What did Vespucci discover?
On May 10, 1497, explorer Amerigo Vespucci embarked on his first voyage. On his third and most successful voyage, he discovered present-day Rio de Janeiro and Rio de la Plata. Believing he had discovered a new continent, he called South America the New World. In 1507, America was named after him.
What is Amerigo Vespucci best known for?
Italian explorer Amerigo Vespucci is best known for his namesake: the continents of North and South America. … Amerigo Vespucci was one of many European explorers during the Age of Exploration, or Age of Discovery, which took place from the mid-1400s to mid-1500s.
What is the pronunciation of Amerigo Vespucci?
A·me·ri·go [uh-mer-i-goh; Italian ah-me-ree-gaw], /əˈmɛr ɪˌgoʊ; Italian ˌɑ mɛˈri gɔ/, Americus Vespucius, 1451–1512, Italian merchant, adventurer, and explorer after whom America was named.
Did Vespucci discover America?
By 1502, the Florentine merchant and explorer Amerigo Vespucci had figured out that Columbus was wrong, and word of a New World had spread throughout Europe. America was later named for Vespucci. And, as researchers now recognize, neither man was actually the first to discover the Americas.
What was Amerigo Vespucci motivation?
Amerigo Vespucci was initially motivated by his early career work as a mercantile for the house of Medici in Florence, Italy and later Spain.
Why was Amerigo Vespucci discovery important?
Perhaps Vespucci's most important contribution, however, was his realization that the continent he was exploring was not Asia. It was, in fact, a continent previously unknown to most Europeans. Eventually the continents of the western hemisphere became known as North and South America – named after Amerigo Vespucci.
What was the purpose of Amerigo Vespucci exploration?
Amerigo Vespucci's goal was to determine whether or not the lands discovered by Christopher Columbus were actually part of Asia or something entirely…