso Ojeda (on three ships), commanding two ships equipped for his own money. 1499, summer - the ships approached the northern coast of South America at 5 ° or 6 ° north latitude, where the flotilla was divided. Vespucci headed southeast, on July 2 he discovered the Amazon delta and its mouth branch Para, on boats he was able to penetrate up to 100 km. Then he continued sailing southeast to San Marcos Bay (44 ° west longitude), identified approximately 1200 kilometers of the northern coastal strip of South America, discovered the Guiana Current.
1) Amerigo Vespucci; 2) Christopher Columbus
From there, Vespucci turned back and in August caught up with Alons Ojeda near 66° W. Going west together, they discovered more than 1600 kilometers of the southern coast of the mainland with the Paraguana and Guajira peninsulas, the Triste and Venezuelan bays, the Maracaibo lagoon and several other islands, including Curacao. In autumn he again separated from Ojeda, explored the coast of South America 300 kilometers to the southwest, and returned to Spain in June 1500.
Second voyage
In 1501-1502. Vespucci was in the Portuguese service as an astronomer, navigator and historiographer in the 1st Portuguese expedition of Gonçalo Cuelho on 3 ships. In mid-August 1501, they approached the Atlantic coast of South America at 5° 30″ south latitude and passed to 16°, repeating the discoveries of the Spaniard Bortolome Roldan (1500). On January 1, 1502, the expedition discovered the bay of Rio de Janeiro (Guanabara), traced the coast for 2000 km to the southwest (to 25 ° south latitude) and, making sure that the land still stretches in the same direction, turned back. One caravel arrived in Portugal at the end of June, the other with Cuella and Vespucci at the beginning of September (the third, which had fallen into disrepair, had to be burned).
Discovery of America (engraving)
Third voyage
In 1503-1504. Amerigo commanded a caravel in the 2nd expedition of Goncalo Cuel on 6 ships. 1503, the beginning of August - at the Ascension Island they discovered (8 ° south latitude), one ship sank, three were missing. The caravels Vespucci and Cuelho reached the bay of All Saints, which was discovered in the previous voyage at 13 °. A detachment landed on the orders of Amerigo Vespucci for the first time climbed a steep ledge of the Brazilian Highlands and was able to penetrate 250 kilometers inland. In the harbor at 23 ° south latitude, during a 5-month stay, the Portuguese built a fort, where they left 24 sailors, and returned to Lisbon with a load of sandalwood at the end of June 1504.
How did the name "America" come about?
After sailing along the northern and eastern shores of the newly discovered lands, Amerigo Vespucci formed the correct idea of it as the southern transatlantic continent, and in 1503, in a letter to his homeland, he proposed calling the mainland the New World. 1507 - Lorraine cartographer Martin Waldseemüller attributed the discovery of the "fourth part of the world" made by Columbus to Vespucci and named this continent America in honor of Amerigo Vespucci. 1538 - this already recognized name was extended on the Mercator map to North America. 1505 - after a second move to Spain, Amerigo received Castilian citizenship. 1508 - appointed to the newly established position of chief pilot of Spain and holds it until his death.
1) Amerigo Vespucci; 2) Statue of Amerigo Vespucci in the Uffizi in Florence (Italy)
Personality, discoveries of Amerigo Vespucci
According to contemporaries, he was an exceptionally honest, intelligent and observant person. In fact, Vespucci did not discover anything himself. On ships, he was more of a passenger than a professional sailor. But, thanks to this "passenger", detailed maps of the northern and eastern coasts of South America were compiled. Having remarkable literary talent, often exaggerating, Vespucci described the bays and harbors, flora and fauna, as well as the appearance and lifestyle of the natives. Thanks to his imagination and wonderful style, many of the names he gave to the new lands have survived to this day: Venezuela (Little Venice), Rio de Janeiro (January River) and many others not so well known. However, he was silent all the time about the heads of the expeditions and his role in them.
Amerigo Vespucci travel map
The work done during Vespucci's expeditions is the work of a geographer. Can we say that Amerigo Vespucci discovered America? Of course not. America was discovered by the son of the Viking Eric the Red (Leif Eriksson) back in 1000. The thing is different, it was Amerigo who first suggested that the lands discovered in the West were not Asia, but a new continent, which he reported in his letters. Being a modest man, Vespucci suggested the name - "New World". Amerigo never claimed the laurels of Columbus, whose sons also did not make any claims against him.
It is known that Christopher Columbus until the end of his days stubbornly called the lands he discovered Asia or the West Indies. After all, Columbus himself did not offer any separate names for all the lands that he discovered as a result of four expeditions.
