John Cabot (Giovanni Caboto) (born May 23, 1450 - death 1499) - Italian explorer and merchant in the English service, became famous in history as the discoverer of the east coast of North America. Route: from English Bristol to North America; Objective: find the western route to India and China (north of the Columbus route); Significance: The discovery of a significant stretch of the coast of North America and the Great Newfoundland Bank.
Origin. early years
Giovanni Caboto, a native of Genoa, was born into the family of a spice merchant. Cabotos were wealthy merchants, well known not only in their native Genoa, but also in Constantinople itself.
When Constantinople fell under the onslaught of the Turkish hordes and became Istanbul, the family of the future navigator moved to rich Venice in 1461, later he would take Venetian citizenship in 1476. From a young age, he made sea voyages, visited Mecca, the holy city of the Arabs. In parallel with Christopher Columbus, he got the idea of the possibility of getting to India from the West. But he did not have enough money to organize the expedition.
Expeditions
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Travel to Asia
Giovanni joined a Venetian trading company. On the ships that were provided by her, Caboto went to the Middle East for Indian goods. While in Mecca, communicate with Arab merchants, spice traders. Cabot asked them where the merchants were delivering their goods. From what he heard, he was able to get the idea that outlandish spices originate from lands somewhere far from India, in the northeast side of it.
The navigator was a supporter of the progressive and yet unproven at that time idea of the spherical shape of our planet. He realized that for India is the far northeast, for Italy is the relatively close northwest. The thought of approaching the cherished lands, going west, did not leave him.
Preparing for the expedition
1494 Giovanni Caboto moved to live in England, where he took British citizenship. In Britain, his name began to sound like John Cabot. He settled in the westernmost port of the country - Bristol. At that time, the idea of reaching new lands in a different, western way was literally in the air. The first successes made by Christopher Columbus (the discovery of new lands in the western part of the Atlantic Ocean) pushed Bristol merchants to equip the expedition.
They were able to obtain written permission from Henry VII Tudor, who gave the go-ahead for research expeditions in order to annex new lands to England. The merchants, using their own money, equipped one ship, which was supposed to go for exploration. John Cabot, at that time already an experienced and eminent seafarer, was entrusted to lead the expedition. The ship was named Matthew.
First expedition (1497). Discovery of Newfoundland
1497 - the first expedition of John Cabot took place, was successful. On May 20, the traveler sailed from Bristol to the west and all the time kept slightly north of 52 ° north latitude. On June 24, he reached the northern tip of the island, later named Newfoundland. The navigator went ashore in one of the ports and proclaimed the island the possession of the British crown. Departing from the island, the ship went along its coast, to the southeast. Soon, the traveler discovered a vast shelf bank, very rich in fish (later this area was called the Great Newfoundland Bank and for a long time was considered one of the largest fishing areas in the world). With news of his find, John Cabot returned to Bristol.
Second expedition (1498)
Bristol merchants were inspired by the results of the first expedition. They did not hesitate, and equipped a second, this time more impressive expedition - it included 5 ships. The expedition was undertaken in 1498, the eldest son of John, Sebastian, participated in it. The discovery of North America took place this time. Although the information that has come down to us is very scarce, it is known that the expedition managed to reach the mainland.
During the trip, we explored the east and west coast of Greenland, visited Baffin Land, Labrador and Newfoundland. Walking along the coast to the south to 38 ° north latitude, they did not find any traces of eastern civilizations. Due to a lack of supplies, it was decided to return to England, where the ships arrived in the same year 1498.
This time, expectations were not met. Only 4 ships returned from the expedition, led by the flotilla Sebastian Cabot. The fifth ship, on which John himself was, disappeared under mysterious circumstances.
Few people could be surprised by such incidents at that time. The ship could get caught in a storm and crash, it could get a hole and sink, the crew could be knocked down by some fatal disease caught on the voyage. Many dangers lie in wait for seafarers, who are left alone with a formidable element. Which of them became the reason for the disappearance of the famous traveler John Cabot remains a mystery.
The British, however, like the sponsors of the expedition, decided that the expedition was unsuccessful, because a lot of money was spent on it, and as a result, the travelers did not bring anything of value. The British hoped to find a direct sea route to Cathay or India, but received only new, practically uninhabited lands. Because of this, in the coming decades, the British did not make new attempts to find a short road to East Asia.
The son of the famous traveler, Sebastian Cabot, continued his father's work. He left a bright trace in the history of the era of the great geographical discoveries. He made expeditions under both British and Spanish flags, exploring North and South America.