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Amerigo Vespucci (March 9, 1454 -February 22, 1512) was an Italian merchant, explorer and cartographer. He played a senior
role in two voyages which explored the east coast of South America between 1499 and 1502. On the second of these voyages he
discovered that South America extended much further south than previously known by Europeans. This convinced him that this
land was part of a new continent, a bold contention at a time when other European explorers crossing the Atlantic thought
they were reaching Asia (the "Indies").
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