Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 20.djvu/136

VESEY. 102 VESPUCIUS. VESEY, ve'zl. Denmark (n67?-1822) . An American negro insurrectionist, born probably in Saint Tliomas, West Indies. He accompanied his master, a Charleston (S. C.) sea-captain, on his voyages for twenty years, but purchased his freedom in 1800 and "worked as a carpenter in Charleston. Through his intelligence he gained great influence over the slaves, and with another negro, Peter Poyas, preached insurrection. The plot, as disclosed May 25, 1822, by a negro who had been approached, was for the thousands of the slaves in the city and the neighboring islands to come together and seize the city and harbor. When the leaders were arrested they were discharged through lack of evidence. An attempt to carry out the plot on June 16th was easilv suppressed, and the leaders were tried before a special court, in which sat William Dravton, Joel R. Poinsett. R. Y. Hayne. and other distinguished citizens. Vesey conducted his case ■with much skill, but he and thirty-five other negroes were condemned and hanged. VESICANT. See Blisters. VESPA'SIAN (Titus Flaviu.s Tespasian- fs) ('.'-7!1). A Roman Emperor. He was born A.D. 9, at Reate,' in the Sabine country, his father being a man of humble origin, and his mother. Vespasia Polla. daughter of a camp-prefect and sister of a senator. Entering public life. Vespasi- an served as military tribune in Thrace, as qua-stor in Crete and "Cyrene, and as a-dile and priT^or at Rome. In the reign of Claudius he was made commander of a legion stationed in Ger- many, whence he was soon sent into Britain (43), wheie he conquered the Isle of Wight. He became consul suffecttis in .51, and afterwards passed a number of years in command of Roman legions. In 66 he waschosen to conduct the war against the Jews, and this proved the turning-point of his life, for he was a fine disciplinarian, and en- deared himself to his troops, who, on the news of the death of the Emperor Galba, proclaimed their general Emperor in Alexandria, July 1, 69. The Roman senate had meanw^hile named Otho Emperor, and the troops in Germany had like- wise declared in favor of their general Vitellius. A civil war was thus precipitated. (See Otho; ViTELUDS.) The legions of all the eastern provinces soon declared in favor of Vespasian, and he had the advantage also of the control of Egypt, from which he could cut off the grain supplv of Rome. Leaving his elder son. Titus, to conduct the Jewish campaign, he intrusted his interests at Rome to the care of his loyal supjiorter, "Mucianus, Governor of Syria, remain- ing himself in the East to strengthen and organ- ize his support. Otho soon met a violent death, and the army of Vitellius in Italy was routed by Vespasian's supporters at Cremona. The murder of Vitellius in December, 60, left Vespasian in control of the Roman world. The chief events of his sncoessfil reign of ten years were the sup- pression of a formidable revolt of the Batavians under Civilis ((iil-701. the caphire and destruc- tion of .Jerusalem by Titus (70). the grand triumph of Vespasian and Titus, the construction of the Colosseum, and the conquests in Britain by Agricola (78-79). Vespasian died June 23, 79, and was succeeded by his son Titus, to whom he had already given a share in the government. VESPASIAN, Forum of. See Forum Pacis. VESPERS. Sec Breviary. VESPER SPARROW, or Gra.s.s Fixcii. A common resident sparrow {I'oa-cetes rjramincua) of the Eastern United States and Canada, dis- tinguished by the bright chestnut color of the bend of the 'wings, whence it Avas named 'bay- winged bunting' by the earlier ornithologists; and especially by the display in flight of a white feather at ea'ch "side of the "tail. It nests on the ground, and has a simple but pretty song which it is fond of singing at dusk, whence Wilson Flagg called it the vesper sparrow — a name which has superseded its earlier and more casual designations. VESPUCIUS, ves-pu'shl-us. Americus (It. Amrriiio Vespucci) (14.51-1.512). A Florentine navigator, from whom the Western continents received their name of America. He was born ilarch 9, 1451: entered the offices of the com- mercial establishment of the ]Medici in Florence, and between 148.3 and 1492 occupied a position of responsibility with that house. In 1493 he went to Spain and established himself as a merchant in Seville. In 1496 he took over the business of another Florentine merchant of Seville, who had been in the habit of furnishing supplies for the vessels engaged in the voyages to the West In- dies. This brouglit Vespiicius into direct touch with the atlairs of the New World. In 1497 he placed his business in other hands, and set out to see something of the New World for himself. Sailing in May"; 1497, he was absent eighteen months, probably exploring the South Amerioan coast, on the lookout for opportunities for com- mercial profit. Instead of returning to Spain with the vessel on which he had sailed. Ves- pucius seems to have left it at some port at which he met a fleet commanded by Alonso de Ojeda. with whom he made his second voyage, lasting fourteen months. He returned to Spain by July, 1500. Shortly after this he must have gone to Portugal, for on May 10, 1501. he sailed on a Portuguese expedition which reached the South Amei-ican mainland on June 6th, and re- turned in September. 1502. In May, 1503. he sailed again with the Portuguese, returning June 18. 1504. In February, 1505, he was back in Seville, where he met Columbus, who described him, in a letter to his son, Diego Columbus, as "a very Avortliy man who has always endeavored to be agreeable to me. . . . He is determined to do for me all he can." This letter is sufficient commentary on the assertion that the two ex- plorers were rivals, or that Vesjiucius tried to secure the renown properly belonging to Columbus. After a visit to the Court of Ferdinand. Vespucius became a citizen of Seville again and naturalized himself as a Spanish subject, in April, 1505. He spent the next eighteen months in preparing an expedition for (lie ^[oIuccas. in eoiiperation with V. V. Pinzon (q.v.), which was eventually pre- vented from sailing by I'ortuguese intrigues. In Novcmlier. 1507, N'espucius was summoned to the Court at Burgos, where he was appointed Pilolilajor on ilarch 22, 1508. He then re- paired to Seville, where he oecuiiied himself with the duties of his office, examining pilots, collect- ing geographical and cartographical data, and supervising the dispatch of expeditions to the New Worhl. He died on February 22, 1512. During his Portuguese sojourn ut Lisbon, in