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Amerigo: The Man Who Gave His Name to America
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)
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)
256 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2006
15 people are currently reading
272 people want to read
About the author
Felipe Fernández-Armesto
129 books182 followersFelipe Fernández-Armesto is a British professor of history at the University of Notre Dame and author of several popular works, notably on cultural and environmental history.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 48 reviews
October 12, 2021
3 1/2 stars.
On Columbus Day Eve, I finished this book about his friend and rival, the man who inexplicably gave his name to two continents.
Something less than biography, Amerigo mostly dissects the claims made by and about the explorer, to more accurately find his appropriate place in history. Like a certain prominent figure from modern times, Amerigo Vespucci seems to have been a master of self-promotion, while grossly overstating his skills and resume. Yet he gave the public what it wanted: Amazing stories from a mysterious land across the sea. The tales included giant humans and monstrous behaviors, thereby justifying murder and enslavement, setting the stage for centuries of mistrust and maltreatment of the first inhabitants of the New World.
Fernández-Armesto clearly knows his subject matter, and has studied all the right documents. A tough read for such a small book, it is packed with oceanography, geography, and astronomy, with, I was sad to find, not nearly enough maps included.
Still, it was a worthwhile endeavor, with plenty of information I hadn’t previously known. Amerigo comes off the page as a strange but unhidden figure, a regular guy with larger than life aspirations and tales to tell. Columbus may (still) have a day named for him in a country or two, but no one has a larger Earthly memorial than Amerigo.
On Columbus Day Eve, I finished this book about his friend and rival, the man who inexplicably gave his name to two continents.
Something less than biography, Amerigo mostly dissects the claims made by and about the explorer, to more accurately find his appropriate place in history. Like a certain prominent figure from modern times, Amerigo Vespucci seems to have been a master of self-promotion, while grossly overstating his skills and resume. Yet he gave the public what it wanted: Amazing stories from a mysterious land across the sea. The tales included giant humans and monstrous behaviors, thereby justifying murder and enslavement, setting the stage for centuries of mistrust and maltreatment of the first inhabitants of the New World.
Fernández-Armesto clearly knows his subject matter, and has studied all the right documents. A tough read for such a small book, it is packed with oceanography, geography, and astronomy, with, I was sad to find, not nearly enough maps included.
Still, it was a worthwhile endeavor, with plenty of information I hadn’t previously known. Amerigo comes off the page as a strange but unhidden figure, a regular guy with larger than life aspirations and tales to tell. Columbus may (still) have a day named for him in a country or two, but no one has a larger Earthly memorial than Amerigo.
July 26, 2017
'Why should someone read about Amerigo, it might be to late for a reader who has made it this far' the author writes near the end of the book. Overall it is a mediocre book, not really due to the author but the subject material, Florentine Vespuccci was raised during the time of Lorenzo the magnificent and seems to have been from a cadet branch of the medicis. Author evaluates the various claims of Vespucci and discusses a continent got named after him.
May 12, 2025
Very interesting read on Amerigo Vespucci, and covering a decent part of the problems with the historiography of Amerigo, which has numerous problems with unidentified or fraudulent texts.
Highly worth a read, accessible to all.
Highly worth a read, accessible to all.
August 31, 2012
"Amerigo Vespucci, who gave his name to America, was a pimp in his youth and a magus in his maturity," writes Felipe Fernández-Armesto. His subject is reminiscent of Melville's confidence man, a figure of protean energy and inventiveness, a Florentine operator constantly on the make and adept at the makeover. He is a startlingly contemporary personality, and so it is no wonder that the title of this biography puts us all on a first name basis with him.
Part of a n'er-do-well clan, Vespucci got his start working for the Medicis in Florence. Although previous biographers have assumed his early profession as a procurer of women and jewels signaled his close connection with the Medicis, his most recent biographer is skeptical. Lorenzo the Magnificent did not send his best boys to backwaters such as Seville. "Perhaps this is the moment to risk a speculation," Mr. Fernández-Armesto writes. Amerigo himself may have taken the initiative, desperate to cut loose from a dependent family and make his fortune.
Vespucci emerges in this witty biography as our hero, a picaresque merchant who goes broke backing Columbus's voyages and then decides to become an explorer himself, setting out in 1499 after his more famous predecessor was generally acknowledged to have failed to make good on his promises: No huge caches of gold, no pathway to Asia, no benign natives, and no paradisal climates.
