John Cabot, the Venetian sailor who took the first English ship across
the Atlantic, was not a writer like Columbus, and consequently our
knowledge of his projects and his achievements is limited to what is
derived from the reports of other men who knew him or his son and from
certain official documents. In general our material may be classified
into: (_a_) English official documents, (_b_) reports derived from John
Cabot himself, and (_c_) reports or records derived more or less directly
from Sebastian Cabot. The materials in _a_ and _b_ are harmonious; those
in classes _b_ and _c_, on the other hand, are practically
irreconcilable. The result of this conflict of testimony has been to
discredit Sebastian Cabot and to lead many scholars to believe that he
tried to ascribe to himself what his father did. Other critics reluctant
to bring so serious a charge against a man who held honorable positions
in Spain and later in England believe that the material in class _c_
relates to the second voyage--that of 1498, and that by a mistake it was
in the minds of the narrators confused with the voyage of 1497. For a
presentation of all the original material the reader may be referred to
H. Harrisse, _John Cabot the Discoverer of North America, and Sebastian
his Son_ (London, 1896), and to G.E. Weare, _Cabot's Discovery of North
America_ (London, 1897). G.P. Winship, _Cabot Bibliography_ (London,
1900), gives a complete guide to the Cabot literature. For a brief
account of the voyages and of the Cabot question see E.G. Bourne, _Spain
in America_ (New York, 1904), pp. 54-63. The most important recent
monograph is H.P. Biggar, _The Voyages of the Cabots and of the
Corte-Reals_, in _Revue Hispanique_, tome X. (Paris, 1903).
The material presented here consists of the private letters of two
Italians sojourning in London in 1497-1498, and the official despatch of
the junior Spanish ambassador at the English court.