Why was America not named after Columbus, and from whom did the continent get its name?

An entire country was named in honor of the Genoese navigator, who was in the service of the Spanish Crown, although Christopher did not even visit Colombia. In addition, there is a state in the United States named after him. But why wasn’t the continent named after him, which is generally believed to have been discovered by Columbus? Dzen.

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Sometimes, under the influence of time and myths, history changes, it becomes less truthful and accurate. This also applies to the most important events in history.

Christopher Columbus is considered the first navigator to reach America in 1492: he was sure that he sailed to India and achieved his goal. Some historians suggest that the landing of a Spanish sailor near Cuba occurred several centuries after the Vikings first reached the shores of North America - the Scandinavians allegedly sailed to the modern United States in the XNUMXth century.

The legacy of Amerigo Vespucci

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There is a version of the origin of the name of the continent, which historians consider the main one. Its main character is the Florentine explorer Amerigo Vespucci. Since 1507, when he was still alive, cartographers began to call the new territories “America” - Columbus had already passed away by this time.

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Most likely, the reason for this is Vespucci’s active work to popularize his discoveries in Europe. The Old World of that time was fascinated by the idea of ​​new, rich territories, and Vespucci left after his death many diaries and notes about his travels and expeditions. At the same time, his connections with leading research funders were stronger, making him a more visible researcher of his time.

Vespucci himself, designating the new territories as the “New World,” was one of the first to suggest that this was not just a series of islands or part of India, but a completely new continent. He mainly focused his research on South America.

Funny thing about the history of names: sometimes they become as significant as last names, and even more! In the example of the name Amerigo, this becomes especially obvious. This name, pleasant to the ear and easily adaptable to various languages, was given to the future explorer in honor of St. Emeric of Hungary.

In Latin texts his name was presented as Americus. Waldseemüller, a German cartographer and publisher, was the first to give the name Amerigo to the newly discovered lands based on the notes of the traveler. The cartographer strengthened this decision in his work “Introduction to Cosmography,” published until the middle of the 1511th century. After this, other cartographers, including Schener in 1538 and Mercator in XNUMX, also adopted this name.

Richard America

Photo: iStock.com/THEPALMER

There is an alternative theory - it is associated with the name of Richard America, who lived in the 1490th century. This wealthy British merchant financed and organized John Cabot's maritime expedition to the shores of North America in the late XNUMXs.

The main goal was to find places for fishing. This expedition, having reached the coast of Newfoundland, indeed completed its task, but, unfortunately, many details of this journey have not been preserved, including Cabot's map.

It is likely that Richard America, having invested money in Cabot's voyage, expressed a desire for the discovered lands to be named in his honor, and not in honor of the English monarch Henry VII. In origin, his surname indicated Welsh heritage: the word "am" means "son", and Meurig seems to be something of a patronymic.

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But the most exciting thing about this story is that all the individuals mentioned lived at the same time! There is an assumption that the famous Amerigo Vespucci could take or receive a nickname in honor of Richard America, Cabot's sponsor and discoverer of North America. Perhaps some events happened before others? This story is reminiscent of an intriguing detective story!

If we talk about the scale of history, the names of the territories are just trifles. It is much more important to understand the consequences of the Great Geographical Discoveries for the indigenous inhabitants of these lands. These expeditions brought not only knowledge, but also caused the beginning of colonial wars, the spread of slavery and the destruction of indigenous peoples. Every cloud has a silver lining - and vice versa.

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