Into this period fall the much-discussed voyages of Amerigo Vespucci, who, if he were indeed a geographical charlatan, as the greater weight of opinion (though it is rather delicately balanced) appears to stigmatize him, is one of the most remarkable examples of a type which, at periods of keen public interest in exploration, has been not uncommon; even modern instances may come into the memory. Vespucci, a native of Florence (1451–1512), came into Spanish service as a naval contractor, and claimed to have himself made a voyage in 1497, which, if the distances and positions quoted by him were accurate, would have extended into the Pacific and as far as the coast now belonging to British Columbia, and would moreover have brought him within sight of the American mainland before any other navigator of this period. He also gave accounts of three later voyages (two in Portuguese service), abundant in equally or more improbable statements, as that he approached within thirteen degrees of the south pole. If he lied, he was rewarded with something more than the transient fame which others of his kind have usually had to exchange for notoriety. Martin Waldseemüller, professor of cosmography at St. Dié, is credited with the first suggestion that the new continent should take its name from Amerigo, while the hero himself died in the enjoyment of the Spanish office of chief pilot. It must be remembered that at this period of constant fresh discoveries it was almost impossible to form any true conception of the relative importance of the work of different men; and as it was not then the habitual practice of explorers to address themselves immediately on their return to the task of writing down their experiences, Vespucci’s narratives were eagerly seized upon as furnishing a trustworthy account of the new world.