Who first figured out that the land Columbus "discovered" was not merely part of India?

lanfranco

I was going to suggest that this had probably been a gradual and tacit realization based on cumulative evidence, but it looks as though the credit might actually go to Amerigo Vespucci -- though there seems to be some controversy about his voyages: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amerigo_Vespucci Mar 27 07, 3:48 PM

Arpeggionist

Columbus' own men were never convinced that they'd found India. After his second voyage, Columbus himself became convinced that it wasn't India after all. He thought he'd instead discovered Paradise. He made another voyage thinking he'd discovered what the Bible may have referred to as the land "East of Eden". Mar 27 07, 3:57 PM

queproblema

I go with Frankie's first thought, but schoolchildren in the US are taught that Vespucci did. (I keep intending to read "Lies My Teacher Told Me" by James W. Loewen.) Have you ever noticed on this site that women tend to supply a link more often than men? I was looking for something to confirm Arpy's idea, and didn't exactly. This is interesting, though: http://homepage.mac.com/hermetic1/3239lastones.pdf I hope pdf links work. Mar 27 07, 9:16 PM

Arpeggionist

Well, my info doesn't come off the net. The story is told well in Daniel Boorstin's book "the Discoverers", which is where I read the account. Most of my references come from actual books rather than the web; I consider the printed publications more reliable. Mar 28 07, 4:41 AM

Arpeggionist

Besides, Sebastion Cabot landed in the Americas before Vespucci, and he also did not really think he'd found India (or China or Japan, the latter being Columbus' actual original destination). Mar 28 07, 4:43 AM

queproblema

I'm all for books, Arpy. Could you tell us which ones? and maybe give a brief quote? Several times I've provided links to a book or an article about the book I'm referring to. Mar 28 07, 8:23 AM

Arpeggionist

My main problem is that I'm separated from most of my library by about a mile's walk, and I can't ever remember page numbers, chapter and verse, or direct quotes. Mar 28 07, 12:47 PM

lanfranco

I agree, Arpy, that printed publications by scholars are more reliable, though there are some online sites that are just fine. Qp, Arpy referred to Daniel J. Boorstin's "The Dicoverers," published by Random House in 1983. I own a copy, and while I wouldn't call it a "scholarly" book -- it was written for an educated general audience -- it is quite informative. Boorstin, who was once the Librarian of Congress, discusses Vespucci's views on pages 244ff. Cabot's landings in North America are also disputed. Mar 28 07, 5:27 PM