In 1508, Amerigo Vespucci was named the first chief navigator of Spain
The man whose name would eventually grace two continents was officially tasked with charting the Spanish Empire's vast overseas territories as its first chief navigator in 1508.
King Ferdinand II of Aragon appointed Amerigo Vespucci to the prestigious post of Pilot Major, making him responsible for the accuracy of Spain's secret maritime charts. Vespucci was the first to realize that the lands Christopher Columbus found were not the outskirts of Asia, but an entirely different 'New World.'
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