REASONS FOR THE NAME AMERICA. 121 tinent after its first explorer. Moreover, we read that the name. was given by a royal mandate emanating from the crown of Castile. Apiano," who wrote almost contemporaneous with Columbus and Vespucci, makes no mention of the former in his chapter on America, but merely states that this "fourth part of the world received its name from Amerigo Vespucci, discoverer of the same, . . . in 1497, by order of the King of Spain." Viscount Santarem, in a life of Vespucci, which evinces extreme hostility to the latter, and unbounded partiality to the cause of Columbus, seeks to account for the naming of the continent from the fact that a "host of eminent geographers and historians who wrote during the lifetime or immediately after the death of Columbus, ascribe the discovery of the New World to Amerigo, and name it after him in their histories, geographies, and maps." He adds, "Which name Apian, Vadiamus, and Camers, have since widely spread through Strasbourg, Friburg, and Vienna, while the prodigious celebrity of the little book of Apian has propagated the evil by innumerable editions published in Holland and elsewhere." He might have said in Spain," in the language of which country the work was published, having passed the severe censorship of the Church, Crown, and Inquisition, to which, as we have already stated, all works relating to the new lands were subjected. If, therefore, we find in a book, bearing the impress of the Inquisition, a statement militating against the claims of Columbus, which we know the Inquisition sought to further to the utmost, we may very reasonably infer that statement to have been regarded as incontestable. We know that Columbus lived upon friendly terms with Vespucci for more than seven years after the latter had publicly laid claim to the discovery of the continent." Las Casas, moreover, writes: "I cannot but wonder that Hernando Colon, a clear-sighted man, who, as I certainly know, had in his hand Amerigo's account of his travels, should not have remarked in them any deceit or injustice toward the admiral." We presume that Fernando, as well as his father, was more competent to judge of the causes of their silence upon 57 An eminent geographer and astronomer. 58 The Spanish copy of Apiano, from which our extract is taken, was published only fifteen years after the death of Columbus. 69 Herrera, relating events which happened in 1501, tells us, as of an old story, that "Americus Vespuccius was, with Ojeda, still persisting in arrogating to himself the honor of having discovered the continent." Columbus died in 1506. this subject than Las Casas, or any other of their extravagant admirers; and had there been the least pretext for refuting the statements of Vespucci, or denying his achievements, it is not likely they would have failed to do so; yet in after-years the votaries of Columbus raised the hue-and-cry of imposition against Vespucci; they tampered with his letters, changing dates," suppressing or perverting facts, that there might be apparent inconsistency in his narrative. The man thus assailed is proved to have led a noble and useful life, earning and retaining the respect of all with whom he had relations, not excepting Columbus, whom he is accused of having wronged, and who seems to have quarreled with every man connected with him or the Western lands, saving Amerigo Vespucci only. The following letter is sufficient proof of the light in which Columbus regarded Amerigo : "TO MY VERY DEAR SON DIEGO COLUMBUS: "My dear son, Diego Mendez departed from this place on Monday, the 3d of this month. After his departure I conversed with Amerigo Vespucci, the bearer of this, who has been summoned to court upon matters of navigation. He has always been desirous of pleasing me, and is a very worthy man. Fortune has been unpropitious to him, as to many others, and his labors have not profited him as much as reason would seem to require. He goes for me, and with a great desire to do something which may redound to my advantage, if it is in his power. I know not here what instructions to give him that will benefit me, because I know not what is desired of him there. He goes determined to do for me all that is possible. See what can be done to advantage there, and labor for it, that he may know and 60 Vanhagen, who has done more than any one man toward demonstrating the injustice which has been done Vespucci, and who has laboriously collected a vast amount of evidence and facts, writes: "Herrera, the chronicler of the West Indies, while borrowing nearly literally the Latin text of the 'Cosmographiæ Introductio' (Vespucci), with all the details, on this first voyage of Vespucci, and knowing that the Florentine navigator had accompanied Ojeda in 1499, thought this must have been the first voyage made by the former. In this belief he changed the date (1497) to 1499, and when he saw that the Florentine navigator's account began to disagree with the facts of which he had knowledge by other documents relating to Ojeda's first voyage in 1499, he raised the cry of imposture, and accused Vespucci of having confused every thing on purpose, while it was he (Herrera) who was mistaken, and who by this mistake was later to lead into error Charlevoix, Robertson, Tiraboschi, and even Navarette and Humboldt."-" Analyse Critique de la Vie de Vespuce," p. 94. VESPUCCI VINDICATED BY COLUMBUS. 