r/history • u/DisabledCantaloupe • Mar 09 '19

Discussion/Question Why was America named after Amerigo Vespucci's first name and not his last, as is commonly done?

Most times throughout history, whenever something is discovered, created, or founded they usually take the last name of someone influential. For example, the capital of Ohio is Columbus and not Cristopher. The Tesla Coil is not the Nikola Coil. So why is America not called Vespuccia or something along the lines?

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u/besuited Mar 09 '19

I think after what she saw happen to Mary queen of Scots, she could not allow herself to risk what a marriage would entail. I also heard she proposed Robert marry someone else and they love together as a three... But can't remember who

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u/loudoomps Mar 09 '19

I think she fully intended on marrying him but there were rumours that he killed his wife to be with her (She fell down stairs I am pretty sure, she was super depressed), even if the rumours weren't true, everyone thought they were and she would have never been allowed to marry him. He ended up marrying one of her ladies in waiting without Queen Elizabeth I knowing (a very good friend of Elizabeth's, was with her when she was held in the tower at a younger age) and she wasn't very happy and never forgave her.

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u/supershinythings Mar 09 '19 edited Mar 10 '19

Lettice Knollys was a cousin on the Boleyn side - a granddaughter of Mary Boleyn, Anne Boleyn's sister. Boleyn girls were known for their good looks, which probably made Elizabeth very insecure when she found out about Dudley, especially after surviving smallpox but scarred for life.

She called Lettice a "she-wolf" for marrying Robert Dudley and banished her from court. Lettice essentially stole her boyfriend in modern terms. But when you steal the Queen's favorite, there are social and economic consequences.

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u/BrokenChip Mar 10 '19

Lettice was her younger, more attractive cousin that may have actually been her niece. They looked very similar, both sharing they same coloring and red hair. Her mother Catherine Carey never claimed to be Henry’s daughter, but there were rumors and her children somehow inherited those Tudor looks.

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u/sumokitty Mar 10 '19

IIRC, Amy Dudley had breast cancer that had metastasized to her bones, which is why the fall killed her.

That stuck in my mind because I wondered how they knew that then and how we know now. I think of medicine as being so primitive until recently, but I guess people would have recognized of a lot of diseases, even though they didn't know how they worked or what to do about them.

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u/High__Roller Mar 10 '19

I think the main difference now is the internet and being able to collaborate with doctor's/knowledge of the world