Copy of John Cabot

Quick Facts:

• Cabot sailed again in May, 1498. Nobody knows for sure whether Cabot reached North America a second time, or whether his ship was lost at sea. Some historians have suggested that John Cabot did reach America and established a religious colony. If so, it was the first Christian settlement in the New World.

• In May, 1497, Cabot sailed in his ship, the Matthew, west from Bristol, England, trying to find a shorter sea passage to Asia. He actually sailed to North America. Nobody knows for sure where Cabot landed; it may have been somewhere in Canada (perhaps the island of Newfoundland) or in Maine, United States.
• Wherever he landed, the waterways were full of Cod, which was very exciting as English fisher men no longer had to fish the Icelandic Seas.
• Cabot was hailed as a hero when he arrived back in England. King Henry VII gave him permission to undertake another voyage to America.

• John Cabot (Giovanni Caboto) was born in Italy, although his exact birthplace is not known for sure.
• Cabot’s family moved to Venice when he was 11, where he was taught navigation and sailing from Italian seamen. He also spent time in Seville, Spain where he worked on building a stone bridge.
• In 1488, Cabot moved from Venice (Italy) to Valencia (Spain) to Seville (Spain), before finally arriving in England to secure funding for an Atlantic voyage.

John Cabot

Man of Navigation, Fame and Success

Legacy:

• There are many reminders of John Cabot in Bristol, England. A 300 foot sandstone tower commemorates the explorer and there are a school and shopping centre named after him.
• Cabot is also celebrated in Nova Scotia and Newfoundland, Canada. There are several statues to the explorer, as well as a 200 mile scenic drive known as the Cabot Trail.
• In 1997 a replica of John Cabot’s ship, the Matthew, sailed across the Atlantic from England to Newfoundland. It was greeted by Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II, along with members of the Canadian and Italian governments.

February 3rd, 1498

It was very nice to be home with my beloved wife Mattea, and three sons Sebastiano, Ludovico and Sancto. Too bad I am departing again today on my second voyage. However, the King did grant me permission to explore on English ships under the English name. Instead of my 20 close mates embarking, there are 5 fleet ships with over 300 men joining me.

~John Cabot

June 26th, 1497

After a while at sea, I had decided to return back to my kin and homeland of England. Once I arrived, King Henry VII was very proud of my accomplishments. He granted me with £10 for finding the new land, and a pension of £20 a year. Soon, I will head out again onto the stormy seas and navigate my way to victory.

~John Cabot

July 25th, 1498

My deepest apologies are put forward to you as I have been away for so long and not written anything down. Today is the day. We sailed along the East Coast of the “New World”. One of the five ships had to travel to Ireland because of damage, so now my crew has been shortened to four ships. In the distance, I am able to SEA a land but am unsure of what it is… Am I the founder of a new land? Has it been seen before? These thoughts rush through my mind as I put my pen on the paper.

Hi again, my ship has docked on this new land a while ago and having the chance to explore, I call this Labrador’s Land. I believe that nobody is aware of this land and am very excited for the outcome when I return home. Will I be filled with wealth and fame?

~John Cabot

John,

This is Mattea. Reading your old adventures were very exciting. Know that our three boys and your lovely wife miss you very much. I wanted to complete your journal for you. You were a very adventurous, smart navigator and have changed the lives of people around the world. Thank you John.

~Your lovely family

1499

June 11th, 1499

It has been almost a year since I have written. Being very busy and navigating my way through the ocean has been difficult yet today it is different. I am now carrying western and oriental goods from my Mecca trip a while back on a journey, hopefully I can trade more. I am the son of a merchant so I guess that the ability runs in the family. Maybe having many cultures various goods will help me on my journey and increase my cargo. Throughout the lands, I have met the people from different islands. They are very different from me. The clothes that they wear and the rituals they do are different. I think that they are called the Indians. I am used to the other people I meet such as the Spanish or the English from various places I used to live. Never until now have I seen people like this. The weather outside is freezing and icebergs fill the water. Nobody is feeling quite themselves. I think it is time to go home. The crew has decided that it is nearly impossible to travel farther north at this time and so we decide to turn south and travel across the coast of “Labrador’s Land”. We have passed many lands and now know the route to travel in. Boy did the compass and cross staff help me along the way. I am now headed back for England.

Until then,

~John Cabot

Technology Used by John Cabot:

While on his voyage, Cabot had useful tools with him. These resources include the Magnetic Compass, the Log, and the Cross Staff.

Why did John Cabot use it?

The Magnetic Compass

What is the Log and how is it used?

The Chip Log

Not only did John Cabot need to know where he was going, it was important to know how fast his ship was going in order to meet his schedule and make sure he wouldn't run out of fuel on his voyage.

• The Log helps the navigator define the speed of the vessel.
• When the speed of the vessel was to be measured, the sailor would throw the chip log into the sea towards the stern of the ship. The log line was then released in such a way that the wooded plank stay at the same place in water.
• The log line was allowed to run out of the reel for a specific amount of time and then stopped. Markings were made on the log line which represented the distance traveled by the ship.

Who invented the Magnetic Compass?

Nobody knows exactly who invented the compass, but there is evidence that they have been used in Ancient Greece and China. The Song Dynasty book, dated around 1040 shows a land navigation device with a magnetic attachment.

Is it still used today?

Why did John Cabot use it?

The Compass is still used most places today. Activities such as camping, navigation on ships, planes, even cars use a compass. The compass has developed very much since the time of Cabot yet hasn't been forgotten about.

John Cabot used the compass as one of his main tools due to the

technology and easy use of the tool. The exactness of the location would help him know what time of day, where he was headed and what he was doing every step of the way on his journey.

Who invented the Log?

Is it still used today?

At the end of the 15th century, Bartolomeu Crescêncio invented the Log. He was a Portuguese inventor and this is his most famed invention.

The Log is not used much in modern day but there are similar tools that have developed from this product that are used such as a traverse board that will calculate the speed of the vessel.

Why did John Cabot use it?

The Cross Staff

Dead Reckoning

What is Dead Reckoning and how was it used?

What is the Cross Staff and why was it used?

Latitude is a crucial part of navigation. It shows you where you are in relation to the stars, which means you would know which direction to go in.

The process of Dead Reckoning saves time so that they would only have to measure their exact location once a day using the Cross Staff. This also helps if you are navigating in a poor vision area, which could be used to get you "close enough" to land that you would be safe until the fog or the poor condition would be lifted.

Dead Reckoning is estimating the position of the ship based on its previous position and its course and speed over a given period of time.

• The cross staff was a way of measuring latitude in the time of Cabot. One end of the staff would be held up to the navigators eye and the upper edge would be adjusted to the sun and the lower to the horizon. This would then find the line of latitude.

Who invented the Cross Staff?

Who invented Dead Reckoning?

The Cross Staff was invented by Gersonides, also known as Levi ben Gerson in the 14th century.

Is it still used today?

It is thought to have been used in ancient times but there are no exact dates or people who have created Dead Reckoning that we know of today.

With today's satellite navigation systems (GPS), Dead Reckoning has become obsolete. However, animals do still use Dead Reckoning.

No, as we have made new ways to figure out latitude such as a GPS that is used very much in the current day. The Cross Staff is only used by historians and is an outdated piece of technology.