Amerigo Vespucci Letter from Seville
Vespucci's letter describing the Brazilian coast and its people.
The Letter from Seville, dated 18 July 1500, is a document written by Amerigo Vespucci to his patron Lorenzo di Pierfrancesco de' Medici. It recounts experiences from Alonso de Ojeda's May 1499 voyage and is notable for its detailed description of the Brazilian coast and its inhabitants. This letter contributed to the belief among Spanish people that North and South America were not connected to Asia.
Quick Facts
- Author
- Amerigo Vespucci
- Recipient
- Lorenzo di Pierfrancesco de' Medici
- Date
- 18 July 1500
- Place of writing
- Seville, Spain
- Voyage described
- Alonso de Ojeda's May 1499 voyage
Facts from the source article.
Authenticity of the Letter
Antonello Gerbi argues that the Letter from Seville, along with the 4 July 1501 Letter from Cape Verdi and the 1502 Letter from Lisbon, are the only three authentic Vespucci letters. In the Letter from Seville, Vespucci wrote that he sailed about thirteen hundred leagues from Cadiz to that land, though his 1497 voyage reached the West Indies, not Brazil. He also wrote of discovering a very large country of Asia.
Synopsis
Vespucci sailed for Spain to explore Asia but discovered South America, which he initially thought was connected to Asia. After the voyage he wrote the Letter from Seville in Seville to summarize his discoveries. He was satisfied because he crossed the equator, explored the Torrid Zone, and investigated rivers and plant and animal species. While sailing south, a miscalculation of a few degrees caused him and his crew to become lost; they fixed map errors by comparing drawings with actual locations. By crossing the equator, Vespucci disproved the contemporary belief that the tropics were inhospitable, finding the Torrid Zone more densely populated than surrounding areas. He arrived in Brazil by sailing into the Amazon and Pará rivers, where swamps made docking difficult. The abundant flora and fauna led him to call Brazil a terrestrial paradise.
Reception
Many authors have criticized the Letter from Seville as falsified, accusing Vespucci of never making the voyage or exaggerating his role. Thomas More describes Europe as fundamentally corrupt, creating a culture encouraging Vespucci to recreate others' experiences. Felipe Fernández-Armesto describes Vespucci as a common Italian sailor whose writings were misinterpreted by contemporaries, with only two of four voyages factual and none commanded by Vespucci. Charles Whitney criticizes modern historians for confusing Vespucci with Christopher Columbus, creating mass misinformation.
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