America....what's in the name?

In this region of the world we use a word every day and yet, few of us either know,or care about it's origin. The word: America.
The USA is generally referred to as America, its inhabitants are proud to be Americans.
In fact, the name, it appears was first used by a German mapmaker crediting some of the information and graphic details  to a traveler explorer who's name was placed on this new map.

America; the name... a German connection

A work of art the above map was originally produced by a German Artist, a fellow named Waldesmueller, a painter and mapmaker.It should be one of the most important pieces of art in North and or South America.

The obscure map is based on the travels and explorations of an Italian monk, his name was Amerigo Vespucci. The artist put the monk-explorer-travelers name somewhere on the American map in the area which is now known a Paraguay.(1507 about, and only a few years after Columbus/ Colon discovered what he believed to be India).

The work of art clearly depicts India on the left side as being totally separate from the newly found continent. This was indeed the first time ever that the American continent, in this case mostly south America was shown as a distinctly separate continent, of course the great distance to Asia ( Indian ocean) was not known at that time.
Much later, the French...and then the English started to explore the Northern regions, building on the information already established by the Spanish and Portuguese, but the name, America was adopted , hence South and North America.
...and here, a picture of Martin Waldseemueller, the man mostly credited with creating the name for the new world America.