Thursday, 3 November 2011

John Cabot

NAME John Cabot (originally Giovanni Caboto in Italian, or Juan Caboto in Spanish).

WHAT FAMOUS FOR John Cabot is famous for his voyages of exploration across the Atlantic Ocean, particularly his 1497 expedition, which is widely believed to be the first European landing on the North American mainland since the Vikings. His voyages helped lay the groundwork for later British claims to Canada and opened up rich fishing grounds (like the Grand Banks) off the coast of Canada. He aimed to find a shorter westward route to Asia, similar to Christopher Columbus, but instead reached the "New World."

BIRTH Cabot was born around 1450, though the exact date remains uncertain. The most commonly cited birthplaces are Genoa or Gaeta (near Naples), both in Italy. Spanish ambassador Pedro de Ayala described him in 1498 as "another Genoese like Columbus", though some modern historians propose alternative birthplaces including Castiglione Chiavarese in the Republic of Genoa.

FAMILY BACKGROUND John Cabot was the son of Giulio Caboto, a spice merchant. He had a brother named Piero. 

CHILDHOOD Very little is definitively known about Cabot's childhood. Historical records suggest he moved to Venice by 1461, when he was approximately eleven years old. Growing up, he would have heard stories about great explorers like Columbus, and like many children of his era who idolized such figures, Giovanni dreamed of becoming an explorer himself. 

EDUCATION Specific details about Cabot's formal education are not recorded in historical documents. However, as the son of a Venetian merchant, he would have learned navigation, cartography, seamanship, and mathematics from his father. Living in Venice, then a major center for Asian goods and spices entering the European market, provided him with practical education in the spice trade and maritime commerce. His later travels to the eastern Mediterranean, including a reported visit to Mecca (likely the port of Jidda), suggest he gained extensive knowledge of international trade routes and practices.

CAREER RECORD John Cabot's career began as a merchant in the spice trade in Venice trading spices with ports in the eastern Mediterranean. Venetian records identify him as involved in hide trading, and in 1483 he sold a female slave in Crete. He was also a property developer in Venice and nearby Chioggia. 

Around 1490, he moved to Valencia, Spain, where he worked as a maritime engineer, proposing harbor improvements to King Ferdinand. When this project failed, he worked briefly in Seville on a stone bridge project over the Guadalquivir river in 1494, but this too was unsuccessful. 

By late 1495, Cabot settled in Bristol, England, a significant port known for Atlantic expeditions. He convinced King Henry VII to sponsor his westward voyages to find a new route to Asia.

APPEARANCE Contemporary descriptions of Cabot's physical appearance are limited. A mural painting by Giustino Menescardi from 1762 in the Palazzo Ducale, Venice, shows John Cabot in traditional Venetian garb. 

John Cabot in traditional Venetian garb by Giustino Menescardi (1762)

FASHION After his successful 1497 voyage, Lorenzo Pasqualigo wrote that Cabot "goes dressed in silk, and these English run after him like mad" and was styled the "Great Admiral," indicating he adopted luxurious clothing befitting his newly elevated status as a celebrated explorer. This represented a significant change from his earlier circumstances as a financially troubled merchant, demonstrating how exploration success could transform one's social standing and material circumstances.

CHARACTER Historical sources suggest Cabot possessed several key personality traits. He was described as adventurous, daring, and perhaps somewhat rebellious. Contemporary accounts indicate he was determined and persistent, continuing to seek backing for his explorations despite setbacks in Spain and Portugal. Some modern analysis suggests he was both ambitious and perhaps overly optimistic about his ventures, whether in civil engineering projects in Spain or transatlantic exploration.

SPEAKING VOICE Given his multilingual background - born in Italy, living in Venice, working in Spain, and finally settling in England - he would have been fluent in Italian (Venetian dialect), Spanish, and presumably some English. His ability to communicate with merchants, nobility, and crew members across different countries suggests he was an effective communicator.

RELATIONSHIPS  In 1482, Calbot married Mattea, a Venetian woman. They had three sons: Ludovico, Sebastiano (Sebastian), and Sancio. Sebastian Cabot would later become famous as an explorer in his own right, eventually rising to the rank of pilot-major of Spain for the Indies trade

In England, he developed working relationships with Bristol merchants who supported his expeditions and influential patrons like Brother Giovanni Antonio de Carbonariis, a Milanese friar and diplomat who was also the Pope's tax collector in England.

EXPEDITIONS On March 5, 1496 , an Italian fellow named Giovanni Caboto—though he wisely rebranded himself as “John Cabot” to sound more employable in England—received a royal patent from King Henry VII. The King, ever keen on finding new lands (and more importantly, new things to tax), authorized Cabot to sail off and plant flags on behalf of the Crown wherever he fancied. That summer, Cabot set off from Bristol in high spirits and probably low rations, only for the expedition to disintegrate in a muddle of bad weather, poor planning, and the sort of crew dynamics that make one nostalgic for solitary confinement. They turned back before discovering anything more exotic than the western coast of Ireland.

