Europeans
quickly explored the New World after Columbus--particularly the
Spanish. Among these were Balboa, who explored
Panamá, discovering the Pacific Ocean in 1500.
Ponce de León explored Florida in 1513, looking for the
Fuente de Juventud -- Fountain of Youth. (He died in Florida
in 1521.) Solís was killed by Indians in
Argentina in 1515. The Portuguese explored all along coasts
of Brazil and North America. One interesting character was
Amérigo de Vespucci, an Italian who was with
Colón on some of his voyages. Vespucci claimed
to have discovered many amazing places. *A German map maker
heard of his supposed exploits and put Vespucci’s first name,
Amérigo, on the map to honor him. The name
remained in people’s memory, and that’s how America
got its name. America (and ‘Americans’)
in Latin-American thought includes ALL the Americas--North and South.