Caboto, Giovanni (John Cabot) (ca. 1450–ca. 1498)

Italian explorer known in English as John Cabot, born in either Gaeta or Genoa, Italy. The son of a merchant, he moved at a young age to Venice, where he married, raised a family of three sons, and lived off the Asian spice trade. In 1490, Caboto moved to Spain, where he became acquainted with Christopher Columbus and sought patronage from the monarchs of Spain and Portugal for a new voyage of discovery to the Spice Islands. Failing in this endeavor, he moved to England, where he settled in the port of Bristol and began petitioning King Henry VII for support of an expedition westward across the Atlantic Ocean. Caboto believed a more northerly route would prove shorter than those pioneered by the Portuguese around Africa, or the southerly route taken by Columbus, who mistakenly believed he had reached the East Indies in 1492. In 1496, Henry officially authorized the voyage with letters patent, while several merchants of Bristol agreed to sponsor it. Caboto set out that year but turned back after experiencing bad weather and conflict with his crew. In 1497, on his second expedition, he reached some unknown point on the eastern coast of North America, declaring it “New Found Land,” then proceeded 900 miles (1448km) down the coast. He returned to Europe on a more southerly route, touching land again in Brittany. In 1498 Caboto set out with a larger fleet of five ships, with the intention of reaching Japan and China. This expedition disappeared with all hands, and no clue to its fate has yet been found.

See Also: Columbus, Christopher