With his travels, he laid the groundwork for British claims on Canada: Who is John Cabot?
John Cabot and his crew were the first Europeans to set foot in North America on June 24, 1497. However, like Christopher Columbus, Cabot thought he had reached Asia.
His real name is Giovanni Caboto. John Cabot was born in Genoa in 1450. In 1461 he went to Venice. Here he began to engage in trade. He then traveled to the shores of the Mediterranean and went to Mecca. During this period, he developed his nautical knowledge.
He went to London with his family in 1484. He thought that by traveling westward, one could reach Asia. He went to Spain in the early 1490s to support this project. He returned to England in 1495. In 1496, King Henry VI authorized Cabot to go on expeditions to explore unknown places. Cabot would be able to bring the goods he had obtained on the journey to Bristol, where the trade of these goods would be his monopoly. Columbus's discoveries on behalf of Spain prompted Bristolian merchants to support Cabot.
John Cabot (c. 1450 – c. 1500) was an Italian navigator and explorer. His 1497 voyage to the coast of North America under the commission of Henry VII of England is the earliest-known European exploration of coastal North America since the Norse visits to Vinland in the eleventh century. To mark the celebration of the 500th anniversary of Cabot's expedition, both the Canadian and British governments elected Cape Bonavista, Newfoundland as representing Cabot's first landing site. However, alternative locations have also been proposed.
In 1496, Cabot sailed from Bristol on a single ship. However, he had to return due to bad weather and food shortages. In 1497 he set off again from Bristol with 18 other people. For a while, Cabot sailed through Ireland, then headed west and reached the North American coast. It is not known exactly where he landed, but it is thought to be Newfoundland or Cape Race. Cabot seized these lands in the name of the English king. He then continued his journey in the region between Nova Scotia and the northern tip of Newfoundland.
Thinking he had reached the northeastern coast of Asia, Cabot returned to Bristol on 6 August 1497. He explained that the soil in the places he discovered was very fertile and the climate was mild. He thought that on his new journey, he would reach Japan by going west from his old destination.
In 1498, having received authorization from the king for a new voyage, Cabot left Bristol with 5 ships and 200 men. When one of the ships crashed, he was anchored off the coast of Ireland. The other ships continued westward through the northern Scottish region. There is no definite information about the future. Cabot is believed to have reached America again, continued along the southern coast, and then returned to England. However, according to another claim, Cabot's ship was lost during the voyage. The place of death is unknown.