Document Actions
John Cabot
Born: 1450 (exact date not known) in either Gaeta or Castiglione Chiavarese, Genoa, Italy - Died: when and where not know, but probably around 1498 - Children: Ludovico, Sebastian, and Sancto
Interesting Trivia:
-
the first to search for the Northwest Passage
-
a replica of his ship “Matthew” was built (in Bristol)
-
a statue of the explorer at Bristol harbour
-
had the rank of Admiral of the Ocean Sea
-
was a Roman Catholic
-
his name was really Giovanni Caboto
-
discoverer of the North American mainland (Newfoundland/Labrador)
-
John Cabot University, an American university established in 1972 in Rome, Italy bears his name
-
the Scenic Cabot Trail in the Highlands of Cape Breton is also named after the explorer
-
a shopping quarter in central Bristol (Cabot Circus)
-
Cabot Tower in St. John's, Newfoundland, was named after him
-
Cabot Tower in Bristol, UK also
-
Cabot’s son, Sebastian Cabot, later made a voyage to North America, looking for the hoped for Northwest Passage (1508)
His Story:
There is much controversy on when and where Cabot was born, but what is sure is that he and his family moved to Venice when he was eleven years old and he became a Venetian citizen. (according to Venetian archives, it appears he was accorded the rights of a citizen on 28 March, 1476 after the required fifteen years' residence.) Around 1490 he moved to England, settling in the port of Bristol.
After a couple of years of expeditions from Bristol, one in search for the legendary island of Hy-Brazil, he got a commission to find a shorter direct route to Asia. Cabot believed that the Northern Route would be shorter as, he was starting from a northerly latitude where the longitudes are much closer together, and in May 1497, with the support of the English king Henry VII, he left the port of Bristol, which at the time was one of the main British ports. Unrest aboard his ship forced him to return to Britain, having not gotten further north than Iceland.
His second journey he undertook with a smaller ship “Matthew” and crew. His son Sebastian joined him on this journey. He set of in May, 1497 and sailed via Ireland to the coast of Newfoundland, where he arrived on June 24, 1497. Although it is not exactly sure where he landed (with Bonavista or St. John's in Newfoundland, Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia, Labrador, or Maine all being possibilities), Cape Bonavista, is the location recognised by the governments of Canada and the United Kingdom as being Cabot's official landing. He had discovered the North American mainland and he and his crew were most likely the first Europeans to set foot on the North American mainland since the Vikings. He explored the Canadian coastline and named many of its islands and capes and took possession of the land. In July they returned to England, arriving back in Bristol on 6th August.
In 1498, now an Admiral, he set out again, with 5 ships this time. Only shortly after the journey started, one of the ships returned to an Irish port because of damage taken on in a storm. Upon repair the ship again headed West again. Mysteriously, Cabot and his expedition were never heard from again and are presumed to have been lost at sea.
Some historians believe that Cabot returned from his second expedition and died around 1499 in England.
Te Papa Whale exhibition in Washington, DC