Who Funded Amerigo Vespucci’s Voyages? Not Spain.

Spain did not finance Vespucci. His 1499–1502 voyages were backed by:

• Portugal (King Manuel I) — seeking route to India, mapping Brazil.
• The Medici family of Florence — his patrons, commercial network.

Vespucci, a Florentine merchant-navigator, sailed under Portuguese flag for his key “New World” voyages (1499–1500, 1501–02). His letters (Mundus Novus, Lettera al Soderini) popularized the idea of a new continent—hence “America” (Waldseemüller, 1507).

Spain later hired him as piloto mayor (1508) to standardize navigation—but didn’t fund his explorations.