Amerigo Vespucci: Pest or Pioneer?

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In nature, the wasp is a reviled creature and one that leaves its venom imbued with a harsh sting. When one is spotted, its natural purpose is overlooked and the creature is hastily condemned. In history, there is one figure who stands prominently as someone whose accomplishments are glorified while the man is slandered as a con man, a deceiving pest. That man is none other than Amerigo Vespucci. It is his name that two continents of the Western Hemisphere have engraved over their valleys and mountains. They will bear that namesake for always, but why? With speculation surrounding Vespucci’s motives and centuries of scholars arguing the validity of his discoveries, the search for the root of why the Americas bear his name has always fascinated those who are willing to research it. Depending on the source they study, they will be reading of a scheming wasp who left his stinger in two continents or the unsuspecting victim of other’s lies and misinformation.

The young Florentine was baptized in the year 1454. “The child was going to be named Amerigo, and as a result the New World was to be called America. In a sense, it was not the son of Stagio Vespucci being christened, but the New World” (Arciniegas 7). He was born into the bourgeoisie and was raised in Florence, which was considered to be a central area of economic prosperity. Stagio Vespucci was a man who believed life was about having fun and enjoying oneself. However, he had one condition for his children. He wanted them to be well educated and to understand Latin, the language of educated people of the era. The Vespucci family was a distinguished one although there is a hint of treachery in their past. Their family coat of arms prominently featured a procession of golden w...

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...Discoverer in the Light of Recent Research." Italica Vol. 32, No. 1 (Mar.,1955): 12-13.

Pohl, Frederick J.. Amerigo Vespucci: Pilot Major. New York: Octagon Books Inc, 1966.

Zweig, Stefan. Amerigo: A Comedy of Errors in History. New York: The Viking Press, 1942.

Works Cited

"Online Etymology Dictionary." . 2010. Douglas Harper. 13 April, 2010. .

Arciniegas, German. Amerigo and the New World: The Life and Times of Amerigo Vespucci. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1955.

Emerson, Ralph Waldo. English Traits. 1856.

Penrose, Boies. "Vespucci the Discoverer in the Light of Recent Research." Italica Vol. 32, No. 1 (Mar.,1955): 12-13.

Pohl, Frederick J.. Amerigo Vespucci: Pilot Major. New York: Octagon Books Inc, 1966.

Zweig, Stefan. Amerigo: A Comedy of Errors in History. New York: The Viking Press, 1942.

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