Amerigo's two voyages brought him no significant riches but rather a wealth of stories about exotic lands and a whole new continent. So he wrote it all up. Lots of it was hooey, but some of it was based on personal observation. And Amerigo's reputation as a navigator, acquired through on-the-job training, grew. He put his name on maps, starting with a Florentine publication in 1504 that would go through 23 printings, describing harrowing adventures and miraculous escapes.
Other geographers, thrilled by Amerigo's accounts, published a huge map in 1507 with his name emblazoned on what is today Brazil. Oops! They soon realized that Vespucci had laid claim to too much. But without CNN and the 24-hour news cycle, it was too late. And so we all became Amerigonians.
Mr. Fernández-Armesto obviously relishes his subject's prevarications and those gullible followers who made so much of a name. In his retelling, history becomes a bit of a farce when it is not obscured by "romantic illusions." Even familiar concepts like the Renaissance get a drubbing. Sounding like the Senator Ted Stevens of biography, Mr. Fernández-Armesto shouts:
"It inaugurated modern times." No: Every generation has its own modernity, which grows out of the whole of the past. "It was revolutionary." No: Scholarship has detected half a dozen prior renaissances. … "It was art for art's sake." No: It was manipulated by plutocrats and politicians.
And there is much more to the list of no's in this iconoclastic, irreverent, but also superbly researched portrayal of a subject gifted at getting history to take him at his word.
We live in a country named by mistake. But to get the joke, you have to accept this biographer's shrewd research.
Part of a n'er-do-well clan, Vespucci got his start working for the Medicis in Florence. Although previous biographers have assumed his early profession as a procurer of women and jewels signaled his close connection with the Medicis, his most recent biographer is skeptical. Lorenzo the Magnificent did not send his best boys to backwaters such as Seville. "Perhaps this is the moment to risk a speculation," Mr. Fernández-Armesto writes. Amerigo himself may have taken the initiative, desperate to cut loose from a dependent family and make his fortune.
Vespucci emerges in this witty biography as our hero, a picaresque merchant who goes broke backing Columbus's voyages and then decides to become an explorer himself, setting out in 1499 after his more famous predecessor was generally acknowledged to have failed to make good on his promises: No huge caches of gold, no pathway to Asia, no benign natives, and no paradisal climates.
Amerigo's two voyages brought him no significant riches but rather a wealth of stories about exotic lands and a whole new continent. So he wrote it all up. Lots of it was hooey, but some of it was based on personal observation. And Amerigo's reputation as a navigator, acquired through on-the-job training, grew. He put his name on maps, starting with a Florentine publication in 1504 that would go through 23 printings, describing harrowing adventures and miraculous escapes.
Other geographers, thrilled by Amerigo's accounts, published a huge map in 1507 with his name emblazoned on what is today Brazil. Oops! They soon realized that Vespucci had laid claim to too much. But without CNN and the 24-hour news cycle, it was too late. And so we all became Amerigonians.
Mr. Fernández-Armesto obviously relishes his subject's prevarications and those gullible followers who made so much of a name. In his retelling, history becomes a bit of a farce when it is not obscured by "romantic illusions." Even familiar concepts like the Renaissance get a drubbing. Sounding like the Senator Ted Stevens of biography, Mr. Fernández-Armesto shouts:
"It inaugurated modern times." No: Every generation has its own modernity, which grows out of the whole of the past. "It was revolutionary." No: Scholarship has detected half a dozen prior renaissances. … "It was art for art's sake." No: It was manipulated by plutocrats and politicians.
And there is much more to the list of no's in this iconoclastic, irreverent, but also superbly researched portrayal of a subject gifted at getting history to take him at his word.
We live in a country named by mistake. But to get the joke, you have to accept this biographer's shrewd research.
June 8, 2015
Vespucci will never be as well-known as Columbus, but Fernandez-Arnesto's portrait gives a face to the man who gave his name to America.
This slim biography of Amerigo Vespucci makes the most of a maddeningly slim body of primary materials. The author relies on contextual criticism and cultural and family resources to flesh out the story of a minor merchant of Florence who ends up in Seville in the service of the Spanish throne, much like his countryman Columbus.
