184 



HISTORY OF THE SEA. 



substituting the date of 1497 for that of 1499, — thus making it 

 appear that Vespucci had preceded, instead of followed, Co- 

 lumbus in his discovery of the mainland. He did not once men- 

 tion Columbus, and attributed the whole merit of the western 

 voyages to Vespucci. He added that he did not see why from 

 the name of Amerigo an appellation could not be derived for 

 the continent he had discovered, and proposed that of America, 

 <as having a feminine termination like that of Europa, Asia, and 

 Africa, and as possessing a musical sound likely to catch the 

 public ear. This work was dedicated to the Emperor Maxi- 

 milian, and passed rapidly through editions in various lan- 

 guages. 



Thus far no specific name had been given to the con- 

 tinent. Its situation was sometimes indicated upon maps by 

 a cross, and sometimes by the words Terra Sancm Crucis, 

 sive Mundus Novus, often printed in red capitals. In 1522, 

 for the first time, the name of America, under its French form 

 of Amerique, was printed upon a map at Lyons. Germany fol- 

 lowed, and the presses of Basle and Zurich aided the usurpa- 

 tion. Florence was but too eager to accept a name which flat- 

 tered her vanity; and, as Genoa did not protest in the name 

 of Columbus, Italy yielded to the current, and did a large share 

 in the labor of injustice. In 1570, the name of America was 

 for the first time engraved upon a metal globe, and from this 

 time forward the spoliation may be regarded as accomplished. 

 Columbus had been twice buried and twice forgotten ; and now 

 his very name was lost, — the continent he had found having 

 been baptized in honor of another, and his race in the male line 

 being extinct, — for Diego and Fernando had died without heirs. 



In modern times, in our own day even, it has been a common 

 practice to depreciate the services of Columbus, and eminent 

 writers have thought it no disgrace to profess and testify igno- 

 rance of his history and life. Raynal, a French philosopher 

 of distinction, declared, about the year 1760, that the passage 



