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Amerigo Vespucci - Explorer (1454
- 1512) |
Amerigo Vespucci was an Italian explorer who
went on several expeditions to South America.
Having discovered present day Brazil, he recognised
South America as being a new continent rather
than the eastern extremities of Asia as had
previously been thought. Consequently he named
it the ‘New World’.
This page details facts about Amerigo Vespucci's
life and the events that shaped his history.
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Amerigo Vespucci the Explorer
- Fun Facts for Kids ! |
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Amerigo Vespucci Fact
1: |
Amerigo Vespucci was born in Florence,
Italy on 9th March 1454. His father, Nastagio Vespucci,
was a notary (Lawyer), and his elder brothers attended the
University of Pisa. |
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Amerigo Vespucci Fact
2: |
Amerigo Vespucci became a clerk in the
Medici Bank and went on to gain the favour of the head of
the business, Lorenzo di Pierfrancesco de' Medici. |
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Amerigo Vespucci Fact
3: |
In 1492, Amerigo Vespucci was sent to
the Cadiz branch to look into the Managers’ dealings as
they were considered suspicious. |
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Amerigo Vespucci Fact
4: |
By 1495, Amerigo
Vespucci was working in Seville with Gianotto Berardi,
another of Medici’s agents, who supplied ships with
provisions. Some of the ships supplied were for a voyage
of Christopher Columbus. Soon after, Vespucci himself
took part in some voyages to the New World. |
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Amerigo Vespucci
Fact 5: |
Some of the voyages,
which Amerigo Vespucci is thought to have made, are
the subject of controversy. There are two sets of documents
relating to his voyages. One set, which is now thought
to have been fabricated, mentions four voyages. The
other set, which only mentions two voyages, is formed
of three private letters to the Medici’s and is thought
to be genuine. All attempts to reconcile the contents
of these two sets of documents have failed.
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Amerigo Vespucci
Fact 6: |
One of the disputed voyages set sail
from Cadiz on 10th May 1497, and sailed to Central America
via the West Indies, before returning to Cadiz in October
1498.
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Picture
of Christopher Columbus
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Amerigo Vespucci Fact
7: |
In May 1499, Amerigo Vespucci sailed
as Navigator on a Spanish Expedition commanded by Alonso
de Ojeda. After reaching Guyana, he left Ojeda and headed
south discovering the mouth of the Amazon River and continuing
to latitude 6˚S before returning to Spain via Trinidad,
the Orinoco River and Hispaniola. |
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Amerigo Vespucci Fact
8: |
On the 13th May 1501, Amerigo Vespucci
sailed from Lisbon on a Portuguese expedition. He sailed
to the Cape Verde islands before heading for Brazil. When
he arrived at the coast of Brazil, Amerigo Vespucci continued
south to Rio de Janeiro’s bay. There is doubt over the remainder
of the voyage, however it’s believed that he continued on
past the Rio de la Plata to Patagonia (in modern day Argentina).
On 22nd July 1502, he anchored back in Lisbon, although
the return route remains a mystery. |
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Amerigo Vespucci Fact
9: |
It was this 1501-1502 voyage that convinced
Amerigo Vespucci that these lands weren’t the eastern extremes
of Asia, as had previously been thought, but a New World. |
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Amerigo Vespucci Fact
10: |
According to the disputed set of documents,
Amerigo Vespucci undertook a fourth voyage. This was said
to have taken place between 1503 and 1504 for Portugal.
Again, it was said to have been along the eastern coast
of Brazil. Whilst Portuguese documents confirm such a voyage,
there is no evidence to support Vespucci being part of it. |
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Amerigo Vespucci Fact
11: |
In 1505, Amerigo
Vespucci was employed by the Casa de Contratacion de las Indias (Commercial House
for the Indies). He was appointed Chief Navigator in 1508,
a position he held until his death. |
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Amerigo Vespucci Fact
12: |
In 1507, Martin Waldseemuler, a German
cartographer, applied the name ‘America’ to South America
for the first time. The name was derived from ‘Americus’
the Latin version of Vespucci's first name, Amerigo.
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Amerigo Vespucci Fact
13: |
Amerigo Vespucci died on 22nd February
1512. The cause of his death is unknown.
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Amerigo Vespucci the
Explorer (1454 - 1512) Fun Facts Info for Kids ! |
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