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man who inspired America? |
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THIS
STORY LAST UPDATED:
30 April 2002 1204 BST
A
Bristol custom's officer is being heralded as the man after
whom America was named, in a new book.
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| Richard
Amerike provided funds and wood to build John Cabot's ship,
The Matthew |
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Rodney Broome says 'Amerike', as the continent was known in
the 1500s, was not inspired by Italian explorer Amerigo Vespucci,
as previously thought.
Instead he claims the country was named after Richard Amerike
- the sponsor of John Cabot's voyage to the New World.
Amerike was a wealthy Welsh landowner and merchant trader who
lived with his family in Long Ashton.
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| Did Cabot name
the country after Amerike? |
In 1486 he was made King's Customs'
Officer and was encouraged by Henry VII to send his ships on
voyages of discovery.
Broome's book, Amerike,
The Briton Who Gave America its Name, suggests that America
was named by John Cabot in 1496 - years before Vespucci's voyage.
According to Broome, the Bristol-based explorer was assisted
by Amerike as part of his job as King's Customs' Officer and
named the country after him out of gratitude.
Peter Macdonald, writing on the BBC History website, says Amerike
donated more money than anyone else to funding the construction
of Cabot's ship, the Matthew.
Also, he adds, as no wood was readily available nearby, oaks
from Amerike's family estate in Wales were cut down and transported
to Bristol to make his ship.
Secret maps
In his book, Broome goes on to reveal his discovery of papers
in the archives at Westminster Abbey which suggest Vespucci
and Columbus secretly used Cabot's maps on their voyage to find
a trade route.
"As their fame grew and Cabot's declined, the misconception
grew that it was they who had named the new land," said
Rodney Broome.
Rodney Broome is Bristol born and bred but moved to the States
in 1966.
He has written several books about how America got its name
including 'Terra Incognita' in which he suggests that Richard
Amerike shipped salt to Newfoundland and the Bristol sailors
named the area after him in 1481. |
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