Owing to the protests of Portugal, it is thought, the great fleet intended for the extension of discovery along the southern coast of Brazil was dispersed and its vessels diverted to other seas. Vespucci had been active in its equipment, and during the uncertainty existing in Spain after the death of Queen Isabella, and the consequent derangement of affairs at court, he appears prominently in the business. He was despatched to court by the board of trade of Seville, especially commissioned to extricate them from the dilemma in which they found themselves: unable to determine whether they were to act in the name of the crazy princess, Juana, her foreign consort, Philip, or the old king, Ferdinand. In order to be able to meet any emergency, Vespucci was furnished with three different letters and sets of instructions. "You will take," wrote the president of the board of trade to Amerigo, "three letters: for the king, Vila, his grand chamberlain, and the secretary, Gricio, besides five memorials: one upon the despatch of the armament, two others received from Hispaniola concerning the tower which King Ferdinand commanded to be built upon the Pearl Coast, and the remaining two upon the caravels which are on service in Hispaniola, and concerning what things are necessary for the fortress which is building there. If Gricio is at court, and attends to the affairs of the Indies, give him the letter, show him the memorials, and he will guide you to the ear of the king and obtain for you good despatch. We are informed, however, that the king has intrusted the business of the Indies to M. de Vila, his grand chamberlain, and if that is the case go directly to him. What we principally desire is a full understanding of the agreement which has been entered into between the king, our lord (Philip, the consort of Juana Loca), and King Ferdinand, in order that we may be able to give to each prince that which is his."

Without going further into the affairs of court at this period—merely pausing to remark that after the death of Philip the old king soon extricated his kingdom from the state of embarrassment into which it had been plunged—we cannot but note that Amerigo Vespucci must have been a man of weight and influence to be selected for such a mission. It was a visit to the court previous to this which Columbus had in mind when he gave him the letter to his son Don Diego. The biographer of Columbus, Mr. Irving, has tried to make it appear that he was used by Columbus to further his own ends, for he says: "Among the persons whom Columbus employed at this time in his missions to the court was Amerigo Vespucci. He describes him as a worthy but unfortunate man, who had not profited as much as he deserves by his undertakings, and who had always been disposed to render him a service. His object in employing him appears to have been to prove the value of his last voyage, and that he had been in the most opulent parts of the New World, Vespucci having since touched upon the same coast, in a voyage with Alonzo de Ojeda."

Now, this amiable apologist, in his persistent efforts to thrust Amerigo Vespucci into positions subordinate to Columbus, defeats his own purpose and disparages his own hero, for by his very words can he be discredited. He himself says: "The incessant applications of Columbus [at court], both by letter and by the intervention of friends, appear to have been listened to with cool indifference. No compliance was yielded to his requests, and no deference paid to his opinions.... In short, he was not in any way consulted in the affairs of the New World."

And this was at about the time that Amerigo Vespucci was intrusted with most important business at court by the board of trade of Seville; about the time that he was called to court and highly honored by the king; just before the time that he was made captain of a fleet, with a salary of thirty thousand maravedis per annum. There was, in truth, no man in the employ of Spain more highly regarded than Vespucci for his talents, for his honesty, for his loyalty to the government. At the settlement of accounts pertaining to the fleet which had been intended for South America, more than five million maravedis passed through his hands—and he was never charged with having diverted a single centavo to himself.

Nothing can so abundantly testify to the respect in which Vespucci was held as his relations with King Ferdinand. While he has the unique honor of being almost the only man that Columbus never quarrelled with, it is also to his credit that he acquired, and retained to the last, the respect and confidence of the king. Ferdinand was always mistrustful of Columbus, and with good reason, but never refused Vespucci a favor—if he asked one—or hesitated to give him an audience. The reason was, most probably, that, aside from his deceitfulness (which was a quality the crafty Ferdinand could tolerate in no one but himself), Columbus was constantly importuning him for further honors and emoluments; while Vespucci rarely, if ever, craved glory or riches for himself. Nothing came of Vespucci's intercession at court for Columbus, and soon the latter dropped out of sight. He died in 1506, utterly neglected by the court and king, and in such obscurity that he was unnoticed in the local annals of the day.

In the mean time, Amerigo Vespucci was at the height of his career, trusted by the sovereign and honored by all with whom he came in contact. On the return of King Ferdinand to absolute power in Spain, through the death of his son-in-law Philip and the regency for his insane daughter Juana, he called Vespucci and La Cosa to court in order to consult with them respecting nautical affairs and future discoveries. In February, 1508, Vespucci, Pinzon, and Solis, who, together with La Cosa, were then the most highly honored navigators in Spanish employ, were charged with the safe conduct to the king's treasury of six thousand ducats in gold, for which service they received six thousand maravedis each.

