John+Cabot



John Cabot by Kira and Madison John Cabot was a famous explorer who lived in the 1400’s. He is most famous for exploring Newfoundland, Canada. John Cabot name in Italian was Giovanni Caboto. He was born in 1450 in Genoa, Italy. He could both read and write and he was Catholic, which was unusual. He spent many years in Venice until the late 1480’s. John Cabot convinced King Henry VII that Asia could be reached by sailing west on a more northerly route than Columbus took. He explored for England, sponsored by King Henry VII. The King gave Cabot the right to “find, discover, and investigate” land for Christians. He was searching for the Northwest Passage to the Indies. Life at sea was very difficult. they where out of sight of land for months at a time. Some sailors even got scurvy because they did not eat well. Cabot left Bristol, England on May 2, 1497 with eighteen men aboard the ship “ Matthew” and sailed for fifty-two days. Historians believe he landed in Newfoundland June 24, 1497, which he claimed for King Henry. There are no records to show his voyage. After he explored the coast he went back to England. King Henry VII wanted to send him on a second trip. On his second voyage in 1498, Cabot left England with five ships and several hundred men. A few weeks later one ship came back from sea, while the other ships were lost at sea. Even though he did not make it to Asia, his voyages did get a lot of valuable information for geographers and mapmakers. He also wrote about all the fish he found. John Cabot died on his ship “Matthew” in the year 1498. His son Sebastian would become an explorer too. John Cabot was lost at sea with three other ships. john cabot was most famous for founding parts of newfoundland and canada. media type="custom" key="5164491"

John Cabot's route 