Though they were both Italian and close to the same age, their social background and education were very different.

Amerigo's father was a nobleman, a member of the privileged class. He received the best formal education that money could buy. His uncle, a highly educated priest, Giorgio Antonio Vespucci directed his schooling which included a trip to France when he was 24 years old. His learning focused, in particular, on math and the physical sciences with a special concentration in astronomy. His family was well connected to the Medici who ruled their city.

Christopher's father was a wool weaver and tavern keeper. Young Christoforo, his first name in Italian, had little or no formal schooling. He went to work as a sailor at a very early age, and helped support his family. He was illiterate like most people then, until, in his mid-twenties, he taught himself to read Portuguese and Latin. After that, he read a lot, and wrote notes in the margins of many of his books. He read the Bible very carefully because he thought he could find scientific facts there.

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