Another consultation was held with the king, whose favorable opinion of Vespucci was so strengthened that the year following he created for him the office of pilot-major, as the most eminent navigator in his kingdom. This position was given him in March, 1508, and from that time till his death, in February, 1512, he received a salary of seventy-five thousand maravedis per annum. He was charged to examine and instruct all pilots in the use of the astrolabe "to ascertain whether their practical knowledge equalled their theoretical, and also to revise maps, and to make one of the new lands which should be regarded as the standard.... He was to correct the errors carried into the charts by the teachings and the maps of Columbus and others. The inaccuracy of the Columbus charts was so notorious that their use was subsequently prohibited, and a penalty imposed upon the pilot who should sail by them." Vespucci was at the head of a government department pertaining to pilotage, navigation, and charts. It was then unique in the world, and the weight of authority behind it was adverse to the use of charts made by Columbus; notwithstanding which Mr. Irving says: "When the passion for maritime discovery was seeking to facilitate its enterprises, the knowledge and skill of an able cosmographer like Columbus would be properly appreciated, and the superior correctness [?] of his maps and charts would give him notoriety among men of science."

The importance of this position created for Vespucci will appear from the royal order, or commission, which reads: " ... We command that all pilots of our kingdom and lordships, who now are, shall henceforward be, or desire to be, pilots on the routes to the said islands and terra firma which we hold in the Indies, and other parts of the ocean sea, shall be instructed in and possess all necessary knowledge of the use of the quadrant and astrolabe; and in order that they may unite practice with theory, and profit thereby in the said voyages which they may make to the said lands, they shall not be able to embark as pilots in the said vessels, nor receive wages for pilotage, nor shall merchants be able to negotiate with them as such, nor captains receive them aboard their ships, without their having been first examined by you, Amerigo Despuchi, our pilot-major, and received from you a certificate of examination and approbation, certifying that they are possessed, each one, of the knowledge aforesaid; holding which certificate, we commend that they be held and received as expert pilots, wherever they shall show themselves—for it is our will and pleasure that you should be examiner of said pilots. And that those who do not possess the required knowledge shall the more easily acquire it, we command that you shall instruct, at your residence in Seville, all such as shall be desirous of learning and remunerating you for the trouble.... And as it has been told us that there are many different charts, by different captains, of the lands and islands of the Indies belonging to us, which charts differ greatly from each other—therefore, that there may be order in all things, it is our will and pleasure that a standard chart shall be made; and that it may be the more correct, we command the officers of our board of trade in Seville to call an assembly of our most able pilots that shall at that time be in the country, and, in the presence of you, Amerigo Despuchi, our pilot-major, there shall be planned and drawn a chart of all the lands and islands of the Indies, which have hitherto been discovered belonging to our kingdom; and upon this consultation, subject to the approval of you, our pilot-major, a standard chart shall be drawn which shall be called the Royal Chart, by which all pilots must direct and govern themselves. This shall remain in the possession of our said officers, and of you, our said pilot-major; and no pilot shall use any other chart, without incurring a penalty of fifty doubloons, to be paid to the board of trade in the city of Seville.... And it is our will and pleasure that, in virtue of the above, you, the said Amerigo Despuchi, shall use and exercise the said functions of our pilot-major, and shall be able to do, and shall do, all things pertaining to that office contained in this our letter."[14]

The remainder of Amerigo Vespucci's life may almost be summed up in the statement that he held this responsible post during the four years succeeding to his appointment, for he received his commission on March 22, 1508, and died on February 22, 1512. It was an onerous position, "and his appointment to it by Ferdinand was the highest proof of the estimation in which he was held by that monarch that could have been bestowed upon him." It was a recognition of his supereminent qualities, as cosmographer and navigator, at a time when Spanish enterprise was reaching out to every part of the western world; and as he discharged its duties with fidelity and skill, confining himself closely to his desk, no leisure was afforded him for further voyaging, for writing out the long-deferred accounts of his travels, or for recreation of any sort. He made one short visit to Florence, where he was received with honor, as the most distinguished son of a city world-famous for its great men, and where the portrait was painted which has been universally accepted as authentic, representing him as advanced in years.

