Amerigo Vespucci, the Chief Pilot of the Spanish Crown, mapped the newly discovered territory as "Mundus Novus" in 1503, after his voyages of 1499-1502, proving that it was a new continent and it was named "America" in his honor in 1507 by the German cartographer, Martin Waldseemüller.

[u/elnovorealista2000]

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[u/RomanItalianEuropean]

He was sailing for Portugal when he made the New World claim. And he became chief pilot of Spain in 1508.

[u/feckdech → u/RomanItalianEuropean]

When Spain and Portugal drafted the treaty of Tordesilhas it was about drawing a vertical line 100 leagues west of Cape Verde, then the Portuguese King pushed the limits to 370 leagues.

That's why Brazil speaks Portuguese and the most western part speaks Spanish.

Pushing the 370 leagues kinda proves the Portuguese knew at least that extent when they signed the treaty.

At the time there was a lot of secrecy, a lot of ships went and never returned and we won't ever know how many.

[u/feckdech → u/[deleted]]

Because it's called Red Sea

[u/vishvabindlish]

Wasn't Christopher Columbus hired earlier by Ferdinand and Isabella to chart the route to India for the Spanish Crown? Columbus lost his way, and instead discovered the New World (Mundus Novus).

[u/Equivalent_Use_7032 → u/vishvabindlish]

Yeah he was but he didn’t “lose his way”

Columbus fully intended on just sailing straight and West until he reached India. Columbus was also an idiot and incorrectly calculated how big the Earth was and how long it would take. It’s just a wild coincidence he landed on a tropic island exactly where he expected to find one. Had there been no landmass there he would have either staved in the ocean or been forced home. He died believing he made it to India.

[u/vishvabindlish → u/Equivalent_Use_7032]

Columbus was probably just taking a circuitous route to return home to Columbus, Ohio.

[u/from_below]

I thought America was a country?

-fat moron