WEBVTT - Who Named the Americas?

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Brainstuff, a production of iHeartRadio. Hey Brainstuff. Lauren

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<v Speaker 1>vogelbam Here. The Library of Congress in Washington, d C.

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<v Speaker 1>Houses an enormous five hundred year old world map that

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<v Speaker 1>was the very first to use the name America. It's

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<v Speaker 1>the only surviving copy of what's known as the fifteen

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<v Speaker 1>oh seven Vladsmuller Map, a priceless historical artifact discovered in

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<v Speaker 1>the basement of a German castle in nineteen oh one

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<v Speaker 1>and purchased by the Library of Congress for ten million

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<v Speaker 1>dollars in two thousand and three. For the article this

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<v Speaker 1>episode is based on How Stuffworks, spoke with Chet Van Duzer,

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<v Speaker 1>a map making historian. He said, it's the birth certificate

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<v Speaker 1>of America. But equally as fascinating as the fifteen oh

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<v Speaker 1>seven map is a world map from just nine years later,

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<v Speaker 1>the Carda Marina of fifteen sixteen. This map was published

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<v Speaker 1>by the very same man, Martin Valdsmuller, but the word

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<v Speaker 1>America is nowhere to be found. In its place is

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<v Speaker 1>the name Terra Nova, meaning new World. Van Duser said,

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<v Speaker 1>the most amazing thing about the name America is that

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<v Speaker 1>the guy who invented it decided it wasn't the right name,

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<v Speaker 1>and despite a number of Norse expeditions as early as

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<v Speaker 1>the nine hundred CE, Europe as a whole did not

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<v Speaker 1>know that what we now call the Americas existed until

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<v Speaker 1>Christopher Columbus landed in the Caribbean in fourteen ninety two.

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<v Speaker 1>He brought back word the next year, and the news

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<v Speaker 1>kicked off an age of European exploration and colonization. By

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<v Speaker 1>fifteen oh four, he had completed four voyages and made

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<v Speaker 1>land on parts of what's now Central and South America.

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<v Speaker 1>And sure Columbus never set foot in North America and

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<v Speaker 1>died insisting that he had found a western route to Asia.

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<v Speaker 1>But nonetheless, why didn't Valdsmuller called the lad Lands say

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<v Speaker 1>Columbia on his map in fifteen oh seven, Probably because

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<v Speaker 1>Columbus didn't write a best selling pamphlet about his travels

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<v Speaker 1>that was redolent with sex, violence and cannibalism, which is

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<v Speaker 1>what his fellow Italian explorer Amerigo Vespucci did. A Vespucci

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<v Speaker 1>set sale in fourteen ninety nine and published two wildly

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<v Speaker 1>popular accounts of his voyages. A Van Duser said Vespucci

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<v Speaker 1>was a better self promoter than Columbus, and his accounts

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<v Speaker 1>are more lurid, shall we say, than Columbuses, so they

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<v Speaker 1>were reprinted more often. Vespucci's first pamphlet, written in fifteen

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<v Speaker 1>oh four, was called Mandas Novis. In it, Vespucci claimed

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<v Speaker 1>that the lands across the Atlantic were indeed a new continent,

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<v Speaker 1>not an extension of Asia or just some big island.

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<v Speaker 1>His expedition landed somewhere in what's now known as the

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<v Speaker 1>Guianas at the northern edge of South America, and then

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<v Speaker 1>headed south, following the coast along what's now Brazil and

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<v Speaker 1>Uruguay and Argentina all the way to just some four

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<v Speaker 1>hundred miles north of the tip of the continent, before

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<v Speaker 1>heading back. That's about six hundred and fifty kilometers north

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<v Speaker 1>of the south end of the continent. Vespucci wrote, this

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<v Speaker 1>transcends the view held by our ancients that there is

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<v Speaker 1>no continent to the south beyond the equator, but only

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<v Speaker 1>the sea, which they named the Atlantic. But this their

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<v Speaker 1>opinion is false and utterly opposed to the truth. This

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<v Speaker 1>my last voyage, has made manifest, for in those southern

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<v Speaker 1>parts I have found a continent more densely peopled at

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<v Speaker 1>abounding in animals than our Europe, or Asia or Africa.