As already mentioned, authentic information relating to the latter years of Vespucci is of a fragmentary character, and is contained mainly in the official papers found in the archives of Simancas and Seville, by Don Martin Fernandez de Navarrete, to whom the biographers of Columbus were so deeply indebted. The date of the first of these papers is July, 1494, and relates to payments made to Berardi, as outfitter of the ships for the voyages of Columbus. By royal decree, April 11, 1505, the queen's treasurer is commanded to pay to Vespucci twelve thousand maravedis. Another decree, of March 22, 1508, grants Vespucci, as chief pilot of the kingdom, a salary of fifty thousand maravedis, subsequently increased to seventy-five thousand. Then follows the royal declaration (from which we have quoted), setting forth the duties of the pilot-major, which was issued during the regency of the crazy queen, Juana, and addressed to "Amerigo Despuchi."

There is no reference to the date and place of Vespucci's death; but this is not considered singular, in view of the fact that the demise of Columbus was officially unnoticed at the time. There is, rather, no direct reference; though confirmation of that event occurs in the continuation of his accounts to the day of his death, and after, one of which relates to the payment of ten thousand nine hundred and thirty-seven maravedis to Manuel Catano, a canon of Seville, as the executor of Vespucci's will, "that amount being the balance of his salary due at the date of his death."

One of the very few references to the wife of Vespucci is contained in a royal decree of May 22, 1512, which grants a pension for life to his widow, Maria Cerezo, of ten thousand maravedis per annum. By a later decree, this pension is declared a fixed charge against the salary of the chief pilot and his successors. These were, in order of succession, Juan Diaz de Solis and Sebastian Cabot, after whom came others not so famous as these great navigators.

These papers are cited to show that Amerigo Vespucci was not looked upon as an adventurer by the dignitaries of Spain; that, on the contrary, he was held in great esteem, honored with the highest office in the gift of the king, in which his great accomplishments could have full scope. He filled that office with eminent ability, to the complete satisfaction of King Ferdinand, and when he died, on February 22, 1512, he left behind a name untarnished, a reputation for probity unsullied. Despite the honors accorded him by the kings of Spain and Portugal, however, and the high positions he occupied, he left no fortune for his heirs. His valuable papers were bequeathed to his nephew, Juan Vespucci, whom he loved like a son; but his widow was left in circumstances so straitened that she was actually dependent upon the pension granted her by the crown.

FOOTNOTES:

[14] From Navarrete's Coleccion de los Viajes y Descubrimientos.



XVI

HOW AMERICA WAS NAMED

1504-1541

If, in the foregoing narrative, the author has seemed to champion his hero unduly, going perhaps unnecessarily into the details of his voyages, it may have been owing to anticipated opposition on the part of his readers. There has always been a wide divergence of opinion respecting the merits of Amerigo Vespucci, and the world has never reconciled itself to his so-called usurpation of the glory rightly belonging to Columbus.

Even so great a writer as Emerson allowed himself to say: "Strange that broad America must wear the name of a thief! Amerigo Vespucci, the pickle-dealer at Seville, who went out in 1499, a subaltern with Hojeda, and whose highest naval rank was boatswain's mate, in an expedition that never sailed, managed in this lying world to supplant Columbus, and baptize half the earth with his own dishonest name!"

We, who have followed the career of Amerigo Vespucci from its beginning to its ending, know that he was not a thief; that—except by implication, as having been a purveyor of naval stores—he was not a "pickle-dealer"; that he held a far higher rank than boatswain's mate—as attested by the royal proclamation we have cited, naming him to be chief pilot of Spain; and that, so far as the evidence of his contemporaries and his own letters show, he made no attempt whatever to thrust his personality upon the world.

He did not "baptize half the earth with his own dishonest name," though it is true that the appellation by which a hemisphere is known to-day was derived from Americus, Amerigo, or Americo—whether we speak it in Latin, in Italian, or in Spanish.

How comes it then, the reader may well ask, that America derived its name from the Florentine, Vespucci, when it should, by right of "discovery," have been called after the Genoese, Columbus? The answer to this question involves the following of clews centuries old, through a labyrinth of falsehood and misstatement that was built up three hundred years ago. The first clew may be found on page 197 of this biography, where mention is made of the translation of Vespucci's letter to Lorenzo de Medici, by Giocondo, in 1504, and issued by him under the title Mundus Novus. This letter is said to have been first published in Lisbon and Augsburg in 1504, and in Strasburg in 1505.

Pick up this book and nail it to the wall, where it may be observed by all, for it was the very beginning of Vespucci's posthumous troubles. We have read the letter and known it to have been a plain, unvarnished account of Vespucci's third voyage, in which he chanced to say that he thought he had discovered the fourth part of the globe, and proposed to call it Mundus Novus, or the New World. He was quite right, and within bounds, when he did this, for he was thinking only of that portion of the southern hemisphere which he had found, and not of the entire western hemisphere. He did not extend the term to cover the northern regions, discovered by Columbus, for the latter had no idea that they pertained to a new world; in fact—as we know—believed to the last that they belonged to Asia or India.

