John Cabot facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
John Cabot
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| Giovanni Caboto | |
John Cabot in traditional Venetian garb by Giustino Menescardi (1762) – a mural painting in the Sala dello Scudo in the Palazzo Ducale, Venice
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| Born | c. 1450 Gaeta, Kingdom of Naples or Castiglione Chiavarese, Republic of Genoa (disputed)
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| Died | Between c. 1498 and 1501 |
| Nationality | Italian |
| Other names | Giovanni Caboto, Zuan Chabotto, Giovanni Chabotte, Juan Caboto, Jean Caboto |
| Occupation | Maritime explorer |
| Known for | First European since the Norse colonization of North America to explore coastal parts of North America |
| Spouse(s) | Mattea (m. circa 1470) |
| Children | Ludovico, Sebastian, and Sancto |
John Cabot (born around 1450 – died around 1500) was an Italian explorer. He is famous for his 1497 trip across the Atlantic Ocean to the coast of North America. This was the first known European journey to coastal North America since the Norse people visited Vinland hundreds of years earlier.
Contents
John Cabot's Early Life and Work
John Cabot was born in Italy. His father was Giulio Caboto. We don't know for sure where he was born, but it might have been Gaeta or Castiglione Chiavarese.
In 1476, Cabot became a citizen of the Republic of Venice. To do this, he had to have lived in Venice for at least 15 years. This means he probably moved there around 1461.
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Being a Venetian citizen allowed Cabot to become a merchant. He likely started trading goods by sea, especially in the eastern Mediterranean. This trade was a big source of wealth for Venice.
Later, in the late 1480s, Cabot faced money problems. He left Venice in 1488 because he owed money. He then moved to Valencia, Spain. In 1494, he moved to Seville. There, he worked for five months on building a stone bridge over the Guadalquivir river, but the project was stopped.
After this, Cabot looked for support in Seville and Lisbon for a trip across the Atlantic. He then moved to London, England, to find people to fund his journey. He probably arrived in England in mid-1495.
Meeting King Henry VII
When John Cabot arrived in England, he went to Bristol. Bristol was a very important port city at the time. He hoped to find people there who would give him money for his explorations.
On March 5, 1496, King Henry VII gave Cabot and his three sons special permission, called "letters patent." This permission allowed them to explore new lands.
The king's order said they could:
- Sail to all parts of the eastern, western, and northern seas.
- Use the king's flags and banners.
- Take up to five ships and as many sailors as they wanted.
- Explore any islands, countries, or regions that were unknown to Christians before.
Cabot and his sons had to pay for their own trips. His sons were likely still young at this time.
Cabot's Expeditions
First Voyage: A Short Trip
We don't know much about Cabot's first voyage. A letter written by a Bristol merchant named John Day gives us some clues. This letter was sent to Christopher Columbus.
Day wrote that on the first trip:
- Cabot went with only one ship.
- His crew became confused.
- They ran out of supplies.
- They faced bad weather.
- So, they decided to turn back.
Since Cabot received his royal permission in March 1496, historians believe he made this first short trip in the summer of that year.
Second Voyage: Discovering New Lands
The details about Cabot's second voyage are not always clear, as different old records tell slightly different stories. Cabot sailed on a small ship called the Matthew of Bristol. It weighed about 50 tons and carried enough supplies for "seven or eight months." The ship left in May 1497 with 18 to 20 men.
The expedition sailed from Bristol, past Ireland, and across the Atlantic Ocean. They landed somewhere on the coast of North America on June 24, 1497. Historians still debate the exact spot, but most agree it was either Newfoundland or nearby Cape Breton Island.
For the 500th anniversary of his voyage, the governments of Canada and the United Kingdom officially named Cape Bonavista in Newfoundland as the landing place.
It is thought that Cabot landed only once during this trip. His crew found signs of people, like a fire, a human trail, nets, and a wooden tool, but they did not meet any native people. The crew probably stayed on land just long enough to get fresh water. They also raised the flags of Venice and the Pope, claiming the land for the King of England and showing respect to the Roman Catholic Church. After this landing, Cabot spent several weeks exploring the coastline.
