Page 4 - Italian American Herald - October 2021

4 ITALIANAMERICANHERALD.COM | OCTOBER2021 ITALIAN-AMERICANHERALD
HISTORY
On the trail of Amerigo Vespucci, noted world traveler
By Jeanne Outlaw-Cannavo
Many of us know that our acountry was named after Amerigo Vespucci even though he did not set foot on what was once referred
to as the “New World” until after Columbus. Who is this man and why does America bear his name?
Amerigo was born in Florence on March 9, 1451. He was the third son born to Nastagio Vespucci and Lisa di Giovanni Mini. While his two older brothers went
to the University of Pisa, he was tutored by his uncle Giorgio, a Dominican friar in the monastery of San Marco. Under his guidance, Amerigo received a broad education including extensive studies of geography and astronomy. This knowledge would serve him well in later years when he set off to explore the new world.
When his father died in 1482, Amerigo went to work for Lorenzo di Pierfrancesco de' Medici as a household manager and then tasked to oversee various business activities of his patron. In 1488 he was sent to Seville to find a new business manager for Lorenzo. Amerigo recommended Giannotti Berardi and he also became involved with the
manager. He settled in Spain permanently by 1492 and would eventually become a citizen.
Berardi was a major sponsor of Columbus’s expeditions. When he passed away in 1495, Amerigo was left to settle his estate. He continued to provide provisions for ships bound for the west Indies, but profits were not as expected, and he was losing the support of his patron Lorenzo de' Medici
Between 1497 and 1504, Vespucci set off on four expeditions. Some historians dispute that he made the first voyage in 1497 or
one in 1503 but agree that he did explore the northern part of South America in an expedition from 1499 to 1500 and present- day Brazil in a voyage from 1501-1502.
A letter sent to Florentine statesman Piero Soderini (dated 1504) is allegedly an account from Vespucci of an expedition which departed Spain on May 20, 1497. His account has been disputed by some historians who state there were many inconsistencies during the journey. Some feel he may have incorporated aspects of his expedition of 1499 to 1500 so he could position himself as the “first” explorer to encounter the mainland.
During the second journey from 1499 to 1500, Vespucci joined an expedition funded by the Spanish monarch led by Alonso de Ojeda. Vespucci’s role in the expedition was never clear but the intention was to explore
the new landmass discovered by Columbus and to follow up on a lead that there was a rich source of pearls in this area. Their first stop was in the Canary Islands and then near present day Suriname. From there the fleet split up with Vespucci on a southbound vessel. Amerigo also wrote about this part of the journey noting they were now on the coast of Asia and would round the “Cape
of Cattigara” and reach the Indian Ocean. A world map from 1489 marked this cape as the southeastern part of Asia
so his calculations were based on
what was known about the world at that time. They passed the areas where both the Amazon and Paras flowed into the sea and then ventured another 150
miles before turning around and landing somewhere on the shores of Venezuela.
In 1501 Manuel I of Portugal funded another expedition which included Vespucci. The goal was to investigate a landmass which is now Brazil. The king wanted to know if he could claim this land based on the Treaty
of Tordesillas. Amerigo was hired to serve as a pilot under Goncalo Coelho and his is the only surviving record of this journey. They reached the landmass on August 17, 1501, where they encountered hostile natives. Heading further south they met friendlier
natives and engaged in some minor trading.