Amerigo Vespucci

Vespucci was from an Italian

city. In 1497 an Italian named
Giovanni Caboto went on a voyage
on the ocen sea. England paid for
the voyage Caboto landed in
present day Newfoundland. which
is a part of Canada. When he
returned to England, he told every
one he had found Cathy the land of
Great Kublai Khan. The English
made Caboto a hero. They even
gave him a new name, John
Caboto. But not everyone in Europe
really believed that Columbus had
found the Indians or that Cabota
had landed in now what is called
China.

Amerigo Vesspucci made three

known voyages to America. The
first one in 1499. He reported that
he also reached America in 1497.
but most historians now question
this claim.
Vespucci was born in Florence,
they think on March 9, 1451. They
studied navigation as youth, he
spent his early career in the
banking firm of Lorenzo Di Peier
Francesco Di’ Medici of Florence.
In 1491, he moved to seville, Spain,
and became connected with a
company that equipped ships for
long voyages. Vesspucci later
claimed that he made four voyages
to the new world. After what he
called his first in 1497, he said he
had sighted a vast continent
[South America].
In 1499 and 1500. Vespucci took
part in an expedition led by the
Spanish explorer, Alonso De Ojeda.
During this voyage Vespucci’s ship
traveled along the coast of
Venezuela. In 1501 and 1502, and
again in 1503 and 1504 Vespucci
sailed with the fleet of
Goncalocolo, a Portuguese
captain. Both of these expeditions
explored the southern coast of
Brazil.
Vespucci reputation came
largely from a letter he wrote to
Lorenzo di pier Francesco de’
Medici in 1502 or 1503. In it,
Vespucci told of his discovery of a
new continent and vividly
described it. The letter was
published in 1503 or 1504 under
the title of Mundus Novus. It
became extremely popular and
later was published in several
editions and translations. The
letter established Vespucci as a
famous explorer.
Vespucci became a Spanish
citizen in 1505 and went to work
for a government agency that
regulated commerce with the new
world. He served as a chief
navigator for the agency from 1508
until his death.

By Samantha Price and

Jade Dalton