9,99 €
Mehr erfahren.
- Herausgeber: 50Minutes.com
- Kategorie: Lebensstil
- Serie: History
- Sprache: Englisch
Keen to learn but short on time? Get to grips with the life of Amerigo Vespucci in next to no time with this concise guide.
50Minutes.com provides a clear and engaging analysis of the life and expeditions of Amerigo Vespucci. The 15th and 16th centuries were a key period for European naval exploration. While he was not the first man to set foot on American soil, the Florentine explorer Amerigo Vespucci was the first to realise that the landmass was a new continent, and made major contributions to navigation and cartography during the period.
In just 50 minutes you will:
• Understand the social, political and economic context of Vespucci’s expeditions, in particular with regard to the colonial ambitions of Spain and Portugal
• Learn about Vespucci’s four expeditions to the New World and the discoveries he made
• Discover the major impact Vespucci had on Europeans’ understanding of the geography of the world
ABOUT 50MINUTES.COM | History & Culture
50MINUTES.COM will enable you to quickly understand the main events, people, conflicts and discoveries from world history that have shaped the world we live in today. Our publications present the key information on a wide variety of topics in a quick and accessible way that is guaranteed to save you time on your journey of discovery.
Das E-Book können Sie in Legimi-Apps oder einer beliebigen App lesen, die das folgende Format unterstützen:
Seitenzahl: 30
Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2017
Ähnliche
Amerigo Vespucci
Key information
Born: 9 March 1454 in Florence (Italy).Died: 22 February 1512 in Seville (Spain).Aim of the expedition: to explore and chart unknown lands.Regions explored: Central and South America.Famous discoveries:The mouth of the Amazon River.The bay of Río de Janeiro.Introduction
Amerigo Vespucci’s name has achieved posterity thanks to the German cartographer Martin Waldseemüller (1470-1518 or 1521). In 1507, Waldseemüller published the first map of the continent unknowingly discovered by Christopher Columbus (Genoese navigator and explorer, 1450-1506) and named the southern half of it ‘America’ in homage to Vespucci. Vespucci, who was born in Italy and was close to the powerful Medici family, but undertook maritime voyages on behalf of Spain, was a businessman with a passion for geography and cartography. He was the first person to believe that the lands he discovered were not an unknown part of Asia, but rather a completely separate continent.
He produced a number of written accounts of his expeditions to South America. Although many of these have now disappeared, his descriptions of the customs of the populations he encountered on the Brazilian coasts were very popular with his contemporaries. Nonetheless, there are still some mysteries surrounding his career: we do not know how many voyages he undertook or what his exact role was, and the suspicion that he had usurped Christopher Columbus’s role in the discovery of the New World tarnished his reputation. A popular chronicler whose writings were circulated thanks to a fast-growing printing industry and who was passionate about literature, science and travel, this Renaissance man was truly a man of his time.
Biography
Portrait of Amerigo Vespucci, dated 1876.
Friends in high places
Amerigo Vespucci was born in Florence in 1454. His father, Nastagio Vespucci (1425-1483), was a notary in the government of Florence, the signoria. He was taught by his uncle, Giorgio Antonio Vespucci (1434-1514), a Dominican friar and renowned humanist whose knowledge and erudition brought him into the service of the Medici family, teaching Greek and Latin to the sons of Florence’s elite. Amerigo Vespucci therefore spent time with the cultured circle of the Medicis, rubbing shoulders with painters and writers, such as Sandro Botticelli (Florentine painter, 1445-1510), who was also his neighbour.
His uncle was also a skilled diplomat, and as a result was sent to France in 1478. The brothers Lorenzo (also known as Lorenzo the Magnificent, Florentine statesman, 1449-1492) and Giuliano (Florentine statesman, 1453-1478) de’ Medici had been the victims of an assassination attempt by the sons of the Pazzi family (a very old Florentine noble family). Lorenzo survived, but Giuliano was killed. The power of the Medici family was weakened by this conspiracy, leading them to seek support in the other European courts. For this reason, Giorgio Antonio Vespucci was sent as an ambassador to King Louis XI of France (1423-1483). Amerigo followed him in order to continue his education and train to be a businessman, in the modern sense of the term. This meant that he learnt how to manage the money, administration and public relations of first his own family, then the city of Florence.
A painter’s muse
Amerigo was not the only famous member of the Vespucci family. Simonetta Cattaneo (1453-1476) married his cousin, Marco Vespucci, at the age of 15. She therefore also attended the court of the Medici family, and some claim that she was the lover of Giuliano de’ Medici.