123 speak of every thing and set things in motion. Let every thing be done secretly, that no suspicion may arise. I have said to him all that I can say touching this business, and I have informed him of the payments which have been made to me and which are yet to make. This letter is for the adelantado" (brother of Columbus); "also, that he may see wherein he can profit and advise him" (Vespucci) "of it, let his majesty believe that his ships were in the best and richest part of the Indies, and, if any thing further is required than what has been said, I will satisfy him by word of mouth, for it is impossible for me to tell by writing. May the Lord have you in his holy keeping! "Done at Seville, February 5, 1505. "Thy father, who loves thee better than himself, If the noble character of Vespucci needed vindication from the vile aspersions cast upon him by prejudiced or partial historians, the above letter of Columbus should silence further censure and complaint; it bears full testimony to the honorable conduct of the man, while the writer seems most desirous of profiting by his influence. With slight inconsistency, which will not surprise those who have perused the writings of Columbus, in the second sentence of his letter he says, "who is called to court on matters of navigation;" a little farther on we read, "He goes for me," which would lead us to suppose that Amerigo was called to court expressly to further the interests of Columbus. The first statement we know to have been the truth. Vespucci left Portugal at the instance of the crown of Spain, to take charge of an office which was subsequently erected into a department of the administration, pertaining to pilotage, navigation, and charts. He was to correct the errors carried into the latter by the teachings and maps of Columbus and others. Columbus had fallen into disgrace on account of his cruelty, the gross misstatements contained in his letters pertaining to his discoveries in the West, and the inaccuracy of his charts; the use of these, we have seen, was subsequently prohibited, and a penalty imposed upon the pilot who should sail by them." We do not 61 Irving writes (book i., chapter iv.): "When the passion for maritime discovery was seeking aid to facilitate its enterprises, the knowledge and skill of an able cosmographer, like Columbus, would be properly appreciated, and the superior correct here propose to raise the veil of secrecy which Columbus in his letter seeks to cast upon a matter public in its character, of which it was his duty to speak and write frankly to the sovereign who had employed him; honesty does not thus shun the light. All this deceit is very different from the conduct of Amerigo, who in one of his letters thus excuses himself for not writing more in detail: "Much more have I diligently noted down in a pamphlet in which I have described this voyage, and which is now in the hands of his majesty, who I hope will return it to me shortly." It is worthy of note that Vespucci was not summoned as a witness by the heirs of Columbus in their memorable lawsuit against the crown. Friend as he was, we have reason to believe he knew too much of the demerits of the claims set up, and of matters pertaining thereto, which Columbus desired to have kept secret. Those who write in the interest of Columbus, and against Vespucci, have represented the latter as soliciting the above letter for the purpose of introducing himself favorably at court, and thence affect to believe that Vespucci was a very obscure and unimportant individual. If we could for a moment believe that Amerigo either needed or desired the letter for such a purpose, we are frank to admit that his condition was low indeed; it was written at a period when Columbus had sunk to the greatest depth of degradation; five years before (and his condition had in all respects continued to grow more desperate to the day of his death), he writes: "I have now reached that point that there is no man so vile but thinks it his right to insult me. . . . If I were to build churches or hospitals, they would call them caves for robbers." The time and place of Columbus's nativity remain undetermined, there is no genuine portrait of him; but about the country, family, and person of Amerigo, there is no dispute; his portrait and statues are placed among the household gods, even in the abodes of the humble in the Old World. As the children. of the United States recognize the portrait of Washington, so do those of Italy that of the discoverer of America. ness of his maps and charts would give him notoriety among men of science." From the facts which we have recorded above, it is evident that the government of Castile did not concur in the estimate of Mr. Irving touching the value of Columbus and his charts. VESPUCCI WISE AND GOOD. 125 Vespucci injured none. He did not imagine or pretend to imagine himself in Asia when in America, as did Columbus; though many have sought to make him participate in the error of the latter, we have his own words to prove how just were his ideas upon the subject. In one of his letters he says: "These regions which it is legitimate to call the New World," and again, elsewhere: "Most of the ancients say that beyond the equinoctial line toward the south there is no continent, but only sca, which they called Atlantic, and those who say that there is land say that it cannot be inhabited; this opinion is erroneous, as my last navigation has shown, for I have found in this continent people and animals as in our Europe or Asia or Africa." He thus makes distinct mention of the four quarters of the globe, as they are now recognized. Here, then, is another plea |