When Cabot returned to Bristol, he traveled to London to tell the king what he had found. On August 10, 1497, King Henry VII gave him a reward of £10. This was a lot of money back then, about two years' pay for a regular worker. People called him "the Great Admiral," and he was given great honor.
On December 13, 1497, Cabot was given a yearly payment of £20. Then, on February 3, 1498, he received new permission from the king to prepare for another expedition.
Final Voyage: What Happened to Cabot?
In early May 1498, Cabot left Bristol with a fleet of five ships. Some of the ships carried goods like cloth and caps, which suggests Cabot planned to trade on this trip. A Spanish official in London reported in July that one ship got caught in a storm and had to land in Ireland. However, Cabot and the other four ships continued their journey.
For a long time, no other records about this expedition were found. People believed that Cabot and his fleet were lost at sea. However, we know that at least one man who was supposed to go on the trip, Lancelot Thirkill, was alive in London in 1501.
We still don't know for sure what happened to John Cabot. He might have died during the voyage, or he might have returned safely and died soon after. It's also possible he reached the Americas and decided to stay there, perhaps living with the Indigenous people, like Étienne Brûlé did later.
John Cabot's Family
John Cabot married a woman named Mattea around 1470. They had three sons:
- Ludovico Caboto
- Sebastiano Caboto
- Santo Caboto
Legacy and Honors
Many places and things are named after John Cabot, honoring his important voyages:
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Square Cabot, Montreal. - A painting called Giovanni Caboto (1762) is at the Ducal Palace in Venice.
- The Cabot Tower (built in 1897) in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, celebrates the 400th anniversary of Cabot's voyage.
- There is also a Cabot Tower in Bristol, England. It's a 30-meter-tall red sandstone tower started in 1897 for the 400th anniversary.
- A painting by Denis William Eden (1910) shows "John Cabot and his sons receiving the charter from Henry VII." It's in the Houses of Parliament.
- The Giovanni Caboto Club (started in 1925) is an Italian club in Windsor, Ontario.
- A 1952 statue of the explorer is at Bristol's City Hall.
- John Cabot University is an American university founded in 1972 in Rome, Italy.
- A bronze statue of the explorer by Stephen Joyce (1985) is located at Bristol Harbourside.
- A replica of the Matthew of Bristol ship was built to celebrate the 500th anniversary of the 1497 voyage. It is docked in Bristol.
- Another replica of the Matthew is located at Cape Bonavista.
- The beautiful Cabot Trail in the Cape Breton Highlands is named after him.
- John Cabot Academy is a school in Bristol, England.
- Cabot Ward was an election area in Bristol (no longer exists), named after the local Cabot Tower.
- Cabot Squares are found in London and Montreal.
- Cabot Circus, a shopping mall in Bristol opened in 2008, was named after him after a city-wide poll.
- Cabot Street and Cabot Avenue are in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador.
- A bronze statue of the explorer stands at the Confederation Building, St. John's.
- A bronze statue of the explorer is located at Cape Bonavista, Newfoundland. Plaques there remember the historic voyage in English, French, and Italian.
- John Cabot Catholic Secondary School in Mississauga, Ontario, is named after the explorer.
- Giovanni Caboto park is in Edmonton, Alberta.
- The Cabot Institute for the Environment at the University of Bristol is named after him.
- In 1897 and 1947, postage stamps were issued in Newfoundland to mark the 400th and 450th anniversaries of Cabot's voyage.
Interesting Facts About John Cabot
- John Cabot is known by different names in different languages. In Italian, he is Giovanni Caboto. In French, he is Jean Cabot. This was common back then, as people often changed names to fit their local language.
- He might have been born a little earlier than 1450, which is the most common guess for his birth year.
- Historian Alwyn Ruddock believed that Cabot and his expedition returned to England in the spring of 1500. She thought they had explored the east coast of North America for two years, going as far south as the Chesapeake Bay area and maybe even to Spanish lands in the Caribbean.
- Sebastian Cabot, one of John's sons, also became an explorer. He later made at least one trip to North America.
- The United States Navy named two ships after him: the USS Cabot, a 14-gun brig in 1775, and the USS Cabot, a light aircraft carrier in 1943.
See also
In Spanish: Juan Caboto para niños
