John Cabot Research Item

John Cabot Research Item #2 This article talks about who John Cabot was and the discovery that he made. The first European to arrive in North America that was documented, who sailed for a British king was Giovanni Caboto later known as John Cabot. King Henry VII sent out Cabot to see what he could find to keep up with the Spaniards who sent out Christopher Columbus. Cabot sailed on a single ship, leaving May 2nd 1497 heading higher into Atlantic currents traveling more northerly then the route Columbus took. On June 24th, 1497 Cabot spotted land, set into the bay and named it “Terra Nova” or “New Found Land.” When Cabot and a few of men went ashore onto the new land they raised a cross and a banner of England clamming the land for the King and for Christianity. Once on land they came to a dead campfire and a carved stick that had been painted and carved most likely belonging to the Beothuk. Cabot getting nervous, they set out and sailed along the coast for a bit longer then returned back for England on July 20th, 1497. Once Cabot returned home, he was looked at as a hero. As well as claiming the new land for England, Cabot found a large supply of codfish that could easily be caught. Henry VII rewarded Cabot with a cash bonus, annual pension and royal permission to join the next large expedition. Cabot set out again in 1498 with five ships. Cabot didn’t make his way back to “New Found Land”, and all five ships were lost at sea.