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Vespucci vs. Columbus

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  1. Amerigo Vespucci
    Florentine navigator who explored the coast of South America
    Amerigo Vespucci's first voyage in 1497 is the most controversial.
  2. Columbus
    Italian navigator who discovered the New World in the service of Spain while looking for a route to China (1451-1506)
    If it occurred as described in a certain group of letters, then Vespucci saw the mainland of the New World more than a year before Columbus.
  3. Caribbean
    region including the Caribbean Islands
    He probably did go to the New World about that time, as a crew member on one of the many less known voyages that flooded out from Spain to the Caribbean Islands after Columbus came back from his first voyage.
  4. Canary Islands
    a group of mountainous islands in the Atlantic off the northwest coast of Africa forming Spanish provinces
    Columbus thought that Cipango (Japan) was about 2,400 nautical miles from the Canary Islands, the starting point of his first voyage.
  5. New World
    the hemisphere that includes North America and South America
    If it occurred as described in a certain group of letters, then Vespucci saw the mainland of the New World more than a year before Columbus.
  6. Hispaniola
    an island in the West Indies
    Even after his fourth and last voyage, when he realized that South America was a separate continent, Columbus still thought that Hispaniola and the other Caribbean islands were part of Asia.
  7. Asia
    the largest continent with 60% of the earth's population
    However, though he firmly believed he was exploring Asia, he was, in fact, only exploring the Caribbean Islands.
  8. West Indies
    the string of islands between North America and South America; a popular resort area
    After all, geographers consider the Caribbean Islands, which we also call the West Indies, part of North America.
  9. South America
    a continent in the western hemisphere connected to North America by the Isthmus of Panama
    Even after his fourth and last voyage, when he realized that South America was a separate continent, Columbus still thought that Hispaniola and the other Caribbean islands were part of Asia.
  10. Venezuela
    a republic in northern South America on the Caribbean
    On his third voyage, Columbus did land on the South American continent, in what is now called Venezuela during August of 1498.
  11. mainland
    the main land mass of a country or continent
    If it occurred as described in a certain group of letters, then Vespucci saw the mainland of the New World more than a year before Columbus.
  12. island
    a land mass that is surrounded by water
    He probably did go to the New World about that time, as a crew member on one of the many less known voyages that flooded out from Spain to the Caribbean Islands after Columbus came back from his first voyage.
  13. North America
    a continent (the third largest) in the western hemisphere connected to South America by the Isthmus of Panama
    After all, geographers consider the Caribbean Islands, which we also call the West Indies, part of North America.
  14. Asian
    a native or inhabitant of Asia
    He had underestimated the diameter of the Earth and had grossly over estimated how far east the Asian continent reached.
  15. Japan
    a constitutional monarchy occupying the Japanese Archipelago
    Columbus thought that Cipango (Japan) was about 2,400 nautical miles from the Canary Islands, the starting point of his first voyage.
  16. Florence
    a city in central Italy on the Arno
    However the letter, written to a man in Florence, and signed by Vespucci is probably not genuine.
  17. America
    North America and South America and Central America
    After all, geographers consider the Caribbean Islands, which we also call the West Indies, part of North America.
  18. Spain
    a parliamentary monarchy in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula; a former colonial power
    He probably did go to the New World about that time, as a crew member on one of the many less known voyages that flooded out from Spain to the Caribbean Islands after Columbus came back from his first voyage.
  19. Indian
    of or relating to or characteristic of India or the East Indies or their peoples or languages or cultures
    That is why he called the islands the West Indies and the people he found there Indians.
Created on Fri Oct 04 14:18:36 EDT 2013

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