Amerigo
Amerigo

Author: Felipe Fernández-Armesto

Publisher: Random House

Published: 2008-12-18

Total Pages: 274

ISBN-13: 030751255X

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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)

Letters from a New World
Letters from a New World

Author: Amerigo Vespucci

Publisher:

Published: 1992

Total Pages: 272

ISBN-13:

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The letters he wrote that convinced Europeans to name the New World America (after him).

The Letters of Amerigo Vespucci
The Letters of Amerigo Vespucci

Author: Amerigo Vespucci

Publisher:

Published: 2019-06-23

Total Pages: 94

ISBN-13: 9780359747078

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Adventurer, merchant and mapper of the New World, Amerigo Vespucci's life is fascinating and vivid ? his letters, published here in full, reveal his discoveries. Born in Florence in the mid-15th century, Vespucci expressed an interest in the newly-discovered lands across the Atlantic Ocean from an early age. Educated by his uncle, a learned Dominican friar, in youth that Vespucci displayed a talent for money matters and mathematics ? these talents helped during his sea expeditions, which saw him draw many of the first maps made of South America's coast. This book does not merely contain Vespucci's own writings, but also letters of other authors who refer to him and his accomplishments. Christopher Columbus praised Vespucci's competence, while he is alluded to multiple times in the writings of historian Bartolome de las Casas. The compiler, annotator and translator of these correspondences is Clements R. Markham, who is keen to reveal the character and deeds that underpin Amerigo Vespucci's reputation.

The Naming of America
The Naming of America

Author: Martin Waldseemüller

Publisher:

Published: 2008

Total Pages: 146

ISBN-13:

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This new book features a facsimile of the 1507 World Map by Martin Waldseemuller - the first map ever to display the name America - and tells the fascinating story behind its creation in 16th-century France and rediscovery 300 years later in the library of Wolfegg Castle, Germany, in 1901. It also includes a completely new translation and commentary to Martin Waldseemuller and Matthias Ringmann's seminal cartographic text, the Cosmographiae Introductio, which originally accompanied the World Map. John Hessler considers answers to some of the key questions raised by the map's representation of the New World, including "How was it possible for a small group of cartographers to have produced a view of the world so radical for its time and so close to the one we recognize today?"; and "What evidence did they possess to show the existence of the Pacific Ocean when neither Vasco Nunez de Balboa nor Ferdinand Magellan had yet reached it'." There are no easy answers, and yet, as this fascinating book reveals, this group of unknowns created some of the most important maps in the history of cartography, and afford us a glimpse into an age when accepted scientific and geographic principles fell away, spawning the birth of modernity.

AMERIGO VESPUCCI – Discover the Man Behind the Legend
AMERIGO VESPUCCI – Discover the Man Behind the Legend

Author: Christopher Columbus

Publisher: Good Press

Published: 2024-01-16

Total Pages: 341

ISBN-13:

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In 'AMERIGO VESPUCCI Discover the Man Behind the Legend,' readers embark on a scholarly voyage that navigates through the diverse narratives and intricate perspectives of early exploration narratives, shedding light on the multifaceted figure of Amerigo Vespucci. This collection amalgamates a range of literary styles, from firsthand accounts to reflective analyses, offering a comprehensive overview of the era's exploration literature. It emphasizes the pivotal moments and contested interpretations that have contributed to the mythologizing of Vespucci, highlighting the complexity of historical memory and the construction of legends. The anthology stands out for its inclusion of significant yet varied viewpoints, fostering a deeper understanding of exploration narratives and their implications. The contributing authors, Christopher Columbus, Bartolomé de las Casas, and Amerigo Vespucci himself, bring forth a rich tapestry of Renaissance exploration, each from their unique vantage points. These figures are not merely explorers but pivotal contributors to the historical and cultural dialogues that shaped the European understanding of the New World. Their works embody the tensions and revelations of an era marked by discovery and conquest, providing invaluable insights into the dynamics of cultural encounter and the narrative construction of history. 'AMERIGO VESPUCCI Discover the Man Behind the Legend' is a must-read for anyone interested in the intricate weave of history, exploration, and the narratives that shape our understanding of the world. This anthology offers readers the unique opportunity to delve into the minds of those who stood at the crossroads of history, witnessing the collision of worlds. It encourages a critical examination of the narratives that have crafted our historical landscape, inviting readers to engage with the complexity of exploration literature and its lasting impact on our perception of history and culture.