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<v Speaker 1>The pamphlet also included plenty of colorful details about the

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<v Speaker 1>quote unquote curious natives, whom Daspucci depicted as gentle overall

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<v Speaker 1>but decidedly un Christian in their customs, which he said

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<v Speaker 1>included facial piercings, cannibalism, and sexual promiscuity. A second pamphlet,

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<v Speaker 1>known as the Soderini Letter, which may not have been

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<v Speaker 1>written entirely by Vespucci, made the Rounds in fifteen oh five.

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<v Speaker 1>This one involved more nudity and provided play by play

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<v Speaker 1>accounts of a few instants between the Europeans and the

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<v Speaker 1>indigenous peoples, some humorous, some violent. The Spucci's accounts were

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<v Speaker 1>widely read throughout Europe, including the small village in France

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<v Speaker 1>where mapmaker Martin Valdsmuller and his collaborator Mattheus Ringman were

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<v Speaker 1>compiling an ambitious new map of the world. They had

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<v Speaker 1>undoubtedly heard of Columbus, but were seemingly unimpressed. Their map,

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<v Speaker 1>published in fifteen oh seven, was a giant twelve panels that,

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<v Speaker 1>when composited, measure four point two feet long by seven

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<v Speaker 1>point six feet wide that's one point three by two

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<v Speaker 1>point three meters, and at the top they engraved portraits

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<v Speaker 1>of the two men they leaved to be the two

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<v Speaker 1>greatest geographers of the ancient and modern world, the Greek

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<v Speaker 1>mathematician Ptolemy and Amerigo Vespucci. In the lengthy text that

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<v Speaker 1>accompanied the map, the two men explained, quote, the fourth

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<v Speaker 1>part of the Earth, which because Amerigo discovered it, we

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<v Speaker 1>may call Amerigie the land of Amerigo, so to speak,

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<v Speaker 1>or America so yep. They named the continent America quote

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<v Speaker 1>because Amerigo discovered it. It didn't take long for Valdzimuler

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<v Speaker 1>and Ringman to realize their mistake, but because sixteenth century

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<v Speaker 1>map making and printmaking was a painstakingly slow process, it

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<v Speaker 1>took a full nine years downright speedy in those days,

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<v Speaker 1>for the men to publish a corrected map, the Cardamrina

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<v Speaker 1>of fifteen sixteen, along with a wordy mia culpa. They wrote,

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<v Speaker 1>we will seem to you reader, previously to have diligently

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<v Speaker 1>presented in shown a representation of the world that was

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<v Speaker 1>filled with error, wonder, and confusion. As we have lately

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<v Speaker 1>come to understand, our previous representation pleased very few people. Therefore,

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<v Speaker 1>since true seekers of knowledge rarely color their words in

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<v Speaker 1>confusing rhetoric, and do not embellish facts charm, but instead

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<v Speaker 1>with a venerable abundance of simplicity, we must say that

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<v Speaker 1>we cover our heads with a humble hood. In their

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<v Speaker 1>cardam Marina of fifteen sixteen, the name America is gone,

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<v Speaker 1>substituted with Terra nova. Presumably the men had figured out

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<v Speaker 1>that Columbus and a few other sailors before Vespucci had

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<v Speaker 1>gotten there first and had a better idea of what

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<v Speaker 1>they were looking at than Columbus. But by fifteen sixteen,

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<v Speaker 1>at least six other world maps had been published using

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<v Speaker 1>the name America, and despite Waltz, Muller and Ringman's belated retraction,

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<v Speaker 1>the original name stuff America was America from then on,

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<v Speaker 1>thanks to some good storytelling and lucky timing. Today's episode

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<v Speaker 1>is based on the article Amerigo Vespucci, a lurid pamphlet

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<v Speaker 1>and the Naming of America on HowStuffWorks dot Com, written

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<v Speaker 1>by Dave Bruse. Brain Stuff is production of iHeartRadio in

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<v Speaker 1>partnership with HowStuffWorks dot Com. It is produced by Tyler Klang.

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<v Speaker 1>For more podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple podcasts,

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