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Date: | Thu, 14 May 1998 14:01:14 Z |
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Boorstin only mentions two journeys: the 1499 voyage which began in
the company of Alonso de Ojeda and which ended with damage to his
vessels, and Vespucci's more successful trip to South America which
began in May 1501 and ended in September 1502. If there were others,
Boorstin does not mention them. Boorstin notes that Vespucci was made
the pilot major of Spain sometime after 1502 and that he planned to
sail again but never did. Boorstin also mentions the fact that
Vespucci's voyages were widely published; this may be the reason
Waldseemuller was aware of Vespucci, but not of Columbus, at least not
initially. "Sixty editions of Vespucci appeared all over Europe in
Latin and in the rising vernacular languages, including even the
Czech. But during all these years no edition appeared in either Spain
or Portugal." The lack of Spanish and Portuguese editions is
explained by the practice of keeping explorations secret, especially
information of value for navigation. Partially as a result of secret
or missing records the rivalry of claims of discovery arose between
Portugal and Spain.
I admit I am taking Boorstin at face value and I know precious little
about Vespucci beyond Boorstin, but there is a good web synopsis of
how the controversy surrounding the number and years of the voyages
may have started at
http://marauder.millersv.edu/~columbus/data/his/COHEN-01.HIS
Richard Kimmel
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