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Amerigo
Vespucci
Vespucci,
Amerigo (Latin, Americus Vespucius)
(1454-1512), Italian navigator, born in
Florence, who claimed that on his first
voyage (1497-1498) he reached the North
American mainland before any other
explorer. In 1495 he took over the
business of a merchant in Seville who had
furnished supplies to ships voyaging to
the West Indies. He later set out for the
New World himself. He left accounts and
maps of four voyages.
Although
most scholars discredit many of his claims
and seriously doubt whether there was a
first voyage, they tend to agree that
Vespucci did, on the expedition led
(1499-1500) by the Spanish soldier Alonso
de Ojeda, explore a large section of the
northern coast of South America and, on a
subsequent voyage, may have also explored
part of that continent's eastern coast as
far south as the Rio de la Plata. The
German geographer and cartographer Martin
Waldseemüller, who translated
Vespucci's narrative in 1507, suggested
that it might be proper to name the new
continent America, an adaptation of the
explorer's given name of Amerigo, because
Vespucci had been the first European
explorer to state that South America was a
"new" continent, and not a part of Asia.
Applied first to the southern continent,
the name gradually came into use as that
of the two western continents after it
appeared on a planisphere published by
Waldseemüller in 1516.
Vespucci's
First Voyage 1497
[We]
made towards the land, and before we
reached it, had sight of a great number of
people who were going along the shore, by
which we were much rejoiced: and we
observed that they were a naked race. They
shewed themselves to stand in fear of us.
I believe (it was) because they saw us
clothed and of other appearance (than
their own). They all withdrew to a hill,
and for whatsoever signals we made to them
of peace and of friendliness, they would
not come to parley with us…
[W]e put to land with the boats,
and sprang on shore full 40 men in good
trim. And still the land's people appeared
shy of converse with us, and we were
unable to encourage them so much as to
make them come to speak with us. And this
day we laboured so greatly in giving them
of our wares, such as rattles and mirrors,
beads, spalline, and other trifles, that
some of them took confidence and came to
discourse with us. And after having made
good friends with them, the night coming
on, we took our leave of them and returned
to the ships.
…
The next day when the dawn appeared we saw
that there were infinite numbers of people
upon the beach, and they had their women
and children with them… And before we
reached the land, many of them jumped into
the sea and came swimming to receive
us… for they are very great swimmers,
with as much confidence as if they had for
a long time been acquainted with us; and
we were pleased with this their
confidence. For so much as we learned of
their manner of life and customs, it was
that they go entirely naked, as well the
men as the women…
They
are of medium stature, very well
proportioned. Their flesh is of a colour
that verges into red like a lion's mane;
and I believe that if they went clothed,
they would be as white as we. They have
not any hair upon the body, except the
hair of the head which is long and black
and especially in the women, whom it
renders handsome. In aspect they are not
very good-looking, because they have broad
faces, so that they would seem
Tartar-like. They let no hair grow on
their eyebrows, nor on their eyelids, nor
elsewhere, except the hair of the head:
for they hold hairiness to be a filthy
thing. They are very light footed in
walking and in running, as well the men as
the women; so that a woman recks nothing
of running a league or two, as many times
we saw them do. And herein they have a
very great advantage over us Christians.
They swim (with an expertness) beyond all
belief, and the women better than the men:
for we have many times found and seen them
swimming two leagues out at sea without
anything to rest upon…
These
people have neither King, nor Lord, nor do
they yield obedience to any one, for they
live in their own liberty… Amongst
those people we did not learn that they
had any law, nor can they be called Moors
nor Jews, and (they are) worse than
pagans: because we did not observe that
they offered any sacrifice. Nor even had
they a house of prayer. Their manner of
living I judge to be Epicurean: their
dwellings are in common, and their houses
(are) made in the style of huts, but
strongly made, and constructed with very
large trees, and covered over with
palm-leaves, secure against storms and
winds: and in some places (they are) of so
great breadth and length, that in one
single house we found there were 600
souls. And we saw a village of only
thirteen houses where there were four
thousand souls…
Their
riches consist of birds' plumes of many
colours, or of rosaries which they make
from fishbones, or of white or green
stones which they put in their cheeks and
in their lips and ears, and of many other
things which we in no wise value they use
to trade, they neither buy nor sell. In
fine, they live and are contented with
that which nature gives them. The wealth
that we enjoy in this our Europe and
elsewhere, such as gold, jewels, pearls,
and other riches, they hold as nothing.
And although they have them in their own
lands, they do not labour to obtain them,
nor do they value them. They are liberal
in giving, for it is rarely they deny you
anything: and on the other hand, liberal
in asking, when they shew themselves your
friends…
And
(now) desiring to depart upon our voyage,
they made complaint to us how at certain
times of the year there came from over the
sea to this their land, a race of people
very cruel, and enemies of theirs; and
(who) by means of treachery or of violence
slew many of them, and ate them; and some
they made captives, and carried them away
to their houses, or country: and how they
could scarcely contrive to defend
themselves from them, making signs to us
that (those) were an island-people and
lived out in the sea about a hundred
leagues away. And so piteously did they
tell us this that we believed them. And we
promised to avenge them of so much wrong.
And they remained overjoyed
herewith…
At
the end of the seven days we came upon the
islands, which were many, some (of them)
inhabited, and others deserted. And we
anchored at one of them: where we saw a
numerous people who called it Iti…We
made for land: where we found (assembled)
about 400 men, and many women, and all
naked… They… seemed right
warlike men; for they were armed with
their weapons, which are bows, arrows, and
lances and most of them had square wooden
targets; and bore them in such wise that
they did not impede the drawing of the
bow. And when we had come with our boats
to about a bowshot of the land, they all
sprang into the water to shoot their
arrows at us and to prevent us from
leaping upon shore… And so much did
they persist in preventing us from
landing, that we were compelled to play
with our artillery. And when they heard
the explosion, and saw one of them fall
dead, they all drew back to the
land…
And
having armed ourselves as best we could,
we advanced towards the shore, and they
sought not to hinder us from landing, I
believe from fear of the cannons. And we
jumped on land, 57 men in four squadrons,
each one (consisting of) a captain and his
company and we came to blows with them.
And after a long battle (in which) many of
them (were) slain, we put them to flight,
and pursued them to a village having made
about 250 of them captives, and we burnt
the village, and returned to our ships
with victory and 250 prisoners, leaving
many of them dead and wounded, and of ours
there were no more than one killed, and
222 captive slaves. And reached the port
of Calis (Cadiz) on the 15th day of
October, 1498, where we were well received
and sold our slaves. Such is what befell
me, most noteworthy, in this my first
voyage.
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