Memory of the World; 2012 - unesdoc - Unesco

for a small globe. Through the map, and the book,
Waldseemüller recognized the contribution of Amerigo
Vespucci in the understanding of the New World as a
separate continent.
Vespucci had sailed on several of the Portuguese
voyages that explored the coast of the New World
between 1499 and 1502 and found that it extended
much further south than had previously been realized.
He was credited for the discovery that the new land
was not part of Asia but was a separate landmass. In
recognition of this understanding, Waldseemüller
christened the New World ‘America’ after Vespucci.
With that designation on the map, the use of the
name America was applied and gradually accepted to
describe the Western Hemisphere.
The map provided a relatively accurate depiction of the
geography of the world and infl uenced subsequent
representations of the earth and of America.
Martin Waldseemüller’s map of the world, including America �
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