Why Isn't America Named After Christopher Columbus?

Answer 1

This is because Columbus thought he had found the East Indies (Asia). Amerigo, the man after whom America is named, discovered that this was not the Indies but a new world. Columbus died in 1506, still believing that he had found the route to the Asian continent.

Answer 2

There are two primary reasons why the Americas are named after Amerigo Vespucci rather than Christopher Columbus:

1) Christopher Columbus refused to admit that the lands he had discovered were not actually the East Indies that he had originally intended to set sail for (which is also why he named the native inhabitants "Indians"). There are several reasons why he would die without ever admitting that it was not the Indies that he had found. Firstly, he was only able to sell his idea to the Spanish court of sailing west by promising them he would find a new trade route to the East by sailing West (navigating the Silk Road at the time was somewhat treacherous due to the Turkish invasion of the Ottoman Empire, which sat in the center of the European portion of the Silk Road). If he later admitted that the land he found was not the Indies, he would anger the court, which would carry various and potentially serious penalties. Secondly, Columbus never set sail with the intention of finding a new continent, but rather to find a new trade route. To admit that he had found a new continent would, ironically, be admitting failure rather than victory. Despite the fact that history would regard his discoveries as great accomplishments, Columbus would likely have personally considered it a failure of his, since he did not actually find a new trade route to the East Indies as intended. Interestingly enough, his decision in this regard to never admit what he really found was likely a very good reason why the continents were not named after him.

2) Between 1502 and 1504, two letters were published which were attributed to Amerigo Vespucci and supposedly detailed his voyages to the new lands. Even though these letters may not have accurately reflected or greatly exaggerated Vespucci's role in the voyages, their publications helped Vespucci's voyages and the existence of the new continents become widely known in Europe (the new continents were still not widely known to the general public at this time primarily because Columbus was so adament in insisting they were not actually new continents). In 1507, Martin Waldeemuller created a world map which identified the new continents, and he named them "America" after the feminized latin version of Amerigo Vespucci's first name. That is the point at which the name for the new continents was born, and the rest is history.

Answer 3

It is a mistake that it is called America. A German map maker in the 1500's used it because he believed that Amergo Vespucci discovered North America. He had read the book by Vespucci claiming he found North America, but Vespucci lied. By the late 1800's the British Geography Society had proven he didn't find North America, but the damage was done and the name stuck.

Answer 4

America is not named after Christopher Columbus because he did not discover the continent. The name "America" actually comes from the Latin version of the name of explorer Amerigo Vespucci, who was one of the first to suggest that the landmass Columbus encountered was a new continent, and not part of Asia.

Answer 5

this happend because a writer recorded it and the name caught on.