Amerigo

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In 1507, European cartographers faced the challenge of naming the newly discovered lands of the Western Hemisphere, ultimately settling on "America" in honor of the obscure Florentine explorer Amerigo Vespucci. Award-winning scholar Felipe Fernández-Armesto explores the question “What’s in a name?” through a vibrant narrative of Vespucci's life. We see Amerigo as a complex figure: a slaver, jewel trader, rival of Columbus, and amateur sorcerer who gained fame through a series of failures and reinventions. This engaging account transports readers from Medicean Florence to the court of Ferdinand and Isabella, and across the Atlantic to the New World, where fortune favored the bold. Vespucci emerges as an emblematic figure of the age of exploration, reflecting the fast-paced, competitive, and acquisitive spirit of his time. His legendary self-promotion led to a hemisphere bearing his name, despite his not being its discoverer. Fernández-Armesto reveals Vespucci as not only a relentless salesman but also a man of remarkable abilities, courage, and cunning. This biography finally does justice to both the man and his extraordinary era, offering insights into the cultural transmission that linked his name to the continents discovered in the 1490s.