But unlike Columbus, Vespucci wasn't a navigator. He was basically a supplier of navigators, until he found himself on two (or three, or four; the sources conflict here) cross-Atlantic trips to the Novus Mundi which he reported to his adopted country in a slim volume of the same name attributed correctly--the author concludes--to Vespucci.
The assignment of the feminine Latin version of his name (following the model of Africa, Asia, and Europa) to the coast of the eastward-jutting edge of the future Brazil was made by cartologist Waldseemuller on his famous map of 1507, based on the reading of Vespucci's reports and the incorrect conclusion that Vespucci preceded Columbus on the new continent. The usage spread, so that by the time Waldseemuller discovered his mistake and reverted to the term "Terra Incognita" in 1513, it was too late to change the name that had spread from a corner of the southern continent to encompass the full continent both North and South.
As Fernandez-Arnesto argues, the naming may be for the best, given the negative historical freight associated with Columbus (evangelism, imperialism, colonization, massacre) and the relative obscurity of Vespucci which has enabled his name to be associated with the values of democracy, liberty, and opportunity associated with the United States of America that dominates the northern continent.
Fernandez-Arnesto concludes with an interesting question and the brief beginnings of an answer worthy of its own book-length study: why was it that Atlantic exploration was driven by citizens of the land-locked Mediterranean (Columbus and Vespucci the best-known representatives) in the service of the Atlantic-facing nations?
This slim biography of Amerigo Vespucci makes the most of a maddeningly slim body of primary materials. The author relies on contextual criticism and cultural and family resources to flesh out the story of a minor merchant of Florence who ends up in Seville in the service of the Spanish throne, much like his countryman Columbus.
But unlike Columbus, Vespucci wasn't a navigator. He was basically a supplier of navigators, until he found himself on two (or three, or four; the sources conflict here) cross-Atlantic trips to the Novus Mundi which he reported to his adopted country in a slim volume of the same name attributed correctly--the author concludes--to Vespucci.
The assignment of the feminine Latin version of his name (following the model of Africa, Asia, and Europa) to the coast of the eastward-jutting edge of the future Brazil was made by cartologist Waldseemuller on his famous map of 1507, based on the reading of Vespucci's reports and the incorrect conclusion that Vespucci preceded Columbus on the new continent. The usage spread, so that by the time Waldseemuller discovered his mistake and reverted to the term "Terra Incognita" in 1513, it was too late to change the name that had spread from a corner of the southern continent to encompass the full continent both North and South.
As Fernandez-Arnesto argues, the naming may be for the best, given the negative historical freight associated with Columbus (evangelism, imperialism, colonization, massacre) and the relative obscurity of Vespucci which has enabled his name to be associated with the values of democracy, liberty, and opportunity associated with the United States of America that dominates the northern continent.
Fernandez-Arnesto concludes with an interesting question and the brief beginnings of an answer worthy of its own book-length study: why was it that Atlantic exploration was driven by citizens of the land-locked Mediterranean (Columbus and Vespucci the best-known representatives) in the service of the Atlantic-facing nations?
January 5, 2008
I have always wanted to know more about Amerigo Vespucci but have never stumbled upon anything until now. I guess it was because April 25, 2007 was the 500th anniversary of the naming of America that this book was released.
As there is surprisingly little documentation about Vespucci, the author attempted to paint the picture of his life by filling in the gaps with inferences based upon the sparse available facts. All of this is portrayed in that light and nothing is meant to be misrepresented. Even the picture on the cover of the book may not be of him as it too, cannot be confirmed.
The actual naming of America was little influenced by Amerigo. There is a convoluted story as to how the name was actually chosen but (for trivia buffs) it first appeared in a map in 1507 placed in the area of where Brazil is today. The reason the cartographers gave for the using the name was that they were paying tribute to Vespucci by using a feminine version of his name to correspond to the feminine forms of Africa, Asia, and the Latin, Europa.
Vespucci certainly was not the noble explorer I thought him to be. Not the person I thought deserving of having our country named after. Although I feel the naming honor should have gone to Columbus, the author makes a strong point by stating, “Yet I doubt whether anyone nowadays thinks of Vespucci when they utter the name America. It triggers no reminiscence of the man, precisely because he has been such an obscure, unknowable figure with a hidden, untold life. . . How different the effects would be if Columbus’s partisans had gotten their way and we spoke of, say, Christopheria instead! Columbus has such an ineluctable presence in history that a hemisphere named after him would never be free of association with him.”
