In 1507, European cartographers were struggling to redraw their maps of the world and to name the newly found lands of the Western Hemisphere. The name they settled on: America, after Amerigo Vespucci, an obscure Florentine explorer. In Amerigo, the award-winning scholar Felipe Fernández-Armesto answers the question “What’s in a name?” by delivering a rousing flesh-and-blood narrative of the life and times of Amerigo Vespucci. Here we meet Amerigo as he really was: a sometime slaver and small-time jewel trader; a contemporary, confidant, and rival of Columbus; an amateur sorcerer who attained fame and honor by dint of a series of disastrous failures and equally grand self-reinventions. Filled with well-informed insights and amazing anecdotes, this magisterial and compulsively readable account sweeps readers from Medicean Florence to the Sevillian court of Ferdinand and Isabella, then across the Atlantic of Columbus to the brave New World where fortune favored the bold. Amerigo Vespucci emerges from these pages as an irresistible avatar for the age of exploration–and as a man of genuine achievement as a voyager and chronicler of discovery. A product of the Florentine Renaissance, Amerigo in many ways was like his native Florence at the turn of the sixteenth century: fast-paced, flashy, competitive, acquisitive, and violent. His ability to sell himself–evident now, 500 years later, as an entire hemisphere that he did not “discover” bears his name–was legendary. But as Fernández-Armesto ably demonstrates, there was indeed some fire to go with all the smoke: In addition to being a relentless salesman and possibly a ruthless appropriator of other people’s efforts, Amerigo was foremost a person of unique abilities, courage, and cunning. And now, in Amerigo, this mercurial and elusive figure finally has a biography to do full justice to both the man and his remarkable era. “A dazzling new biography . . . an elegant tale.” –Publishers Weekly (starred review) “An outstanding historian of Atlantic exploration, Fernández-Armesto delves into the oddities of cultural transmission that attached the name America to the continents discovered in the 1490s. Most know that it honors Amerigo Vespucci, whom the author introduces as an amazing Renaissance character independent of his name’s fame–and does Fernández-Armesto ever deliver.” –Booklist (starred review)

Amerigo Vespucci was an Italian explorer, navigator and cartographer who first demonstrated that Brazil and the West Indies did not represent Asia's eastern outskirts as initially conjectured from Columbus' voyages, but instead constituted an entirely separate landmass hitherto unknown to Europeans. Colloquially named the New World, this second super continent came to be known as "Americas", deriving its name from Americus, the Latin transcription of Vespucci's first name. Learn more about the man who gave his name to the new continent, read his personal letters, diaries and what his contemporaries wrote about him. Table of Contents: Biography of Amerigo Vespucci by Frederick A. Ober Life of Vespucci by Clements R. Markham Letter of Amerigo Vespucci to a "Magnificent Lord" Letter of Amerigo Vespucci to Lorenzo Pietro F. di Medici Evidence of Alonso de Hojeda respecting his Voyage of 1499 Account of the Voyage of Hojeda, 1499-1500, by Navarrete Letter of the Admiral Christopher Columbus to his Son Letter of Vianelo to the Seigneury of Venice Letter of Naturalization in Favour of Vespucci Appointment of Amerigo Vespucci as Chief Pilot Chapters from Las Casas, which discuss the Statements of Vespucci: Evidence respecting the Voyage of Pinzon and Solis Las Casas on the Voyage of Pinzon and Solis

First published in 1967. This volume looks at the voyages of Americo Vespucio, to use the Spanish form of the name Amerigo Vespucci, who sailed to the West under the Spanish flag in 1499 and again in 1501 when he sailed to gain geographical information for the King of Portugal who like the King of Spain had been confused by the contradictory reports of Columbus. Columbus to his death believed that he had landed in Asia and not the Americas. Americo discovered the Amazon and the Para Rivers and explored over 6000 miles of continuous shoreline between Venezuela, which he named and a harbour about fifty degrees south on the coast of Argentina. In 1502 he presented 'proof' of the existence of the 'New World'. Americo crossed the Atlantic Ocean and found out and reported what was really there, naming the continent America from the Latin version of his name.

In 'The Life of Amerigo Vespucci', readers are presented with an anthology that delves deep into the heart of the Age of Exploration, through the eyes and words of three pivotal figures: Christopher Columbus, Bartolomé de las Casas, and Amerigo Vespucci himself. This collection spans a variety of literary styles, from firsthand exploratory accounts to reflective essays on the consequences of European expansion. The diversity within offers a significant exploration of early modern geopolitics, cross-cultural encounters, and the personal ambitions that shaped the New World. Particularly notable are the records of Vespucci's voyages, providing an invaluable perspective on the era's navigational challenges and triumphs. The contributing authors, each a key player in the historical period under examination, bring a wealth of experience and perspective. Columbus, the heralded navigator; de las Casas, the passionate advocate for indigenous rights; and Vespucci, for whom the Americas were named, collectively present a multifaceted narrative. Their backgrounds, from exploration to advocacy, align with and illuminate the complexities of colonization and its enduring impacts on world history. This anthology is recommended for readers eager to dive into the confluence of exploration, personal ambition, and the early stirrings of global interconnectedness. 'The Life of Amerigo Vespucci' offers an unparalleled opportunity to engage with the narratives that have shaped our understanding of the world, inviting a critical exploration of the motives and consequences of exploration through the lenses of those who were at the forefront of the Age of Discovery.

Discover the intriguing story of Amerigo Vespucci in this junior-level biography from Peace Hill Press. When Columbus landed on the islands in the Caribbean Sea, he thought he was off the coast of China. A few years later, Amerigo Vespucci sailed west, hoping to find a new route to the East. Instead, he discovered new lands that nobody at home knew about. What did he see? Who did he tell? And why is America named after him? Outstanding illustrations from Jed Mickle complement the fabulous story, giving second-grade readers insight into the life of this discoverer. About the series: The classical curriculum introduces even the youngest student to the pleasures of true learning. Elementary students learn history not through predigested textbooks with multiple-choice answers, but through reading the stories of history. Unfortunately, biographies of great men and women of the past are almost all written for older students, limiting the ability of young students to explore history through reading. Libraries are crammed with biographies written for high school students and adults—while beginning readers are provided with a shelf full of junior-level books about football players, NASCAR drivers, and movie stars. Now, Peace Hill Press puts real history back into the grasp of the youngest historians with the Who in the World Biography Series. The first entries in the series provide young readers and their parents and teachers with biographies of great men and women of the Middle Ages. Designed to be used as part of The Story of the World curriculum, these biographies give beginning historians in grades 2–4 a chance to explore beyond the textbook. An audio version is also available separately.