Amerigo Vespucci born March 9, 1451 was born in Florence, Italy and was an Italian merchant, explorer and cartographer. He played a senior role in two voyages which explored the east coast of South America between 1499 and 1502. On the second of these voyages he discovered that South America extended much further south than previously known by Europeans. This convinced him that this land was part of a new continent, a bold contention at a time when other European explorers crossing the Atlantic Ocean thought they were reaching Asia.
Vespucci's real historical importance may well be more in his letters, whether he wrote them all or not, than in his discoveries. From these letters, the European public learned about the newly discovered continent of the Americas for the first time; its existence became known throughout Europe within a few years of the letters' publication. If Vespucci's claims are accurate he reached the mainland of the Americas shortly before Cabot, and at least 14 months before Columbus. In 1508 Spain gave Vespucci the responsibility for training pilots for ocean voyages. He died in Seville in 1512 from Malaria
DENMARK VESEY (originally Telemaque) born 1767 was an African American slave and later a freeman, carpenter and anti-slave activist who is alleged to have planned what would have been a large slave rebellion had word of the plans not been leaked. The plot called for Vesey and his group of slaves and free blacks to slay their masters and temporarily seize the city of Charleston. Shortly after the rebellion was to take place, Vesey and his followers planned to sail to Haiti to escape retaliation. The plot was leaked by two slaves opposed to Vesey's scheme, and 131 people were charged with conspiracy by Charleston authorities. In total, 67 men were convicted and 35 hanged, including Denmark Vesey.
0 comments:
Post a Comment