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Giovanni Caboto, or John Cabot as he is known in English, was born most likely around 1451 in Genoa, Italy. In 1461 he relocated to Venice and eventually became a Venetian citizen on March 28, 1476 after fulfilling the fifteen year residency requirement. As an employee of a mercantile firm, Caboto frequently traveled to the shores of the Mediterranean and Mecca which was a great trading post at the time. As an experienced seamen, Caboto envisioned a great voyage of discovery for himself. In 1484 Caboto moved to England with his three sons, Ludovico, Sebastian, and Santa. In 1492, came the word of Columbus success.
With the discovery of what was though to be India, the great exploration race began. Not to be outdone by Spain who backed Columbus, King Henry VII of England issued grants for Cabot and all of his sons to seek islands and countries in the west, east, and north in hopes of a British monopoly on trade that could possibly be established. Caboto returned quickly to Bristol to prepare for his voyage. Caboto, on the basis that the world was much bigger than Columbus claimed, created a plan to instead of having a start point at a more southerly latitude he would start a northerly latitude where the longitudes are much closer together, making his voyage shorter and giving easier access to his goal of reaching Cipango, or current day Japan. On his maiden voyage in 1496, Caboto experienced trouble in the forms of food shortage, inclement weather, and disputes within his crew and was forced to turn around and return to Bristol. However, Caboto was determined to make the trip and in May 1947, he set sail once again from Bristol on the small ship Matthew with a crew of 18 men, one of which may have been his son Sebastian.
Caboto made the voyage in safe and amiable conditions up to three days prior to sighting land. Records show that on June 24, 1947, after fifty days of sailing from England, he reached the American mainland before Columbus by proceeding around Ireland and then north and west. However, the exact location of Caboto's successful landing is still under scrutiny. The charts of Sebastian Caboto seem to put the point around Cape Breton Island. Some historians however, feel this is a falsification on Sebastian part to support the English claim to possession. Exploration of the land discovered signs of civilization but no inhabitants could be found.
In the name of England, Caboto placed the British flag and his Venetian flag on the site of his arrival. Conducting explorations from his ship along the coastline, Caboto began naming various landmarks and features. Caboto probably saw what is presently known as Cape North, St. Paul Island, Cape Ray, St. Pierre and Miquelon, and Cape Race, which all lie in the area of Cabot Strait. Due to the fact that Caboto believed he had reached the northeast coast of Asia, was running low on provisions, and the attitude of his crew, Caboto returned to Bristol around the first week of August.
With such efficient results for the British, Caboto was once again given grant for another exploration on February 3, 1948. This expedition however, was to be of a greater magnitude. Composed of five ships and three hundred men, Caboto once again set sail some time before July 25, 1958. It is know that after sailing north, one ship was damaged, most likely by ice, and attempted to anchor in Ireland.
After this they sailed along the east coast of the America past Newfoundland, which received the name of Bacallaos, as far as the latitude of Cape Hatteras. One source has shown that Caboto and his crew were lost at sea, while others say he did once again reach America, but no British records have details on this one great explorer after he left for the third time. While he may have not seemed to be the greatest or most accomplished explorer, Caboto did indeed impact the new world. Caboto was the first European to land on the American shores since the viking Leif Erikson.
Bringing back knowledge of the great amount of fish located in the waters off present day Canada and Newfoundland, he gave England and other counties an alternative means of obtaining, an export of which Iceland had a monopoly. With these two products of exploration under his belt, Caboto can be credited for the eventual colonization of the Grand Banks area of Canada. With this, he also established the British presence in these times of exploration and discovery, and he created the means for England's later claims to North America.
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Research essay sample on Caboto Returned Set Sail North
