America was named after Amerigo Vespucci, a Florentine navigator and explorer who played a prominent role in exploring the New World. America's Namesake In 1507, some scholars at Saint-Dié-des-Vosges in northern France were working on a geography book called Cosmographiæ Introductio, which contained large cut-out maps that the reader could use to create his or her own globes. German cartographer Martin Waldseemüler, one of the book's authors, proposed that the newly discovered Brazilian portion of the New World be labeled America, the feminine version of the name Amerigo, after Amerigo Vespucci. The gesture was his means of honoring the person who discovered it, and indeed granted Vespucci the legacy of being America's namesake. Decades later, in 1538, the mapmaker Mercator, working off the maps created at St-Dié, chose to mark the name America on both the northern and the southern parts of the continent, instead of just the southern portion. While the definition of America expanded to include more territory, Vespucci seemed to gain credit for areas that most would agree were actually first discovered by Christopher Columbus.

Amerigo: The Amerigo Vespucci Story

History

Nilsen, Frances S.

Salter, James L.

World

Shamrock Pr

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Books by Nilsen, Frances S.

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Nilsen, Frances S.. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Amerigo: The Amerigo Vespucci Story