John Cabot
I
studied John Cabot. He was born in 1450 in Genoa, Italy. Although he is known as
John Cabot his Italian name is Giovanni Caboto. By the time he was a young boy
he had moved to Venice, Italy. He grew up there and became a mapmaker and
trader. In the 1480's he moved to Bristol, England and had a son named Sebastian
Cabot. John died in 1499. The exact date is unknown because he is thought to
have been lost at sea.
John
Cabot was very talented and successful. On his first voyage he worked as a
navigator because of his past work as a mapmaker. He left Bristol in 1496 hoping
to find a shorter route to Asia. He did not reach Asia as he had hoped because
he ended up having to turn back due to bad weather, shortage of food and
problems with the crew. On his second voyage he was more successful. He left on
the Mathew a small ship with only eighteen men. On May 20, 1497 his voyage
began. By this time his son, Sebastian Cabot was eager to come on this voyage.
John wanted Sebastian continue exploration so he was permitted to participate in
this voyage.
Although
John Cabot was born in Italy he sailed for England. The King was hoping that
John would find a shorter route to Asia than Christopher Columbus, a Spanish
explorer, had found. If John came across any spices or gold then he was ordered
to give half of the goods to the king of England. He did not find many riches
but he did find a very important fishing area that is now called The Grand
Banks.
My personal reaction to John Cabot and his voyages is that he had a positive impact on the new world. He did not come into contact with any humans so he didn't have a chance to spread diseases, kill, or enslave the natives. I wonder what would have happened to the natives if John Cabot had not been lost at sea. He may have gotten interested in trade and started spreading disease or realized that the Indians might make good slaves for England
Erica
1.World
Book Encyclopedia V. 3 Pages 7-8
2.Explrers
and Discoverers V. a-c Page 170
3.Microsoft
Encarta
4.Everything
You Need to Know About American History By: Anne Zeman and Kate Kelly
5.Encyclopedia
of World Biography Pages 303-304