Overall Amerigo was an interesting character that I am glad to finally know better and as a result, a better understanding of his historical significance.
As there is surprisingly little documentation about Vespucci, the author attempted to paint the picture of his life by filling in the gaps with inferences based upon the sparse available facts. All of this is portrayed in that light and nothing is meant to be misrepresented. Even the picture on the cover of the book may not be of him as it too, cannot be confirmed.
The actual naming of America was little influenced by Amerigo. There is a convoluted story as to how the name was actually chosen but (for trivia buffs) it first appeared in a map in 1507 placed in the area of where Brazil is today. The reason the cartographers gave for the using the name was that they were paying tribute to Vespucci by using a feminine version of his name to correspond to the feminine forms of Africa, Asia, and the Latin, Europa.
Vespucci certainly was not the noble explorer I thought him to be. Not the person I thought deserving of having our country named after. Although I feel the naming honor should have gone to Columbus, the author makes a strong point by stating, “Yet I doubt whether anyone nowadays thinks of Vespucci when they utter the name America. It triggers no reminiscence of the man, precisely because he has been such an obscure, unknowable figure with a hidden, untold life. . . How different the effects would be if Columbus’s partisans had gotten their way and we spoke of, say, Christopheria instead! Columbus has such an ineluctable presence in history that a hemisphere named after him would never be free of association with him.”
Overall Amerigo was an interesting character that I am glad to finally know better and as a result, a better understanding of his historical significance.
March 14, 2013
The writing itself isn't super-compelling, but the research and measured interpretation are both very impressive, and give a great perspective on European's worldview in the early sixteenth century. If your knowledge is still limited to "In 1492, Columbus sailed the ocean blue, with the Nina, the Pinta, and the Santa Maria" for the Castilian crown, you'd better pick this one up.
May 3, 2019
....actually, I had this book read to me while commuting to and from work. There were some interesting items. But, I know if I had to read (actually read it and not listen to it being read), I would have never made it through the book.
March 1, 2010
Too much longitude and latitude for my liking for a few interseting facts.
October 10, 2011
I'm not sure who was more arrogant - Vespucci or the author. No big suprises. Dismiss.
April 1, 2012
If you like 15th/16th century navigators, this book is for you. I will admit to learning a thing or two, though mostly it was profoundly dull.
October 25, 2022
In 1507 the cartographer Martin Waldseemüller, working at remote St. Dié in what is now northeastern France (500 miles away from the Atlantic Ocean), designed and printed two versions of a world map. One was designed to be pasted on a globe, the other is a huge wall map (the Library of Congress owns the only extant copy). These maps included the most up to date geographical information Europeans had at the time. Waldseemüller labeled the southern-most landmass of the Western Hemisphere, for the first time, “America.” By 1538, when Mercator used the term to designate both the North and South continents, the name had stuck. Who was this man whose name was given to the “New World?” Vespucci, unlike his contemporary Columbus, did not leave an extensive written record – that which remains is of questionable authorship or editing. The book gives us a voyage of discovery not unlike those of the explorers of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. He takes us on a journey from Amerigo’s early life in Medici Florence and his move to Seville through his Atlantic voyages and legacy. The author successfully tries to get inside the ephemeral Vespucci’s mind and find out the true nature of his motivation.
May 27, 2024
It’s not that I didn’t like the book, it just wasn’t what I was looking for at the time. I learned a tremendous amount about Amerigo Vespucci and his life and times pertinent to his relevance. But what this book was lacking was a description of his voyages. The author did a good job looking into facts and made some pretty educated assumptions about Vespucci’s voyages. It was revealing to know that he was so much in Columbus’ shadow, and his voyages had so much influence on Vespucci. It was truly an amazing time in history. Vespucci wasn’t particularly great, but could make an amazing protagonist in a movie or book series considering how many elbows he rubbed during his time in Italy and Spain. I wish there was more certain information surrounding Amerigo’s journeys. I wish I could find a more exciting biography detailing the trips to the new world. But until then, I am glad I read this, and would still recommend to anyone who wants to appreciate the perspectives of a simple seafaring merchant who inadvertently staked an unbidden claim to fame that will be forever stamped into the history of the world.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 23, 2025
It's always seemed odd that there is very little written about the man to whom two continents are named, but if one takes the author's assessments at face value it becomes much more clear. Here, Vespucci appears to be both an obscure as well as controversial figure in history. The take away was that his contributions were mediocre and questionable at best. In contemporary terms he sounds more like a travel writer(if he even wrote the documents attributed to him) combined with what we call today an 'influencer'. The advent of printing and mass reproduction of written works combined with the proliferation of the aforementioned, suggest that Vespucci's almost mythical travels are an early version of something 'going viral' regardless of its accuracy.
