Isabelle

Isabelle

AMERIGO VESPUCCI

 I would like to introduce you to Amerigo Vespucci. He was brave and very intelligent. He is best known for figuring out that North and South America were not part of Asia. He was born in Florence, Italy on March 9, 1454. Vespucci's parents were Nastagio and Lisabetta Vespucci. He had three older brothers. Their names were Antonio, Girolamo, and Bernardo. He was educated in astronomy, mathematics, geography, Latin, and literature by his uncle Giorgio Antonio Vespucci. In 1492 Vespucci moved to Seville, Spain so he could explore. His first expedition was on May 10, 1497. According to a letter he wrote, he left from Cadiz, Spain. He sailed for 37 days until he reached land. He did not report any islands along the way. He landed on the coast of South America. He may have traveled into the Gulf of Mexico as well. On Vespucci’s return trip, he discovered the island of “Iti” which some people believe is Bermuda. He arrived back in Spain on October 15, 1498. His second expedition was on May 16, 1499. He left again from Cadiz, Spain. He traveled with Spanish explorers Alonso de Ojeda and Juan de la Cosa. The crew took separate routes to try to reach the Cape Verde Islands. Vespucci crossed the Equator and reached land on the coast of Brazil. It was the first expedition to cross the Equator. He was also the first European to step foot in Brazil. On the way back, Vespucci discovered the mouth of the Amazon River. He got back to Spain in September, 1500.

On his third expedition, he sailed for Portugal instead of Spain. He left from Lisbon, on May 16, 1501. He sailed to Brazil for King Manuel I. He was not originally in charge but took command at the request of the expedition’s officers. Along the way he discovered Rio de Jeneiro and Rio de la Planta. On the way back they visited Sierra Leone and the Azores. In a letter to Florence, Vespucci called South America Mundus Novus, which means New World. He arrived back in Portugal on September 7, 1502.

On his fourth expedition, he discovered nothing new and after that he never went to America again. In 1507 a mapmaker named Martin Waldseemuller named South America in Vespucci’s honor. Vespucci died at age 57 in Seville, Spain on February 22, 1512. His expeditions were important because he discovered new continents to be added to the map of the world and that there were more great lands to explore.

By, Isabelle