Knowledge Hegemonies in the Early Modern World Sources and Interpretations

Series | Knowledge Hegemonies in the Early Modern World
Volume 1 | Monograph | Amerigo Vespucci: The Historical Context of His Explorations and Scientific Contribution

Amerigo Vespucci: The Historical Context of His Explorations and Scientific Contribution

open access | peer reviewed
    edited by
  • Pietro Daniel Omodeo - Università Ca’ Foscari Venezia, Italia - email orcid profile

Abstract
This book offers a new reconstruction of Amerigo Vespucci’s navigational and scientific endeavours in their historical context. The author argues that all of the manuscripts or texts that Vespucci left to posterity are reliable and true, except for several amendments imposed upon him for reasons linked to the political and economic interests of those who authorised him to undertake his journeys or which were the result of relationships with his companions. The earliest genuine documentation, which dates from the late fifteenth century or early sixteenth century, confirms this position. Fortunately, careful philological studies of Vespucci’s principal written works are available, while some of his original drawings, which confirm, clarify and enrich what he narrated in his letters, can be identified in Waldseemüller’s large map known as Universalis cosmographia (1507).

Keywords Textual criticism of Vespucci’s letters • Amerigo Vespucci • Origin of the New World’s name • Political background of early Renaissance navigati • Columbus versus Vespucci: their different achievem • Vespucci’s scientific legacy

Permalink http://doi.org/10.30687/978-88-6969-402-8 | e-ISBN 978-88-6969-402-8 | ISBN (PRINT) 978-88-6969-403-5 | Number of pages 224 | Dimensions 16x23cm | Published June 3, 2020 | Accepted Jan. 15, 2020 | Submitted Dec. 2, 2019 | Language en

Copyright © 2020 Pietro Omodeo. Pietro Daniel Omodeo. This is an open-access work distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction is permitted, provided that the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. The license allows for commercial use. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

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