Vespucci's False South American Glory

In a historical hoax, Amerigo Vespucci, a Florentine explorer, falsely claimed to have landed in Venezuela before Columbus. Despite doubts about the authenticity of Vespucci's voyages, a German cartographer, having read Vespucci's letters, named the southern continent "America" in 1507. This choice, which another cartographer confirmed in 1538, contributed to Vespucci's unjustified elevation to the position of a key figure in the naming of the Americas.