America is named after Amerigo Vespucci, who was the first European to suggest that the Americas were not the East Indies. Amerigo Vespucci was an Italian merchant and cartographer who voyaged to and wrote about the Americas. His exploratory journeys along the eastern coastline of South America convinced him that a new continent had been discovered, a bold contention in his day when everyone, including Christopher Columbus, thought the seafaring trailblazers setting out from European docks were travelling to East Asia.

In 1499–1500, Vespucci joined an expedition led by Alonso de Ojeda. After hitting land at the coast of what is now Guyana, the two seem to have separated. Vespucci sailed southward, discovering the mouth of the Amazon River and reaching 6°S, before turning around and seeing Trinidad and the Orinoco River and returning to Spain by way of Hispaniola. Vespucci claimed, in a letter to Lorenzo di Medici, that he determined his longitude celestially on August 23, 1499, while on this voyage. But his claim is clearly fraudulent, which casts more doubt on Vespucci's credibility.

His next voyage in 1501–1502 was in service of Portugal, when he reached the bay of what is now Rio de Janeiro. The leader of this expedition was Gonçalo Coelho. On this voyage he sailed southward along the coast of South America.... More • http://en.wikipedia. ... o_Vespucci View • Books • Images • Videos • Search Related • Cartographers • Explorers • America • Argentina • Brazil • Cartography • Exploration • Florence • Italy • March 09 • New Spain • Pisces • Portugal • Renaissance • Spain • South America • Amazon River • Atlantic Ocean • Icons • People