Discuss the achievements of Amerigo Vespucci
Uploaded by Kerrytom on Aug 10, 2013
When discussing the achievements of Amerigo Vespucci, one cannot escape the air of uncertainty which surrounds them. While there are certainly plenty of undisputed facts to this explorers discoveries and expeditions, one cannot simply state undeniable truths about the man’s achievements without discussing the disputes about their authenticity. Plenty of debate has raged now for centuries about apparent claims made by Vespucci, and it is had been a difficult task to prove which side of the argument is correct. “Was he an imposter, as has been often alleged in the last four centuries, or was he an honest fellow the victim of others misunderstandings and misrepresentations?” The easiest route to take when undertaking a task such as this is to discuss the contestable views on his legacy in chronological order, and then continue on to what can be considered a reasonable view on his achievements.
The first achievement of Vespucci was that he was part of an expedition which set sail in 1499, during which he sailed along the coast of South America and in doing so discovered Brazil and the Amazon river. The role he played in this voyage has been contested by many historians. In his wide ranging book “Latin America: A General History”, John Edwin Fagg severely contests his role in this voyage. “He may have been a mere meat supplier who helped provision some of the first expeditions and then a part-time sailor, who wrote wildly fantastic accounts of his more or less imaginary adventures when he went along with Ojeda’s party in 1499” Views such as these are hugely overcritical of Vespucci. There is evidence of his voyage of discovery to Brazil in a letter he wrote to Lorenzo de Medici, in which he clearly outlines his prominent role in the voyage and his journey towards the Brazilian coast. Of course the truthfulness of this letter has been questioned by historians in the past. However as Roberto Levillier points out “Not one voice was raised then, to throw doubts on Vespucci’s letters and voyages, when it could easily have been done, by witnesses still living, if there had been reasons for it.” This is a point that surely trumps all the opinions discounting the genuineness of Vespucci’s letter. Another point which shows the prominent role which Vespucci had was the fact that upon returning, Ojeda specifically mentions Vespucci in his official...