Great Explorer of the New World:

Amerigo Vespucci

Main Life Accomplishments:

 

He was an Italian merchant, explorer and cartographer. He played a senior role in two voyages which explored the east coast of South America between 1499 and 1502. On the second of these voyages he discovered that South America extended much further south than previously known by Europeans. This convinced him that this land was part of a new continent, a bold contention at a time when other European explorers crossing the Atlantic thought they were reaching Asia (the "Indies").

 

Vespucci's voyages became widely known in Europe after two accounts attributed to him were published between 1502 and 1504.[1] In 1507, Martin Waldseemüller produced a world map on which he named the new continent "America" after Vespucci's first name, Amerigo. In an accompanying book, Waldseemüller published one of the Vespucci accounts, which led to criticism that Vespucci was trying to usurp Christopher Columbus's glory. However, the rediscovery in the 18th century of other letters by Vespucci has led to the view that the early published accounts were fabrications, not by Vespucci, but by others.

 

Basics:

Born: March 9 1454 in Florence, Italy 

Died: February 22 1512 (58 years old) at Seville, Spain

Nationality: Italian

Religion: Roman Catholic

Fields: Exploration

Main Accomplishments: Vespucci demonstrate that the New World was not Asia but a previously-unknown fourth continent

 

Chronology of Life Events:

Mar 9 1454

Birth of Amerigo Vespucci

 

1478-1780

He was attached to the embassy in Paris, working for his relative Guido Antonio Vespucci, ambassador of Florence to King Louis XI of France

 

1483

Amerigo became steward in the house of Lorenzo de Medici

 

1491-1492

He worked in Seville, Spain for the de Medici family where he learnt about the voyages of exploration and the men who were searching for a northwest passage to the Indies

 

1497

He was granted permission to undertake a voyage of discovery by King Ferdinand of Spain

 

May 10 1497

The First Voyage of Amerigo Vespucci

 

Apr 10 1497

He reached the mainland of Guiana

 

Oct 15 1498

Amerigo Vespucci returned to Cadiz, Spain

 

May 16 1499

The Second Voyage of Amerigo Vespucci with Alonzo de Ojeda set sail for Cape Verde. They crossed the Equator and explored the coast of Guiana and Brazil. They discovered Cape St. Augustine and the River Amazon

 

Sep 1500

He returned to Spain. He reported his findings to the de Medici family
May 14 1501 The Third Voyage of Amerigo Vespucci setting sail for Cape Verde

 

Sep 7 1502

He returned to Europe landing in Lisbon

 

Jun 10 1503 

The Fourth Voyage of Amerigo Vespucci, sailing with Gonzal Coelho when he again set sail for Cape Verde and South America. On the return journey he discovered Bahia and the island of South Georgia He established a trading agency for brazil wood at Cape Frio - it was located exactly on the Tropic of Capricorn

 

Jun18 1504 

Amerigo Vespucci returned to Lisbon in Portugal

 

Apr 14 1505

Vespucci becomes a naturalized Spaniard

 

1505

Amerigo Vespucci married Maria Cerezo

 

1505/1507

Amerigo Vespucci made a fifth and sixth voyage with Juan de la Cosa

 

1507

German mapmaker Martin Waldseemuller, printed the first map that used the name America for the New World

 

Aug 6 1508

Vespucci becomes Piloto Mayor (chief pilot) of Spain

 

Feb 22 1512 

Amerigo Vespucci died at Seville

Early Life:

Vespucci was born in Florence, as the third child of a respected family. His father was a notary for the Money Changers' Guild of Florence. Amerigo Vespucci worked for Lorenzo di Pierfrancesco de' Medici and his brother Giovanni and in 1492 they sent him to work at their agency in Seville, Spain. In 1508, after only two voyages to the Americas, the position of pilot major (chief of navigation) of Spain was created for Vespucci, with the responsibility of training pilots for ocean voyages. He died of malaria on the date February 22, 1512 in Seville, Spain.

