Amerigo Vespucci

The biography traces the subject's upbringing in Florence, schooling and influences from figures and texts like Toscanelli and Marco Polo, and his early literary interests. It follows his service under Spanish patronage and his participation in several Atlantic voyages, detailing coastal surveys, encounters with indigenous peoples, natural resources, and notable fellow voyagers. The narrative presents his evolving conclusion that recently explored lands constituted a distinct fourth part of the globe, his promotion to pilot-major, and the contested processes by which his name became attached to the new continents. Chapters combine letters, contemporary authorities, maps, and illustrative reconstructions.