HUMAN BORDERS. AN APPROACH TO THE EARLY COLONIAL REPRESENTATIONS FROM THE LETTER OF LISBOA BY AMERICO VESPUCIO

Abstract

In this article I analize the characterization that Americo Vespucio made of american men on a letter dated in 1502 to Pier Francesco de Médicis. In first place I refer to the framework adopted to critizcize this source. In second place, I make a biographical semblance of the author and the corpus associatted to him. In third place I make an analysis of the letter and the journey in which it was registered. In fourth place, I relate this letter with similar sources, both previous as later ones. In the conclusions I explicit the way in which the early characterization of America made by the navigators had an impact on the course of the European settlement Enterprise. Besides, I propose to think about the current relevance, practical and theorical, of the analysis of the early sources of conquest.