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Today marks the first anniversary of the DailyGazelle.com production. The 41st Gazelle Day.
Other famous events on this day: Amerigo Vespucci is honoured by the naming of two continents after him. Cartographer (that is, mapmaker) Martin Waldseemueller produced a map on this day in 1507 naming the New World as 'America'. You may ask why he didn't call the great discovery Columbia, after dear old Chris. He didn't seem to think that Haiti qualified as a continent. Then, why not Vespucci? Good question. We could all be angry at the US of Vuspucci these days. Well, if not that, why not Amerigo, instead of America? Simple. The German bloke based the name on the Latin version of Amerigo, and then made it feminine--all continents are supposed to be feminine (Europa; Asia; Africa).
And here we are. All praise to the Italian! God bless Amerigo!
The naming of America is nowhere near as clear cut as you make out. There is a very strong case that the name derives from Welshman Richard Ameryk (or Ameryke). Maybe you could enlighten some of the world’s leading historians with your Latin grammar ‘theory’.
You can find release from your self-incurred tutelage here.
http://www.uhmc.sunysb.edu/surgery/ameri..
theghostwriter - 07 06 07 - 16:40
It could be as clear as the article reads. Perhaps the wealthy welshman theory may be a planted conspiracy theory? Or it may be correct. A very strong case??? Hardly.
yoshi (Email) - 09 06 07 - 04:40
Did you read the whole of this article? It is not impressed with the Welsh theory.
What is pertinent is that Waldseemueller thought he was naming the continent after Vespucci, and that he published his map on 25 April.
That is the extent of the Gazelle’s interest in the origins of the name.
The Editor - 09 06 07 - 17:05