Who is john caboto

Although John Cabot lived in England as an adult, he was a citizen of Venice. He engaged in eastern trade in that city, and it was this experience that became the stimulus for his later explorations. After leaving Venice, he spent several years in Valencia and Seville, and in the s he went to the English port of Bristol, where he established his base for exploration and discovery. Independently of Christopher Columbus, John Cabot envisioned the possibility of reaching Asia by sailing westward.

Instead of trade with Asia, Cabot and his Bristol successors found an enormous land mass blocking the way and no obvious source of wealth. Search The Canadian Encyclopedia. Remember me. I forgot my password. Why sign up? Create Account.

Suggest an Edit. Enter your suggested edit s to this article in the form field below. Accessed 14 November In The Canadian Encyclopedia. Historica Canada. Article published January 07, ; Last Edited May 19, The Canadian Encyclopedia , s. Thank you for your submission Our team will be reviewing your submission and get back to you with any further questions. Thanks for contributing to The Canadian Encyclopedia. Article by Douglas Hunter. John Cabot a. Giovanni Caboto , merchant, explorer born before in Italy, died at an unknown place and date.

Cabot mounted three voyages, the second of which, in , was the most successful. During this journey Cabot coasted the shores of Newfoundland and Labrador, possibly sighted the Beothuk or Innu people of the region, and famously noted that the waters teemed with cod. At the time, the land Cabot saw was thought to be the eastern shore of Asia, the fabled island of Brasil, or the equally fabled Isle of Seven Cities.

Cabot and his crew were the second group of Europeans to reach what would become Canada, following Norse explorers around CE. If Asia had been where Cabot thought it was, it would have made England the greatest trading centre in the world for goods from the east.

John Cabot's ship, the Matthew , sailed from Bristol with a crew of 18 in Cabot had reached one of the northern capes of Newfoundland. His sailors were able to catch huge numbers of cod simply by dipping baskets into the water. In , Cabot was given permission by Henry VII to take ships on a new expedition to continue west from Newfoundland.

The aim was to discover Japan. Cabot set out from Bristol with men in May The five ships carried supplies for a year's travelling. There is no further record of Cabot and his crews, though there is now some evidence he may have returned and died in England.