How Did America Get its Name?

The Americas were named for Explorer Amerigo Vespucci. (Image credit: Jon Sullivan via Wikipedia)

The naming of America goes to show that it pays to have a good publicist. When Christopher Columbus returned from his first voyage, he spoke (incorrectly) of wonderful discoveries off the coasts of Japan and India. The prospect of a new route to Asia excited his countrymen, but it did not grip Europe as would the discovery of a new continent.

In 1502 the Florentine merchant and explorer Amerigo Vespucci, on his second voyage across the Atlantic, began to suspect Columbus’ error. In letters to friends he spoke of a "Mundus Novis," or "New World." This grander description sparked celebration throughout Europe, and soon after a group of cartographers, poets and noblemen in France produced a popular pamphlet in which modern-day South America is named for the Italian explorer.

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