John Cabot was a Venetian merchant, and a bold seafaring man. For
purposes of trade he had taken up his home in Bristol, England. Bristol
at that time was the most important seaport of England, and carried
on a large fishing trade with Iceland.
[Illustration: Sebastian Cabot.]
When the news of the voyage of Columbus reached Bristol, Cabot begged
the English king, Henry VII., to let him go and see if he could find
a shorter route to the Indies. The king gave his consent, and told
Cabot to take possession of any land he might discover for England.
Cabot fitted out his vessel and, taking his son Sebastian and a crew
of eighteen men with him, set sail in 1497. He headed his ship westward,
hoping to reach the Spice Islands and that part of Asia which was so
rich in gold, and which Columbus had failed to find. At last, one sunny
morning in June, land was sighted in the distance.
This land, which was probably a part of Nova Scotia, proved to be a
lonely shore with dense forests. Cabot called it "Land First Seen."
It was entirely deserted, not a human being nor a hut of any kind being
in sight.
Here Cabot and his son Sebastian and some of his crew went ashore,
and were the first white men, excepting the Norsemen, to step upon
the mainland of America. Up to this time, Columbus had discovered only
islands of the West Indies. A year later than this he discovered the
continent of South America. Cabot and his companions erected a large
cross on the shore, and planted two flagpoles in the ground, from which
they unfurled the English and Venetian flags. Then they returned to
their ships, and, after sailing about the Gulf of St. Lawrence, went
back to England.
King Henry and the people received John Cabot with great honor.
Everybody thought that Cabot had reached Asia, and he also believed
that he had. He was called the "Great Admiral," and the people of
Bristol ran after him on the street, shouting his name and trying in
every way to show him how much they admired and honored him. The king
gave him fifty dollars in money, which seems to us in these days a
small sum for so long and dangerous a voyage. Besides this, the king
urged him to undertake another voyage.
About a year later Sebastian Cabot made the second voyage, and this
time the gloomy shore of Labrador was reached.
Sebastian on his voyage sailed far north, passing many icebergs, and
seeing many strange and wonderful sights.
On great blocks of ice that floated past the ship he saw immense white
bears. These bears were fine swimmers, and would often leap into the
water and bring out fish, which they would devour greedily. The waters
were filled with fish, and, as the ship neared the shore, they grew
so numerous as almost to retard the sailing of the vessel.
"Now," said Cabot, "the English will not have to go to Iceland any
more for fish."
But Cabot knew that the lands he was seeking were warm lands. So he
turned his vessel south, hoping to reach some opening which would lead
to them. To his great surprise, he found the coast very long and without
any opening, and he sailed on and on as far as Maryland, taking
possession of the land for England.
At places along this shore were seen Indians, clad in skins and furs
of wild animals, fishing from little canoes. Stags much larger than
any in England were seen in great numbers, and wild turkeys and game
of all sorts abounded.
Then Sebastian Cabot began to think that this was a part of Asia never
known before, and he set sail for home to tell the wonderful news.
When he reached Bristol he found everybody still interested in India.
It was a water route to India that was wanted, and not a new country.
People cared more about reaching golden Cathay than about finding new,
barren lands.
So, although King Henry was proud to know that the new land belonged
to England, it was eleven years before he made any further attempt
to send ships there to take possession.