Most citizens of the United States of America do not know the derivation of the word America. They probably think it's from some vague "Native American" thingie, maybe Inca or Aztec. This ignorance makes using the word America as a weapon against people from Europe who are U.S. citizens all the more moronic.
https://www.biography.com/explorer/amerigo-vespucci
America was named after Amerigo Vespucci, a Florentine navigator and explorer who played a prominent role in exploring the New World.
Who Was Amerigo Vespucci?
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. He died of malaria in Seville, Spain, on February 22, 1512...
In the late 1490s, Vespucci became affiliated with merchants who supplied Christopher Columbus on his later voyages. In 1496, after Columbus returned from his voyage to America, Vespucci had the opportunity to meet him in Seville. The conversation piqued Vespucci's interest in seeing the world with his own eyes...
Believing he had discovered a new continent, in a letter to Florence, Vespucci called South America the New World. His claim was largely based on Columbus' earlier conclusion: In 1498, when passing the mouth of the Orinoco River, Columbus had determined that such a big outpouring of fresh water must come from land "of continental proportions." Vespucci decided to start recording his accomplishments, writing that accounts of his voyages would allow him to leave "some fame behind me after I die." ...
America's Namesake
In 1507, some scholars at Saint-Dié-des-Vosges in northern France were working on a geography book called Cosmographiæ Introductio, which contained large cut-out maps that the reader could use to create his or her own globes. German cartographer Martin Waldseemüler, one of the book's authors, proposed that the newly discovered Brazilian portion of the New World be labeled America, the feminine version of the name Amerigo, after Amerigo Vespucci. The gesture was his means of honoring the person who discovered it, and indeed granted Vespucci the legacy of being America's namesake.
Decades later, in 1538, the mapmaker Mercator, working off the maps created at St-Dié, chose to mark the name America on both the northern and the southern parts of the continent, instead of just the southern portion. While the definition of America expanded to include more territory, Vespucci seemed to gain credit for areas that most would agree were actually first discovered by Columbus.
In 1505, Vespucci, who was born and raised in Italy, became a naturalized citizen of Spain. Three years later, he was awarded the office of piloto mayor, or master navigator, of Spain.
__________________________
Maybe we should celebrate Amerigo Vespucci Day.
BOOKS
Coming to America: Who Was First? npr.org
October 8, 2007
Cruise down and read:
Excerpt: 'Who Was First?'
Read an excerpt from Who Was First? by Russell Freedman:
