John Cabot's Voyages

John Cabot and His Voyages

• John Cabot and his sons were granted a patent by King Henry VII to sail into the New World, allowing them to find, discover, and investigate unknown lands.
• The financial terms of the patent included a 20% tax on all capital gained by Cabot, much more favorable than Christopher Columbus's 90% tax.
• The patent granted Cabot and his sons a monopoly over the territories they discovered, prohibiting others from visiting without their permission.
• There is little surviving written information about John Cabot's voyages, with most existing in bits and pieces from other sources.
• The John Day letter, believed to have been written to Christopher Columbus, describes Cabot's second voyage, including his landing in modern-day Newfoundland.
• Cabot's writings indicate his reluctance to interact with natives and his decision not to venture far inland.
• The letter briefly describes Cabot's first voyage, where he faced crew issues, supply shortages, and bad weather, leading to his decision to turn back.
• Despite a challenging first voyage, Cabot maintained the endorsement of the royal crown for his subsequent expeditions.
• There is speculation that the people of Bristol, England, had been exploring the western hemisphere prior to Cabot's voyages, as mentioned in a dispatch sent to Ferdinand and Isabella.
• An historian alleged that British navigators found North America 20 years before Cabot, but their research was ordered to be destroyed after their death.
• John Cabot's third voyage was delayed due to an uprising against King Henry VII, who had come to power in an uprising against Richard III.
• After the rebellion was put down, a second patent was issued in February 1498 to support John Cabot's third voyage.