Undeterred, and presumably having restocked both food and patience, Cabot launched a second voyage in May 1497 aboard a doughty little ship called the Matthew, which weighed about 50 tons and carried a cosmopolitan band of 18 to 20 souls, including a Genoese barber moonlighting as a surgeon (or perhaps vice versa), a Burgundian, and two merchants from Bristol who presumably came along to argue about receipts.

A replica of The Matthew in Bristol by Chris McKenna (Thryduulf), 

They sailed past Ireland, then across the Atlantic, and on June 24 made landfall somewhere in the general vicinity of Newfoundland. Or perhaps Nova Scotia. Or maybe Maine. The records are delightfully vague—like most directions written by men who didn’t expect their journals to be read centuries later. Cabot claimed the land for England, named a few places with the breezy authority of someone who didn't expect locals to correct him, and noted signs of habitation, though he never actually bumped into any inhabitants. He then turned around and sailed home, arriving in Bristol in early August to cheers, civic honors, and, perhaps most enticingly, a pension.

Flush with success, Cabot received another royal patent in early 1498 and promptly embarked on a third voyage, this time with a more ambitious flotilla of five ships and several hundred men. One ship sprung a leak and stayed behind in Ireland. The others pressed on into the fog of history. What became of them is a matter of enduring speculation: some accounts say they vanished without a trace; others suggest that bits of the fleet returned home, and that Cabot may have reached as far south as the Chesapeake Bay before slipping off the page entirely. He may have died in 1499, or 1500, or later—or not at all. In short, history knows he went, and isn’t entirely sure what happened next.

Regardless, Cabot’s 1497 expedition marks the first confirmed post-Viking European landfall on the North American mainland. His voyage gave England its first legal-ish claim to Canada and—more significantly to the seafood-minded—alerted Europeans to the cod-rich waters off Newfoundland, thereby setting off one of the most lucrative fish rushes in history. For a man who only sort of knew where he’d landed, it wasn’t a bad legacy.

MONEY AND FAME Cabot experienced significant financial ups and downs throughout his life. In Venice, he accumulated enough wealth to engage in property transactions and merchant activities, but financial troubles forced him to flee as an insolvent debtor by November 5, 1488.

Cabot's travels around Europe, 1488–95, following his escape from Venice by Evan T Jones

After his successful 1497 voyage, his fortunes changed dramatically. Henry VII granted him £10 "to him that found the new isle" and later a pension of £20 a year - lavish rewards at a time when houses could be rented for £2 annually. He briefly became a celebrity at court, with contemporaries noting that "vast honour is paid to him" and describing him as "the Great Admiral". (1)

FOOD AND DRINK Provisions for his 1497 voyage included food for seven to eight months. Ships of this era typically carried ship's biscuit, salted meat or fish, and beer - sailors were typically granted an allowance of eight pints of beer per day. The crew would have lived on stew made from ship's biscuit and salted provisions cooked on deck. (2)

MUSIC AND ARTS As a man of the Renaissance, Cabot would have lived in a culturally rich period, but his personal interests in these areas are not documented.

LITERATURE Cabot independent conception of reaching Asia by sailing westward, similar to Columbus's plan, indicates knowledge of contemporary geographical theories and possibly Marco Polo's writings about Asian trade routes. His merchant background would have required literacy and familiarity with commercial documentation.

NATURE Cabot's explorations brought him into direct contact with the natural environment of the North Atlantic and North American coast. His 1497 expedition encountered the rich cod fisheries off Newfoundland, with one contemporary noting "The sea there is swarming with fish, which can be taken not only with the net but in baskets let down with a stone". He observed the coastline, noting signs of human habitation including campfires and notched trees. His navigation challenges included dealing with magnetic compass variations far north, which confused him during the voyage. (2)

A statue of John Cabot gazing across Bonavista Bay in eastern Newfoundland by Evan T Jones 

PETS Ship manifests and voyage accounts mention livestock carried aboard ships for fresh meat during long voyages, with animals kept below deck where the crew might warm themselves by their body heat, but these were provisions rather than pets.

HOBBIES AND SPORTS John Cabot's primary pursuits were commerce, navigation, and exploration.

SCIENCE AND MATHS  Cabot demonstrated practical knowledge of navigation, which required understanding of mathematics, astronomy, and early magnetic compass technology. His experiences with magnetic declination during his 1497 voyage - noting that his compass behaved differently far north - contributed to early understanding of magnetic variation. His merchant background required mathematical skills for calculating trade transactions and cargo capacities. Contemporary accounts describe him as becoming an "expert mariner" through his Mediterranean trading activities.

