Identifier: unitedstateshist00ridp (find matches)
Title: United States; a history: the most complete and most popular history of the United States of America from the aboriginal times to the present day..
Year: 1893 (1890s)
Authors: Ridpath, John Clark, 1840-1900
Subjects:
Publisher: Boston, New York, The United States history co.
Contributing Library: The Library of Congress
Digitizing Sponsor: Sloan Foundation

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along the south side of the Gulf of Mexico,the expedition accomplished nothing, and Columbus, overwhelmed withdiscouragements, returned once more to his ungrateful country. Thegood Isabella was dead, and the great discoverer found himself at last afriendless and despised old man tottering into the grave. Death came,and fame afterward. Of all the wrongs done to the memory of Columbus, perhapsthe greatest was that which robbed him of the name of the new conti-nent. This was bestowed upon one of the least worthy of the manyadventurers whom the genius and success of Columbus had drawn to theWest. In the year 1499, Amerigo Vespucci, a Florentine navigatorof some daring but no great celebrity, reached the eastern coast of SouthAmerica. It does not appear that his explorations there were of anygreat importance. Two years later he made a second voyage, and thenhastened home to give to Europe the first published account of theWestern World. Vespuccis only merit consisted in his recognition of
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VOYAGE AND DISCOVERY. 57 the fact that the recent discoveries were not a portion of that India alreadyknown, but were in reality another continent. In his published narrativeall reference to Columbus was carefully omitted; and thus through hisown craft, assisted by the unappreciative dullness of the times, the nameof this Vespucci rather than that of the true discoverer was given to theNew World. The discovery of America produced great excitement throughoutthe states of Western Europe. In Spain especially there was wonderfulzeal and enthusiasm. Within ten years after the death of Columbus, theprincipal islands of the West Indies were explored and colonized. In theyear 1510 the Spaniards planted on the Isthmus of Darien their first con-tinental colony. Three years later, Vasco Nunez de Balboa, thegovernor of the colony, learning from the natives that another ocean layonly a short distance to the westward, crossed the isthmus and from aneminence looked down upon the Pacific. Not satisfi

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