Navigator Amerigo Vespucci: brief biography, travel, discoveries

We all know that the discoverer of America is Christopher Columbus, but then why was it named after Amerigo Vespucci? A brief biography of this famous navigator and researcher will help us to clarify the essence of the matter. And although Columbus was the first in the American continent, it was Vespucci who announced to the whole world that the newly discovered lands are the mainland.

Origin

The birthplace of Amerigo Vespucci is Florence, where he was born on March 9, 1454. His father, who worked as a notary, took care of the son to receive proper education. Little Amerigo was at home and mostly studied the humanities. Also under the guidance of his uncle, he studied Latin, geography and nautical astronomy. In his youth he entered the University of Pisa, and from 1478 he began to work. Amerigo Vespucci, whose brief biography does not consist of swimming alone and discoveries, first served as the secretary of his other uncle, who was the ambassador of Florence in Paris. Later, the famous seafarer worked long enough in the financial sector.

In 1490, he moved to Spain and continues to work. Here he is engaged in the preparation of marine expeditions, simultaneously studying everything concerning ships, and also mastering navigation. In 1492, he transferred to naval service directly in Spain. For the next few years he continues to prepare for sea voyages, but this time he equips the expeditions of Christopher Columbus himself, with whom, among other things, they were friends.

The first expedition (1499-1500).

In 1499, Amerigo Vespucci himself joins the expedition of the navigator Alonso Ojeda to the South Atlantic. What he discovered during this trip, read about this further. Vespucci personally finances the equipment of two ships, which he will later command, and goes on a voyage as a navigator. In the summer of the same year, an expedition consisting of three ships approached the northern coast of South America, after which Amerigo Vespucci sent his ships in the southeast direction. On July 2, he managed to discover the Amazon delta. The explorer penetrated 100 km deep into the mainland, using boats, and then returned and continued to sail to the southeast.

Then, Amerigo Vespucci explored about 1200 km of the northern coast of the continent, then sent his ships in the opposite direction and by August overtook the Alonso Oheda ship at approximately the 66th meridian of western longitude. Together, seafarers continued to follow the western direction and plotted more than 1,500 km of the coast of South America. They also discovered several peninsulas, islands, bays and lagoons. In autumn Vespucci and Ojeda again split, after which the first continued exploration of the mainland coast, sailing 300 km in the south-west direction. He returned to Europe in June 1500.

The second expedition (1501-1502)

In 1501, seafarer Amerigo Vespucci was invited by the King of Portugal to serve as an astronomer, navigator, and historiographer. In the same year, another expedition was organized, which was directed by Gonçalo Coelho. Three ships left Europe in mid-August and headed for the eastern coast of South America.

Further, the seafarers continued to follow the south, repeating the route of Spaniard Bortolome Roldan, who sailed here in 1500. On January 1, 1502, they opened the bay of Rio de Janeiro (now Guanabara) and, intending to find out its extent, sailed 2000 km along the coast, but And could not find its edge. It was decided to turn the ships back, besides one of the three ships of the expedition fell into disrepair, as a result of which the travelers burned it. The first ship arrived in Portugal in June of the same year, and Vespucci and Coelho, who were on the second ship, returned only in September.

The third expedition (1503-1504)

About a year later, Portugal organized a new expedition, in which Amerigo Vespucci also took part. A brief biography of the seafarer must contain a description of this journey. The head of the expedition was again appointed to Gonçalo Coelho, but this time six ships were equipped for sailing. In August 1503, sailors discovered the island of Ascension in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean , next to which one ship sank, and three disappeared in an unknown direction altogether. The remaining ships headed for South America and stopped at the Bay of All Saints, where, on Vespucci's orders, a group of explorers landed 250 kilometers deep into the continent.

Here the travelers stayed for five months. At this point they built a fleet, after which, leaving 24 seamen on the mainland, the expedition set off on its way back. Also on the ship was shipped a batch of logs of valuable sandalwood, found on newly discovered lands. In June 1504, the seafarers returned to Spain. On this trip, Amerigo Vespucci ended.

How and why America was named after Amerigo Vespucci

The famous traveler explored the fairly large extent of the coast of South America to suggest that this land is just a continent. In a sense, it was Amerigo Vespucci who discovered America. In a letter sent to them in Florence in 1503, he outlined a detailed description of the lands discovered by him, suggesting that they most likely have nothing to do with the Asian mainland, as they rush far to the south. At the same time, he says that these territories are inhabited, and also proposes to designate the newly opened continent as the New World.

In 1507, cartographer Martin Waldzemüller was invited to call the newly discovered continent America - the name of the famous explorer Amerigo Vespucci. From this point on, this name appears on all geographical maps and atlases. Although the seafarer visited only South America, the North is also named after Amerigo Vespucci. What did he actually discover? More details about this can be found in his letters and diaries, it only remains to add that he himself was not inclined to talk much about his role in the discovery of the continent and in no way contributed to his naming him in honor of himself.

The last years of the seafarer's life

In 1505 Vespucci again goes to the service of the King of Spain, and not without the help of Christopher Columbus. He accepts citizenship of Castile and in 1508 is appointed the main pilot of the kingdom. He occupies this position for the next several years, taking part in equipping new expeditions and dreaming to go swimming. But he could not realize his plans of Amerigo Vespucci. A brief biography of this man ends on February 22, 1512 - on this day he died in Seville, where he lived in recent years.