Jovani Gabotto.pdf, Боброва Анастасия, Крицкая

Giovanni

Caboto

Giovanni Caboto is the Italian explorer who set sail from England in 1497 to find a faster route to Asia for trade purposes but landed on the shores of what is now Canada.

Documents indicate that he was born slightly earlier than year 1450 in the city of Gaeta or Castiglione Chiavarese, Italy. He was the son of a spice merchant Guilo Caboto. The Italian word “Caboto” means “a coastal seaman” which was quite a common name given to sailors and navigators.

He later moved to Venice, most likely in his twenties and was established as a maritime merchant and a respected member of the community.

He married a woman named Mattea. He named his ship "Mathew" in her honor. They had 3 sons Ludovico, Sebastion and Sancto

While employed by a Venetian mercantile firm, he traveled to the eastern shores of the Mediterranean and visited Mecca, a great trading centre where Oriental and Western goods were exchanged such as spices and silks. He later moved to Seville, Spain. He was contracted to build a bridge over the Guadalquivir river and worked on it for 5 months before the city government stopped funding and the project was abandoned.

At this time Christpher Columbus had just discovered "The Indies" for Spain. Giovanni Caboto convinced his sponsorships and government officials that he could find a faster route to Asia and claim any new lands for the Crown of England before Spain had them all. At this point and time in the world, importing goods from other countries was given a top priority in the world of business and the discovery of new lands meant unclaimed resources to collect and make riches from.

On March 5, 1496, King Henry VII of England issued letters patent to Cabot and his sons, authorizing them to voyage in search of unknown lands, to return their merchandise by the port of Bristol, and to enjoy a monopoly of any trade they might establish there. And in this year Cabot made a voyage from Bristol with one ship, but he was forced to turn back because of a shortage of food, inclement weather, and disputes with his crew.

In May 1497, however, he set sail from Bristol in the small ship Matthew, with a crew of 18 men. He proceeded around Ireland and then north and west, making landfall on the morning of June 24. The exact landing place has never been definitely established: it has been variously believed to be in southern Labrador, Newfoundland.

"Mathew"

On going ashore, he noticed signs indicating that the area was inhabited but saw no people. Taking possession of the land for the English king, he unfurled both the English and Venetian flags. Giovanni Caboto sailed back to England and told them about his "new found land" (Newfoundland, Canada).