Giovanni Caboto

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Giovanni Caboto Giovanni Caboto, or John Cabot as he is known in English, was born most likely around 1451 in Genoa, Italy. In 1461 he relocated to Venice and eventually became a Venetian citizen on March 28, 1476 after fulfilling the fifteen year residency requirement. As an employee of a mercantile firm, Caboto frequently traveled to the shores of the Mediterranean and Mecca which was a great trading post at the time. As an experienced seamen, Caboto envisioned a great voyage of discovery for himself. In 1484 Caboto moved to England with his three sons, Ludovico, Sebastian, and Sancto. In 1492, came the word of Columbus' success. With the discovery of what was though to be India, the great exploration race began. Not to be outdone by Spain who backed Columbus, King Henry VII of England issued grants for Cabot and all of his sons to seek islands and countries in the west, east, and north in hopes of a British monopoly on trade that could possibly be established. Caboto returned quickly to Bristol to prepare for his voyage. Caboto, on the basis that the world was much bigger than Columbus claimed, created a plan to instead of having a start point at a more southerly latitude he would start a northerly latitude where the longitudes are much closer together, making his voyage shorter and giving easier access to his goal of reaching "Cipango," or current day Japan. On his maiden voyage in 1496, Caboto experienced trouble in the forms of food shortage, inclement weather, and disputes within his crew and was forced to turn around and return to Bristol. However, Caboto was determined to make the trip and in May 1947, he set sail once again from Bristol on the small ship Matthew with a crew of 18 men, one of which may have been his son Sebastian. Caboto made the voyage in safe and amiable conditions up to three days prior to sighting land. Records show that on June 24, 1947, after fifty days of sailing from England, he reached the American mainland before Columbus by proceeding around Ireland and then north and west. However, the exact location of Caboto's successful landing is still under scrutiny. The charts of Sebastian Caboto seem to put the point around Cape Breton Island. Some historians however, feel this is a falsification on Sebastian part to support the English claim to possession. Exploration of the land discovered signs of civilization but no inhabitants could be found.

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