"At no time during the life of Columbus, nor for some years after his death," says a learned historian, "did anybody use the phrase 'New World' with conscious reference to his discoveries. At the time of his death their true significance had not yet begun to dawn upon the mind of any voyager or any writer. It was supposed that he had found a new route to the Indies by sailing west, and that in the course of this achievement he had discovered some new islands," etc.

We must, then, acquit Vespucci of any intention of depriving Columbus of his laurels, when he said he believed he had found a new world, for he referred only to that portion of South America now known as Brazil. Nor, so far as we know, was he either responsible for, or aware of, the publication of his letters to Medici and Soderini—for those to the latter were afterwards translated and printed—as he was, at that time, on the ocean. In truth, as the letters were merely epistles to friends, who would naturally be interested in his discoveries, and of course overlook any defects of diction, he openly stated that he was only waiting leisure for improving and elaborating them for issue in pamphlet form. He never acquired this leisure, and the world, tired of waiting, seized upon his material and brought it out in print, without so much as saying "by your leave."

The second person to take liberties with Vespucci's name was one Matthias Ringmann, a student in Paris, who was acquainted with Friar Giocondo, and of course saw the Mundus Novus, which he published in Strasburg in 1505. That same year he was offered the professorship of Latin in a college at Saint-Die, a charming little town in the Vosges Mountains, which had long been a seat of learning. It is said to have been strangely associated with the discovery of America, from the fact that here was written, about 1410, the book called Imago Mundi, which Columbus read and probably took to sea with him on his first great voyage. In a double sense, this obscure town and college, nestling in a little-known valley of the Franco-German mountains, is known in connection with the name America, as will now be shown.

Young Professor Ringmann found at Saint-Die a select and distinguished company of scholars, composed of Martin Waldseemueller, professor of geography; Jean Basin de Sendacour, canon and Latinist; Walter Lud, secretary to Duke Rene, patron of literature, and especially of the college of Saint-Die, which was to him as the apple of his eye. He was the reigning Duke of Lorraine, and titular "King of Sicily and Jerusalem," but had never strayed far from his own picturesque province, though he had won a great victory over Charles the Bold in 1477. He is, no doubt, worthy an extended biographical sketch, but in this connection can only be referred to as the patron of these great teachers in Saint-Die, who, soon after the appearance of Ringmann among them, conceived the plan of printing a new edition of Ptolemy.

One of them, Walter Lud, was blessed with riches, and as he had introduced a printing-press, about the year 1500, the college was amply equipped. So many discoveries had been made since the last editions of Ptolemy had appeared, that the Saint-Die coterie felt the need of new works on the subject, and sent Ringmann to Italy hunting for the same. He, it is thought, brought back, among other "finds" of great value, the letter written by Vespucci to Soderini from Lisbon, in September, 1504, a certified manuscript copy of which was made in February, 1505, and printed at Florence before midsummer, 1506.

No extended explanation is needed now to elucidate the scheme by which Vespucci's letters were incorporated in the treatise published by those wise men of Saint-Die, entitled Cosmographie Introductio, or "Rudiments of Geography," and taken from the press on April 25, 1507.

It was a small pamphlet, with engravings of the crudest sort, but it made a stir in the world such as has been caused by but few books since. But one copy of this first edition is said to be extant, and that is in the Lenox Library, New York City. It caused a flutter in cosmographical circles, not alone at the time of its issue, but for centuries thereafter, for in it first occurs in print the suggestion that the "fourth part of the world," discovered by Amerigo Vespucci, should be called AMERICA.[15]

Professor Martin Waldseemueller was the culprit, and not Amerigo Vespucci, for he says, in Latin, which herewith find turned into English: "But now these parts have been more extensively explored and another fourth part has been discovered by Americus Vespucius (as will appear in what follows): wherefore I do not see what is rightly to hinder us from calling it Amerige, or America—i.e., the land of Americus, after its discoverer, Americus, a man of sagacious mind, since both Europe and Asia have got their names from women. Its situation and the manners and customs of its people will be clearly understood from the twice two voyages of Americus, which follow."

It was a suggestion, merely, and by one who was a perfect stranger to Vespucci; but it promptly "took," for the word America was euphonious, it seemed applicable, and, moreover, it was to be applied only to that quarter in the southern hemisphere which had been revealed by Amerigo Vespucci. It was a suggestion innocently made, without any sort of communication from Amerigo himself, intended to influence the opinion of contemporaries or the verdict of posterity.



