BACKGROUND
JOHN'S VOYAGE
MAIN CONTRIBUTIONS
BACKGROUND
John Cabot was born in Genoa, Italy in 1450, and as a young boy he showed great interest in sailing and exploring.
In 1466 when John was 16, he went to Mecca with his father, who was a merchant.
After returning from Mecca, John started to study mapping and sailing. He continued studying for the next 10 years.
One day, John met a beautiful girl named Mattea, who he married in 1477.
They had 3 sons, Lewis, Sebastian, and Sanctus.
Then in 1497, Henery VII of England gave John Cabot permission to explore the North Atlantic.
JOHN'S VOYAGE
On May 2, 1497, John Cabot set off on his first voyage form Bristol, England.
His ship, called the Matthew, carried a crew of only nineteen.
The Matthew was not very big, so the crew had to eat, sleep and work on the deck.
John and his officers slept in the bunk room, however.
After about six weeks of sailing against prevailing winds they sighted land on June 21, 1497.
Cabot came ashore and, as instructed by the king, claimed the "New Founde Land" for England.
They travelled a short distance into the forest, where they found evidence of Natives, and after gathering a few items, they travelled back to the Matthew.
As John was turning around he noticed how full the ocean was of fish, and he was amazed, as he thought of the fishing oppertunities, which Europe could benifit from.
The Matthew set sail, back to England, on July 20, 1497.
On his way back to Bristol John decided to return the following year.
They were greeted with cheers in Bristol Harbor, and King Henery VII was so pleased that he gave Cabot a gift of 10 pounds, which was a generous gift back then.
John Cabot left on his second voyage in around 1498.
This time he brought 4 or 5 ships, but sadily, little is known about this voyage, as Cabot was shipwrecked and killed.
However, Cabot was very successful in helping to expand Europe's knowledge of the new world.
MAIN CONTRIBUTIONS:
·he discovered lands in the northwest Atlantic (coast of Labrador, Newfoundland and Cape Breton), which most Europeans did not know about
·he told England of the abundance of fish along the Grand Banks
·he created the name Newfoundland ("new founde land")
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