Narrative and Critical History of America, Vol. 2 (of 8): Spanish Explorations and Settlements in America from the Fifteenth to the Seventeenth Century
History
Narrative and Critical History of America, Vol. 2 (of 8): Spanish Explorations and Settlements in America from the Fifteenth to the Seventeenth Century
America -- Discovery and exploration; America -- History; United States -- History
Glareanus in 1529 spoke of the land to the west “quam Americam vocant,”
though he couples the names of Columbus and Vespucius in speaking
of its discovery. Apian and Gemma Phrysius in their _Cosmographia_
of the same year recognize the new name;[598] and Phrysius again in
his _De principiis astronomiæ_, first published at Antwerp in 1530,
gave a chapter (no. xxx.) to “America,” and repeated it in later
editions.[599] Münster in the _Novus orbis_ of 1532 finds that the
extended coast of South America “takes the name of America from
Americus, who discovered it.”[600] We find the name again in the
_Epitome trium terræ partium_ of Vadianus, published at Tiguri in
1534,[601] and in Honter’s _Rudimentorum cosmographiæ libri_, published
at Basle in the same year. When the Spanish sea-manual, Medina’s _Arte
de navegar_, was published in Italian at Venice in 1544, it had a chart
with America on it; and the _De sphæra_ of Cornelius Valerius (Antwerp,
1561) says this fourth part of the world took its name from Americus.
Thus it was manifest that popular belief, outside of Spain, at
least,[602] was, as Las Casas affirms, working at last into false
channels. Of course the time would come when Vespucius, wrongfully
or rightfully, would be charged with promoting this belief. He was
already dead, and could not repel the insinuation. In 1533 this charge
came for the first time in print, so far as we now know, and from one
who had taken his part in spreading the error. It has already been
mentioned how Schöner, in his globe of 1515, and in the little book
which explained that globe, had accepted the name from the coterie of
the Vosges. He still used the name in 1520 in another globe.[603] Now
in 1533, in his _Opusculum geographicum ex diversorum libris ac cartis
summa cura & diligentia collectum, accomodatum ad recenter elaboratum
ab eodem globum decriptionis terrenæ. Ioachimi Camerarii_. _Ex urbe
Norica, ... Anno XXXIII_,[604] he unreservedly charged Vespucius
with fixing his own name upon that region of India Superior which he
believed to be an island.[605]
In 1535, in a new edition of Ptolemy, Servetus repeated the map of
the New World from the editions of 1522 and 1525 which helped to give
further currency to the name of America; but he checks his readers
in his text by saying that those are misled who call the continent
America, since Vespucius never touched it till long after Columbus
had.[606] This cautious statement did not save Servetus from the
disdainful comment of Gomara (1551), who accuses that editor of Ptolemy
of attempting to blacken the name of the Florentine.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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