John Cabot
Giovanni Cabotto (the name Cabotto means 'coastal seaman' - or, according to some, 'Big Head') was born in Genoa in 1450, the son of a spice merchant. By 1461 the Cabot family had moved to Venice, where John Cabot worked in his father's shop. In 1476 he married a young woman called Mattea (the female version of the name Matthew) who bore him three sons - and maybe daughters, too: they were not considered important enough to be listed in legal documents.
Between 1485 and 1490 Cabot travelled widely, becoming, according to his contemporaries, a 'skilful mariner'. Knowing that spices came from the East, and that it was possible, though not proven, that the world was round, he was convinced that by sailing westwards he could explore, and tap, the riches of the Orient.
Hoping to find someone to sponsor a voyage of discovery, in 1495 Cabot came to Bristol, and was introduced to a group of businessmen, led by an Anglicised Welshman by the name of Amerike, who were just as keen as he was to expand trade. Impressed by Cabot, the Bristolians arranged an audience with King Henry VII in London, and on 5 March 1496, Cabot secured letters patent (a letter of authority to make a voyage and claim lands on behalf of the monarch) from the King.
'Thirty-four days after leaving England the sailors sighted a 'New Found Land'.'
A ship, only 70 feet long, was designed and built in Bristol, and on 20 May 1497, with a well-chosen crew of 18, the Matthew sailed from the mouth of the Avon, travelled to the fishing grounds south of Iceland and then due West. Eventually, 34 days after leaving England, the sailors sighted a 'New Found Land'. They went ashore in three places and brought back several pieces of evidence of their voyage, including a needle for making nets, a snare for catching animals and the jawbone of a whale. They made the return journey in just over two weeks, and only three days after returning to Bristol Cabot presented these things to the King. Much impressed, Henry VII granted another patent, and in 1498 Cabot, with a fleet of five ships, again set sail from Bristol. One, storm-damaged, returned to Ireland: the others were never heard of again.
One of Cabot's sons, Sebastion, was to become almost as famous as his father. He sailed to St Petersburg, was the first Governor of the Muscovy Company of Merchant Venturers, and he led an expedition that explored the coast of Brazil. But he did not achieve what his father had achieved: the discovery of a continent most of the world did not know existed.
Published: 201-10-01
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