PHILOSOPHY & THEOLOGY Cabot's expeditions included Christian elements: he planted a cross on the shore during his 1497 landing, described as "a simple act of consecration of the country to the enduring principles a Cross symbolizes". His patron in England was Brother Giovanni Antonio de Carbonariis, a Milanese friar and papal tax collector. The religious component of exploration was formalized in his royal commission, which stipulated that new lands should receive religious teaching alongside commercial development. (3)

POLITICS Cabot's career was deeply intertwined with the politics of his era. Unable to secure backing from Spain or Portugal, he found support from Henry VII of England, who saw an opportunity to challenge Spanish and Portuguese dominance over global exploration. The King granted him letters patent in 1496, authorizing him and his sons to voyage in search of unknown lands while ensuring England's political interests were served. His explorations were explicitly political acts, claiming new territories for the English crown and establishing England's presence in transatlantic exploration.

SCANDAL The primary scandal associated with Cabot was his flight from Venice in 1488 as an insolvent debtor. This financial disgrace forced him to leave his established life and seek opportunities elsewhere. 

MILITARY RECORD Cabot's expeditions were commercial and exploratory rather than military in nature. His 1497 voyage carried a crew of only 18 men on what was essentially a reconnaissance mission. While his 1498 expedition included multiple ships, these were still exploratory rather than military vessels.

HEALTH AND PHYSICAL FITNESS Cabot's ability to undertake challenging Atlantic voyages and survive the harsh conditions aboard 15th-century ships suggests he maintained reasonable physical fitness. The demanding nature of sea travel in this era - living on deck in wet, cold conditions for months at a time - required considerable physical resilience.

HOMES Cabot lived in several locations throughout his life. He resided in Venice from around 1461 until 1488, where he became a citizen and engaged in property transactions in Chioggia and other parishes. 

John Cabot's house in Venice by Didier Descouens 

After fleeing Venice, he lived in Valencia, Spain, and later in Seville. By 1495, he had settled in Bristol, England, where he lived with his family while organizing his expeditions.

TRAVEL Cabot's extensive travels shaped his career and worldview. As a young man, he traveled throughout the Mediterranean as a merchant, reportedly visiting Mecca (likely the port city of Jidda). His merchant activities took him to various ports in the eastern Mediterranean. 

His move from Italy to Spain and then England reflected his persistent search for backing for his exploration plans. His famous 1497 transatlantic voyage from Bristol to Newfoundland covered approximately 2,271 miles across the North Atlantic.

DEATH The circumstances of John Cabot's death remain one of history's mysteries. He departed on his second expedition in May 1498 with a fleet of five ships, but disappeared from historical records. Traditional accounts suggest he died during this voyage, possibly around 1498 or 1499. However, recent research by the late historian Alwyn Ruddock suggested he may have returned to England in spring 1500 and died four months later, though this evidence remains unpublished and unverified. One local tradition claims he was shipwrecked near Grates Cove, Newfoundland, where he allegedly came ashore with his son Sancio and some crew members before dying from starvation or at the hands of Beothuk Indians.

APPEARANCES IN MEDIA  John Cabot has appeared in various modern media productions. Various educational documentaries and YouTube videos have featured his story as part of broader narratives about early European exploration of North America.

John Cabot: A Man of the Renaissance (1964): A short film that documents his quest for a westward route

Historical novels, including The Lost Voyage of John Cabot: A Novel, by Henry Garfield have dramatized his life and mysterious disappearance. 

He occasionally appears in episodes of history documentaries dealing with European exploration of the Americas, like A History of Britain or various Discovery Channel-style specials. He's usually cast as a prelude to English colonization efforts.

Cabot has featured in numerous BBC schools programs and Canadian educational series, especially those focused on early exploration and colonial history. In Canada, he often gets more attention due to his landfall near Newfoundland.

The name "John Cabot" is more famous in institutions than in entertainment. He’s got:

Cabot Tower in Bristol, England

John Cabot University in Rome, Italy

Cabot Strait, Cabot Trail, and Cabot Tower in Canada

ACHIEVEMENTS First European to reach the North American mainland since the Vikings (1497): This is his most significant achievement, establishing a documented European presence in the region centuries after Leif Erikson.

Laid the groundwork for British claims to Canada: His voyages provided England with a basis for future colonization and territorial expansion in North America.

Discovery of rich fishing grounds: His reports of abundant cod in the waters off Newfoundland (the Grand Banks) significantly contributed to the development of English fishing fleets in the region.

Maritime expertise and cartography: His skill as a navigator and cartographer was crucial to the success of his expeditions and his detailed mapping efforts provided valuable new geographical knowledge.

Inspired English interest in exploration and colonization: His discoveries sparked enthusiasm in England for further exploration and the potential riches of the "New World."

Sources: (1) Heritage Newfoundland and Labrador (2) The Matthew of Bristol (3) First Things in Acadia by John William Regan/a>

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