Giovanni Caboto, better known as John Cabot, was an English navigator of Italian origin. He held important positions and achieved a lot, but today he is better known as the man who discovered North America.
Biography
Giovanni Caboto was born in Genoa, but later John's father decided to move to Venice, where they settled for a long time. Here the future navigator lived for many years, managed to get a family: a wife and three children. Subsequently, one of his sons will become a follower of his father and take part in his expedition.
Living in Venice, Cabot worked as a sailor and merchant. Once in the East, he had the opportunity to communicate with Arab merchants, from whom he tried to find out who supplies them with spices.
Career
It was during his travels to the East that John Cabot began to think about reaching unknown lands through the northwest, since the existence of America was not yet known. He tried to inspire the Spanish and Portuguese monarchs with his ideas, but he failed. Therefore, inIn the early 1490s, the navigator went to England, where he would be called John in the English manner, and not Giovanni.
Shortly after Columbus managed to discover new lands, that is, South America, the Bristol merchants decided to organize an expedition, of which Cabot was appointed commander-in-chief.
First Expedition
In 1496, at that time, the well-known navigator managed to obtain permission from the English king to sail under the English flag. In 1497, he left the port of Bristol with the aim of reaching China by water. This expedition was very successful and quickly gave its results. At the end of June, the ship reached the island, although it remained unclear what John Cabot had discovered. There are two versions, according to one, it was the Labrador Peninsula, according to the other - Newfoundland.
Since the time of the Normans, this discovery was the first authentic European visit to North America. It is noteworthy that Cabot himself believed that he almost managed to get to East Asia, but he deviated from the course and went too far north.
Having landed on terra incognita, Cabot called the new lands the possession of the English crown and went on. Heading southeast with the intention of still reaching China, the navigator noticed large shoals of cod and herring in the sea. This was the area now known as the Great Newfoundland Bank. Since this area is home to a very large number of fish, after its discovery, English merchants no longer neededfollow her to Iceland.
Second Expedition
In 1498, a second attempt was made to conquer new lands, and John Cabot was again appointed at the head of the expedition. The discovery of North America this time nevertheless took place. Despite the scarce surviving information, it is known that the expedition managed to reach the mainland, along which the ships passed all the way to Florida.
It is not known for certain how John Cabot's life ended, presumably, he died on the way, after which the leadership of the expedition passed to his son, Sebastian Cabot. Sailors periodically landed on the shore, where they met people dressed in animal skins, who had neither gold nor pearls. Due to lack of supplies, it was decided to return to England, where the ships arrived in the same 1498.
The inhabitants of England, however, as well as the sponsors of the expedition, decided that the trip was unsuccessful, because huge funds were spent on it, and as a result, the sailors could not bring anything of value. The British hoped to find a direct sea route to "Catay" or "India", but received only new, practically uninhabited lands. Because of this, over the next few decades, the inhabitants of foggy Albion did not make new attempts to find a shortcut to East Asia.
Sebastian Cabot
John Cabot, Sebastian's father, obviously had a strong influence on his son, given that even after his death, he continued his father's work and became a navigator. Returning from the expedition, where he replaced his fatherafter his death, Sebastian has been successful in his craft.
He was invited to Spain, where he became a helmsman, and in 1526-1530 led a serious expedition that went to the shores of South America. He managed to reach the La Plata River, and then swim inland through Parana and Paraguay.
After this expedition under the Spanish flag, Sebastian returned to England, where he was appointed the chief caretaker of the maritime department, and later became one of the founders of the English fleet. Inspired by the views of his father John Cabot, Sebastian also sought to find a sea route to Asia.
These two famous navigators have done a lot for the development of new lands. Despite the fact that in the 15th and 16th centuries it was not only difficult but also dangerous to make such long and distant journeys, the brave father and son were devoted to their ideas. But, unfortunately, John Cabot, whose discoveries could fundamentally change the lives of Europeans, never found out what he managed to accomplish.