"But for these nine lines written by an obscure geographer in a little village of the Vosges," says Henry Harrisse, "the western hemisphere might have been called 'The Land of the Holy Cross,' or 'Atlantis,' or 'Columbia,' 'Hesperides,' 'Iberia,' 'New India,' or simply 'The Indies,' as it is designated officially in Spain to this day." ... "As it was, however," says another writer, "the suggestion by Waldseemueller was immediately adopted by geographers everywhere; the new land beyond the Atlantic had, by a stroke of a pen, been christened for all time to come."

The full title of the Cosmographie Introductio reads: "An Introduction to Cosmography, together with some principles of Geometry necessary to the purpose. Also four voyages of Americus Vespucius. A description of universal Cosmography, both stereometrical and planometrical, together with what was unknown to Ptolemy and has been recently discovered."

Notwithstanding the name was "promptly adopted" by the geographers, at the same time it "came slowly into use," for geographical knowledge was then in an inchoate state, especially as respected the New World. It is said to have first appeared on a map ascribed to Leonardo da Vinci in 1514; but in a pamphlet accompanying "the earliest known globe of Johann Schoener," made in 1515, the new region is described as the "fourth part of the globe named after its discoverer, Americus Vespucius, who found it in 1497." Vespucci did not find it, and he never made the claim that he discovered more than is given in his letters; but this misstatement by another caused him to be accused of falsifying the dates of his voyages in order to rob Columbus of his deserts.

It will be perceived, however, that the name was not applied at first to the entire land masses of America, but merely to that portion now known as Brazil, called by Cabral "Terra Sanctae Crucis," or "Land of the Holy Cross," and by Vespucci, who continued his explorations, "Mundus Novus." Further than this Vespucci never went, and, moreover, he passed away "before his name was applied to the new discoveries on any published map." He was living, of course, when the Cosmographie appeared, and may have seen a copy of the book; but the argument advanced by some that he dedicated this work to Duke Rene of Lorraine, and hence must have written it, falls to the ground when that dedication is examined. The worthy canon who translated Vespucci's letter to Soderini into Latin, copied the dedication in the original, which was addressed to "His Magnificence, Piero Soderini, etc.," but substituted for the last-named his patron, Duke Rene. This is proved by the title "His Magnificence," which was used in addressing the Gonfaloniere of Florence, and never in connection with Duke Rene of Lorraine.

It was not until near the middle of the sixteenth century that "America" was recognized "as the established continental name," when, after Mexico had been conquered by Cortes, Peru by Pizarro, and the Pacific revealed by Balboa and Magellan, it first appears on the great Mercator map of 1541. The appellation "America" had superseded Mundus Novus on several maps previous to this, but only as a term applied to restricted regions. "The stage of development," says the learned author of the Discovery of America, "consisted of five distinct steps.... 1. Americus called the regions visited by him beyond the equator a 'New World,' because they were unknown to the ancients; 2. Giocondo made this striking phrase, Mundus Novus, into a title for his translation of the letter, which he published at Paris (1504) while the author was absent from Europe, and probably without his knowledge; 3. The name Mundus Novus got placed upon several maps as an equivalent for Terra Sanctae Crucis, or what we call Brazil; 4. The suggestion was made that Mundus Novus was the Fourth Part of the Earth, and might properly be named America, after its discoverer; 5. The name America thus got placed upon several maps as an equivalent for what we call Brazil, and sometimes came to stand alone for what we call South America, but still signified only a part of the dry land beyond the Atlantic to which Columbus had led the way."

That there was no evil intention on Vespucci's part is amply proved by the fact that, while he himself lived four years after the Introductio was published, a certain contemporary of his, one Ferdinand Columbus, who was most acutely interested in seeing justice done the name and deeds of his father, survived Vespucci twenty-seven years. He not only saw this book, but owned a copy, which, according to an autograph note on the flyleaf, he had bought in Venice in July, 1521, "for five sueldos." This book is still contained in the library he founded at Seville, and as it was copiously annotated by him, it must have been carefully read; yet, though he has the credit of having written a life of his father, Christopher Columbus, he makes no mention whatever of the "usurpation" by Vespucci.

Ferdinand Columbus knew the Florentine, and was an intimate friend of his nephew, Juan Vespucci; yet the question seems never to have arisen between them as to the great discoverers' respective shares of glory. The explanation lies in this fact: that Vespucci's name had been bestowed upon a region far remote from that explored by his father, who had never sailed south of the equator. Notwithstanding the good feeling that prevailed between them, however, long after Ferdinand's death, when the name America had become of almost universal application, the veteran Las Casas, in writing his great history, marvels that the son of the old Admiral could overlook the "theft and usurpation" of Vespucci. The old man's indignation was great, for he was a stanch friend of Columbus, and revered his memory. He made out a very strong case against Vespucci—being in ignorance of the manner in which his name came to be given to the lands discovered by Columbus—and when, in 1601, the historian Herrera, who made use of the Las Casas manuscripts, repeated his statements as those of a contemporary, all the world gave him credence.