What's clear is that Vespucci's life serves as an example that personal and professional reinvention is possible, if with nothing else, using determination and ambition. Further that branding, in particular personal branding can and does trump knowledge, experience and evidenced accomplishment.
What's clear is that Vespucci's life serves as an example that personal and professional reinvention is possible, if with nothing else, using determination and ambition. Further that branding, in particular personal branding can and does trump knowledge, experience and evidenced accomplishment.
December 19, 2022
Note - this book is a locally self published book and is not currently part of the Goodreads Library database. It is not the tagged book.
The Story of Amerigo Sinterklaas Beloved Horse by Carolyn Stich...
Written and illustrated by an amazing local artist, this book tells the tale of sinterkclaas' famous white horse. Living in a community rich with Dutch heritage, we celebrate our Dutch heritage throughout the year and especially at the holidays and at our world famous Tulip Time. This book is beautifully illustrated and a wonderfully told story of the history of Sinterklaas and his horse. It will capture the hearts of children everywhere.
The Story of Amerigo Sinterklaas Beloved Horse by Carolyn Stich...
Written and illustrated by an amazing local artist, this book tells the tale of sinterkclaas' famous white horse. Living in a community rich with Dutch heritage, we celebrate our Dutch heritage throughout the year and especially at the holidays and at our world famous Tulip Time. This book is beautifully illustrated and a wonderfully told story of the history of Sinterklaas and his horse. It will capture the hearts of children everywhere.
March 20, 2020
I enjoyed reading this and will probably re-read it in the future. I think it lends itself best to an educational book club of sorts. I read it to better understand the era I was teaching to my homeschooled daughter and would have loved to have read and discussed it as a group with other parents/teachers. I must also note: it has the most beautiful table of contents layout/typography I've ever seen. It's full of fun discussion topics, interesting source document references and quotes, and enjoyable speculation of the times and cartography.
October 21, 2019
Amerigo had limited, shifting success, but has had enduring fame as the namesake of the western hemisphere, due to accidents and misunderstandings in early 16th century Europe. His story might be boring, but this author, a distinguished historian, tells it so wittily that the book is quite enlightening.
April 4, 2022
An interesting subject and argument, but one marred by the author's tendency to use "10-cent" words. It slows the narrative down a lot when I have to stop every other page to look up the definition of a word!
July 25, 2017
The most thorough investigation of Vespucci's life I can ever imagine. If you like a book with many new vocabulary, this is the book for you.
May 29, 2019
Excellent. Fun deep dive into the rogue who lent his name to an equally roguish continent. Great fun. I wish I had read this in high school. Good compliment to 1491.
August 15, 2024
I like history but this did lag a bit.
Americo was pretty full of himself.
Americo was pretty full of himself.
July 13, 2023
Lol Eurotrash
May 21, 2018
Almost a parody of the popular history genre. There's literally more data about Amerigo in his Wikipedia page.
December 20, 2019
The book is victim to a lack of available info and maybe unclear direction. It does strike at how and why America is named after him in a nice and concise way, but only in the final chapter.
September 12, 2009
Such a enjoyable book. Fernández-Armesto is not out to glorify or demonize Amerigo Vespucci. He has written a clear-eyed post-colonial biography of the explorer. And his dry wit is a treat.
Quotes from Fernández-Armesto say it best:
From the intro:
"[A:]lthough Vespucci made no significant contribution to any art or science –as we shall see, his cosmography was amateurish, his navigation overrated, his writing feeble - he was an important figure in global history because he was one of the last in a series of adventurers from the Mediterranean who helped conquer the Atlantic and extend across the reach of what we now call Western civilization."
And his take on what Western Europe has added to civilization?
He argues that most of what shaped Western Europe came from Asia. (farming, metallurgy, Indo-european languages, ideas and technologies) While in Western Europe
"my ancestors stared at the ocean for hundreds, perhaps thousands of years, without ever daring to venture far into it."