 

Two letters attributed to Vespucci were published during his lifetime. Mundus Novus ("New World") was a Latin translation of a lost Italian letter sent from Lisbon to Lorenzo di Pierfrancesco de' Medici. It describes a voyage to South America in 1501-1502. Mundus Novus was published in late 1502 or early 1503 and soon reprinted and distributed in numerous European countries.[1] Lettera di Amerigo Vespucci delle isole nuovamente trovate in quattro suoi viaggi ("Letter of Amerigo Vespucci concerning the isles newly discovered on his four voyages"), known as Lettera al Soderini or just Lettera, was a letter in Italian addressed to Piero Soderini. Printed in 1504 or 1505, it claimed to be an account of four voyages to the Americas made by Vespucci between 1497 and 1504. A Latin translation was published by the German Martin Waldseemüller in 1507 in Cosmographiae Introductio, a book on cosmography and geography, as Quattuor Americi Vespuccij navigationes ("Four Voyages of Amerigo Vespucci").[1] In the 18th century three unpublished "familiar" letters from vdVespucci to Lorenzo de' Medici were rediscovered. One describes a voyage made in 1499-1500 which corresponds with the second of the "four voyages". Another was written from Cape Verde in 1501 in the early part of the third of the "four voyages", before crossing the Atlantic. The third letter was sent from Lisbon after the completion of that voyage.`[1] Some have suggested that Vespucci, in the two letters published in his lifetime, was exaggerating his role and constructed deliberate fabrications. However, many scholars now believe that the two letters were not written by him but were fabrications by others based in part on genuine letters by Vespucci. It was the publication and widespread circulation of the letters that led Martin Waldseemüller to name the new continent America on his world map of 1507 in Lorraine. Vespucci used a Latinised form of his name, Americus Vespucius, in his Latin writings, which Waldseemüller used as a base for the new name, taking the feminine form America. (See also Naming of America.) Amerigo itself is an Italian form of the medieval Latin Emericus (see also Saint Emeric of Hungary), which through the German form Heinrich (in English, Henry) derived from the Germanic name Haimirich. The two disputed letters claim that Vespucci made four voyages to America, while at most two can be verified from other sources. at the moment there is a dispute between historians on when Vespucci visited main land the first time. Some great historians like German Arciniegas and Gabriel Camargo Perez think that his first voyage was done in June 1497 with the Spanish Juan de la Cosa. Little is known of his last voyage in 1503–1504 or even whether it actually took place. Vespucci's real historical importance may well be more in his letters, whether he wrote them all or not, than in his discoveries. From these letters, the European public learned about the newly discovered continent of the Americas for the first time; its existence became generally known throughout Europe within a few years of the letters' publication.

 

Wife Background:

 

 Amerigo Vespucci married Maria Cerezo, apparently in 1505. The only precise information concerning her is furnished by the royal decree of 28 March, 1512, according her a pension, on account of the satisfaction given by her husband as piloto mayor, which pension was confirmed by the decree of 16 November, 1523. On the other hand, a decree of 26 December, 1524, grants the remainder of her pension to her sister Catalina Cerezo; which proves that Maria died between the two latter dates, and that she left no children. With Amerigo Vespucci, however, was the son of his brother Antonio, Giovanni, who was born on 6 March, 1486, and who was named piloto mayor in 1512, upon the death of his predecessor and uncle, Amerigo.

 

Father Background:

Amerigo Vespucci was the third son of Ser Nastagio, a notary of Florence, son of Amerigo Vespucci.

 

Mother Background:

His mother was Lisabetta, daughter of Ser Giovanni, son of Ser Andrea Mini; her mother was Maria, daughter of Simone, son of Francesco di Filicaia.

 

 

 
 
SuperAttainer

ANALYSIS SECTION:

 
 
1. Early Success
 

When did the SuperAttainer first display ability that was greatly above average and what were his accomplishments? 
 

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2. Contrarian

 
What actions did the SuperAttainer take that demonstrated a mindset that was very different from those around him?
 

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3. Conceited
 
What are the actions and documented statements that exhibit an elevated sense of self importance of the SuperAttainer? 
 
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4. Hard-Knocked 
 
During what events did the SuperAttainer experience personal misery and severe anxiety?
  

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5. Loner
 
Is there evidence of the SuperAttainer being comfortable spending time apart from others? 
 

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6. Mentored & Motivated
 
Who was vital to developing the SuperAttainer and guiding his career and what significant actions were taken?
 

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7. Discontent
 
What evidence is there that the SuperAttainer was unsatisfied with even great personal accomplishment?
 

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8. Promoted
 
What actions or events were responsible for publicizing the tremendous achievements and abilities of the SuperAttainer?
 

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Overall Score:

x out of 8 = xx% 

PASS

SuperAttainer Type:

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Conclusion:

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