Vespucci's name rested under suspicion during more than three centuries, and was not even partially cleared until 1837, when Alexander von Humboldt undertook the gigantic task of vindication. It was not so much to vindicate Vespucci, however, as to ascertain the truth, that Humboldt made the critical and exhaustive examination which appeared in his Examen Critique de l'Histoire de la Geographie de Nouveau Continent.

Even Humboldt, however, did not secure all the evidence available, but by the discovery of valuable documents the missing links in the chain were supplied: by Varnhagen, Vespucci's ardent eulogist, by Harrisse, and finally by Fiske. The last-named truthfully says: "No competent scholar anywhere will now be found to dissent from the emphatic statement of M. Harrisse—'After a diligent study of all the original documents, we feel constrained to say that there is not a particle of evidence, direct or indirect, implicating Amerigo Vespucci in an attempt to foist his name on this continent.'" And moreover, "no shade of doubt is left upon the integrity of Vespucci. So truth is strong, and prevails at last."

This is the conclusion arrived at by the impartial historian, who, without disparaging the deeds of Columbus, without detracting in any manner from his great discoveries, has restored Amerigo Vespucci to the niche in which he was placed by the German geographers four hundred years ago, and from which he was torn by injudicious iconoclasts, fearful for the fame of Spain's great Admiral.

It is enough for Columbus to have discovered America; it was far more than Amerigo Vespucci deserved to have this discovery given his name, by which it will be known forever; but this honor, though unmerited, was at the same time unsought.

FOOTNOTES:

[15] For an excellent article on Saint-Die and the naming of America, see Harper's Magazine, vol. lxxxiv., p. 909 (1892).



INDEX

Aborigines, described by Vespucci, 84-95; seen in Vespucci's third voyage, 180-183.

Aguado, Juan, 151.

Amaraca, aboriginal name of province in South America, 137.

Amaraca-pan, the land of Amaraca, 137.

Amazon River discovered by Pinzon, 105.

America, may have been derived from Amaraca, 137; when bestowed upon western continents, 200; derivation of name, 238; first applied to continents in 1507, 243, 244.

Antilla, island of, 26.

Arno, valley of the, 1.

Bahia Honda, reference to, 159.

Bastidas, Rodrigo de, reference to, 130; expedition of, 155.

Berardi, trading-house of, 49, 76; estate of Juan, 80.

Book, the first printed in America, 32.

Cabral, Pedro Alvarez, coasts South America, 167.

Cannibals, giants, and pearls, chap. ix.

Canopi seen by Vespucci, 189.

Canovai eulogizes Vespucci, 210, 211.

Carabi, aboriginal word, 96.

Caravans of the desert, 47.

Carib Indians described, 99.

Cathay, kingdom of, 26, 29, 36, 39, 46, 50.

Cerezo, Maria, married to Vespucci, 168, 235; dependent upon pension, 237.

Chambalu, or Peking, 38, 46, 49, 50.

Cibao, Indian word of Haiti, 28.

Cipango, island of, 26, 28, 30, 42, 44, 50.

Coelho, Goncalo, reference to, 202.

Columbus, Christopher, compared with Toscanelli, 18; uses Toscanelli's chart in crossing Atlantic, 1492, 22; letter to, from Toscanelli, 23-27; adopts Toscanelli's ideas, 30; conversations with, chap. v.; personal appearance of, 63; second voyage of, 76; extravagances of, 77; and Bishop Fonseca, 77-79; and the Pinzons, 149, 150; in friendly rivalry with Vespucci, 198; and Vespucci contrasted, 210-214; misfortunes of, 215; letter written by, with reference to Vespucci, 218.

Columbus, Diego, suit of, against the crown, 166.

Columbus, Ferdinand, books owned by, 248; acquainted with Juan Vespucci, 249.

Commerce, European, of the fifteenth century, 47, 48; of Spain, fifteenth century, 57, 58.

Constellations of the southern hemisphere, 189, 190.

Coquibacoa, coast of Venezuela, 134, 135, 158, 159.

Cosa, Juan de la, with Columbus in Cuba, 107; sails with Ojeda, 129; the great pilot, 153; chart made by, in year 1500, 154; sails with Bastidas, 155; second voyage with Ojeda, 156; horrible death of, 157.

Cosmographie Introductio, the first book containing name of America, 243, 245.