"'The Rise of the West' is often said to be the great central problem of world history. Viewed from long-term perspective, the inertia of the West seems more conspicuous more problematic. Why did the peoples of Atlantic-side Europe do so little for so long?"
Really thought-provoking assumption-tweaking read.
Quotes from Fernández-Armesto say it best:
From the intro:
"[A:]lthough Vespucci made no significant contribution to any art or science –as we shall see, his cosmography was amateurish, his navigation overrated, his writing feeble - he was an important figure in global history because he was one of the last in a series of adventurers from the Mediterranean who helped conquer the Atlantic and extend across the reach of what we now call Western civilization."
And his take on what Western Europe has added to civilization?
He argues that most of what shaped Western Europe came from Asia. (farming, metallurgy, Indo-european languages, ideas and technologies) While in Western Europe
"my ancestors stared at the ocean for hundreds, perhaps thousands of years, without ever daring to venture far into it."
"'The Rise of the West' is often said to be the great central problem of world history. Viewed from long-term perspective, the inertia of the West seems more conspicuous more problematic. Why did the peoples of Atlantic-side Europe do so little for so long?"
Really thought-provoking assumption-tweaking read.
Read
January 21, 2011In 1507 the cartographer Martin Waldseemüller, working at remote St. Dié in what is now northeastern France (500 miles away from the Atlantic Ocean), designed and printed two versions of a world map. One was designed to be pasted on a globe, the other is a huge wall map (the Library of Congress owns the only extant copy). These maps included the most up to date geographical information Europeans had at the time. Waldseemüller labeled the southern-most landmass of the Western Hemisphere, for the first time, “America.” By 1538, when Mercator used the term to designate both the North and South continents, the name had stuck. Who was this man whose name was given to the “New World?” Vespucci, unlike his contemporary Columbus, did not leave an extensive written record – that which remains is of questionable authorship or editing. The book gives us a voyage of discovery not unlike those of the explorers of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. He takes us on a journey from Amerigo’s early life in Medici Florence and his move to Seville through his Atlantic voyages and legacy. The author successfully tries to get inside the ephemeral Vespucci’s mind and find out the true nature of his motivation.
November 4, 2016
It's true that this book may not be everyone's cup of tea. It's got more methodological discussion than most popular histories but less detail than many academic histories. At the same time, its hybrid character is one of the things that makes it remarkably good if you have time to look more closely. In addition to giving a good biographical narrative of Amerigo Vespucci's life, Fernández-Armesto offers some nicely nuanced thoughts on how historians handle and debate figures who left so few primary sources behind. His discussion of disputes over the authenticity or inauthenticity of various printed travel accounts that bear Vespucci's name is particularly illuminating, as is his discussion of how Vespucci's writings reflect not just what he saw but what he had read (and therefore had used to interpret what he believed he had found). There is also some terrific contextual material on the intellectual, political, and commercial milieu of Florence and its relations to the Iberian voyages. Overall this is a concise but not necessarily quick read, but if you have time to savor it a bit, the rewards are there.
July 16, 2010
An extraordinary work of scholarship, this book examines the life of Amerigo Vespucci in exhaustive detail, and corrects the errors of many earlier works. Vespucci is portrayed as an accident of history, a man whose ambitions often exceeded his grasp, but who was a skilled self-promoter, often, as Armesto points out, at the cost of historical accuracy. Indeed, the fat that two continents were named after Vespucci is shown here to be the result of distorted record-keeping, misinterpreted documents, and outright falsehoods. Though compelling, Armesto sometimes loses the narrative element that would make Vespucci's history more engaging, and he often delves into corrective passages that, while important to the historical record, do not always make for compelling reading. Still, the book is not too lengthy to make such diversions tiring, and the story of Vespucci's accidental immortality is inherently fascinating.
May 27, 2017
A different look into the discovery of the Americas and interesting history of the rivalry of the time to discover new areas. The navigation history was especially interesting to me.
August 2, 2009
I really enjoyed this book - not only for learning about an explorer that you would think we would know more about, as the American continents bear his name, but also because the authors style was very interesting. Using a very rich vocabulary that made it a little challenging but not overburdensome. I got really excited when I came across a passage where the author actually got to use the longest non-technical word in the English language - foccinaucinihilipilification. I found it most interesting and useful how the author spent a lot of effort to familiarize the reader with Amerigo's background and environment, and how that influenced how he perceived and described the new world.
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