The engraving comes as close as it dare to depicting the rape of America. In a 1774 engraving, Paul Revere (yes, that Paul Revere) “uses what appears to be an Indian woman to depict America being subjugated by British ministers, who are forcing her to drink vile tea for her own good. She was represented in simple Native American garb, standing in contrast to the Old World’s overly cosseted caricature. Whatever the origin, America was feminine, and its personalization as a womanly depiction of the emerging nation of the United States of America is found before the Revolutionary War. To this end, others have argued that these new lands were actually named for Richard Ameryk, a Welshman with ties to navigator John Cabot, who sailed west in 1497 under the flag of England. What would be unusual is that it wasn’t the surname, Vespucci, which was used. The seven that we know today are Europe (Europa), Africa, Asia, Australia, Antarctica, North America and South America. Then, as now, all the other continents had such feminized names. Other theories exist, but if indeed Vespucci is the source, then Wardseemüller chose to use the feminized Latin version of the explorer’s first name as his inspiration. The label stuck, and eventually came to be the name by which the entire ‘New World’ was known. By 1507 cartographer Martin Wardseemüller had called this lower continent America. Amerigo (aka Americus) Vespucci, an Italian navigator born in 1454, was one of the first to propose that the shores where Christopher Columbus had landed were not Asian, but indeed a “Mundus Novus.” In 14 Vespucci voyaged to the southernmost mainland-first for Spain and next for Portugal-writing extensively of his experiences. It is generally accepted that America takes its name from a man. Part 1: Historical Background | Part 2: Public Examples

Native american goddess names