Cumana, on coast of Venezuela, 132, 137.

Curiana, or Gulf of Pearls, 132.

Dragon's Mouth, strait of the, 132.

Emanuel, King of Portugal, 168; invites Vespucci to Portugal, 169; receives Vespucci at court, 171; sends him on two voyages to the Indies, 170; recognizes his genius, 196, 207.

Emerson, R. W., calls Vespucci a "thief and pickle-dealer," 237.

Examen Critique, the, by Humboldt, 103, 250.

Ferdinand, King of Spain, and Fonseca, 76; parts with Vespucci, 168, 169; diplomacy of, 216; prefers Vespucci to Columbus, 227; calls Vespucci to court, 228; appoints him pilot-major, 229.

Fiske, John, explains "debatable voyage," 104; on Vespucci's letter of July, 1500, 109; quotations from, 124, 125; on historical records, 221.

Florence, Vespucci's birthplace, 2, 3; in the Middle Ages, 12.

Florentines, the, as merchants in fifteenth century, 5.

Fonseca, Bishop, reference to, 76, 77, 79, 82, 126, 127; authorizes Ojeda's voyage, 128.

Fortunate Islands, or Grand Canaries, 186.

Four Voyages, or Journeys, of Vespucci, 90, 95; no trace of book containing the, 103; further reference to, 176, 200, 205.

"Fourth Part of the Earth," the, chap. ii.

Ghengis Khan, 50.

Giacondo, Giovanni, translator of Vespucci's letter, 1504, 198, 199.

Giants seen in Curacao, 119.

Gomara, historian, on explorations, 102.

Harrisse, Henry, observations on the naming of America, 244.

Herrera, Antonio de, accuses Vespucci of stealing from Columbus, 101.

Humboldt, Alexander von, vindicates Vespucci, 103.

Igname, Indian word, 89.

Iguana, described by Vespucci, 93.

Imago Mundi, book owned by Columbus, 241.

India house, the great, 80.

Irving, Washington, and his Life of Columbus, 29; denounces Fonseca, 77; narrates Vespucci's voyage with Ojeda, 125; seeks to disparage Vespucci, 225, 226.

Iti, an island in the Caribbean Sea, 98.

Kazabi, or cassava, 89.

Khan, the Grand, 24, 28.

Kublai Khan, Mongol emperor, 36-40, 49.

Lake Dwellers, the, described by Vespucci, 90-95, 120.

Lariab, conjectural province of, 96.

Las Casas denounces Vespucci, 249.

Lud, Walter, 242.

Mandeville, Sir John, 49.

Mangi, province of, 26, 46.

Maracaibo, Gulf of, discovered by Ojeda, 135.

Maracapana (see Amaraca-pan), 132, 137.

Marco Polo's Travels, 33.

Marignoli, John de, traveller, 49.

Medici, the Florentine, 4, 5, 10.

Medici, Lorenzo de, letter written to, by Vespucci in 1501, 109; in 1503, 179.

Michael Angelo, birthplace of, 15.

Monte Corvino, John of, 49.

Mundus Novus, or New World, 46, 239, 246, 248; title of pamphlet containing first account of Vespucci's voyage, 197; when published, 239.

Navarrete, Spanish historian, 219, 221, 232, 233.

New World, the, southern hemisphere of America, so called by Vespucci, 185.

Nicollini, Donato, Vespucci's friend, 56.

Nicuesa, explorer, quarrels with Ojeda, 160; whom he rescues, 162.

Nino, Pedro, successful voyage of, 137.

Ojeda the Fighter, chap. viii.; with Columbus, 126; friend of Fonseca, 127; receives authority for a voyage, 128; accompanied by Vespucci, 130; visits Trinidad, Pearl Islands, and Curacao, 132, 133; finds Lake Dwellers, 134; takes cargo of slaves to Spain, 136; second voyage of (1502), 158; placed in irons, 159; makes third voyage (1509), 156, 160; wounded by poisoned arrow, 163; poverty and death of, 164.

Oviedo, historian, on discovery of Bay of Honduras, 105.

Paria, Gulf of, 131, 132.

Paul the Physicist, 16.

Pearls, Gulf of, 132.

Pearls obtained by Vespucci, 122, 141, 146.

Pelotti, Francesco, 49.

Peretola, home of the Vespuccis, 2.

Pinelo, Francisco, 77, 78, 81.

Pinzon brothers, the, 149, 150, 152.

Pinzon, Vicente Yanez, discovers the Amazon, 167.

Pliny quoted by Vespucci, 191.

Polo, Marco, Vespucci's countryman, 33; taken captive, 34; Travels, 36-42.

Polo, Maffei, 41.

Polo, Nicolo, 36.

Prescott, historian, quotation from, 57.

Printing-press, the first in America, 32.

Ptolemy, an improved, 242.

Quattro Giornate (Four Journeys), 176.

Quinsai, city of, 25, 43, 46.

Rene, Duke of Lorraine, 242, 246, 247.

Ringmann, Matthias, contemporary of Vespucci, 241.

Roldan, Francesco, combats Ojeda, 136.

Saint-Die, town in which pamphlet was printed containing first reference to America, 241, 242.

Savonarola, mention of, 15.

Schoener, Johann, globe made by, 245.

Sierra Leone, 178.

Soderini, Piero, letter written to, by Vespucci, 82, 101; second letter, 170; third letter, 201.

Terra Firma, definition of term, 70; coast of, 166.

Terra Sanctae Crucis, 246, 248.

Toscanelli, Florentine astronomer, 16; friendly with Vespucci, 16; great attainments of, 19; corresponds with Columbus, 17, 23-27; sends chart to Columbus, 21; ideas of, adopted by Columbus, 30.

Trapobana, island of, 123.

Trinidad, visited by Columbus, 131; by Vespucci, 132.

Varnhagen, Viscount, explains Vespucci's "second" voyage, 105.

Vela, Cape de la, 135.

Venezuela, origin of name, 134.

Veragua, Duke of, 220.

Vespucci, Amerigo, spelling of the name, 1; birthplace of, 2; parents, 3, 4; ancestors, 5, 6; birthplace of, 2; parents, 3, 4; ancestors, 5, 6; youth, 7, 8, 9, 12-14; favorite authors, chap. iii.; begins his career, 51; enters service with the Medici, 54; goes to Spain, 55; letter of, from Spain, 56; personal appearance of, 63; characteristics of, 64; debatable voyage of, chap. vi.; outfits fleet for Columbus, 76; in pay of Spain, 81; letter of, on alleged first voyage, 82-100; letters to Soderini, 82, 101, 170, 201; his Four Voyages, 90; accused of purloining from Columbus, 101; vindicated by Humboldt, 103; more humane than Columbus, 104; second voyage of, chap. vii.; oldest known writing relating to his voyages, 109; describes constellations of southern hemisphere, 112, 113; in fight with Indians, 117, 118; mentions giants, 119; discovers Lake Dwellers, 120; takes slaves to Spain, 121, 122; with Ojeda in 1499, 130; quoted by Irving, 134; aborigines seen by, 140-144; finds pearls, 146; fellow-voyagers of, chap. x.; head of house of Berardi, 151; projected voyage with Pinzon, 153; invited to Portugal, 168; married to Maria Cerezo, 168; leaves Spain for Portugal, 169; makes two voyages under Portuguese flag, 170; account of third voyage, 170-177; encounters cannibals, 180-183; calls his discovery the New World, 185; royally received in Portugal, 195; renowned navigator, 196; first-published letter of, 197; makes a "fourth" voyage to America, 200; returns to Spain, 209; contrasted with Columbus, 209-214; mentioned in a letter by Columbus, 218; pilot-major of Spain, chap. xv.; at court, 224; corrects charts made by Columbus, 229; official papers relating to, 233; last will and testament, 234; death of, 235.

Vespucci, Anastasio, Amerigo's father, 3, 6.

Vespucci, Elizabetta, Amerigo's mother, 3.

Vespucci, Georgio Antonio, 8, 11.

Vespucci, Giovanni, or Juan, Amerigo's nephew, 55; is bequeathed his uncle's valuable papers, 235.

Vespucci, Girolamo, Amerigo's brother, 52, 53.

Vespucci, Guido Antonio, epitaph of, 6.

Waldseemueller, Martin, German geographer, who gave the name to America, 241-243.

Yucca, flour made from, 89

Zaitun, city of Cathay, 43, 50.

Zipangu. See Cipango.

THE END

* * * * *

[Transcriber's Notes:

The transcriber made the following changes to the text:

1. p. 44, The grand Khan ordered —> "The grand Khan ordered 2. p. 69, The accounts of those —> "The accounts of those 3. p. 74, But I perceive, Signor —> "But I perceive, Signor 4. p. 77, "Fonesca" —> "Fonseca" 5. p. 137, "Ojeba" —> "Ojeda" 6. p. 143, They had no victuals —> "They had no victuals 7. p. 170, There came to be a royal —> "There came to be a royal 8. p. 205, In this part —> "In this part 9. Index, Columbus Ferdinand, books owned by, 268; —> Columbus Ferdinand, books owned by, 248;

End of Transcriber's Notes]