Chapter XIV: John Cabot and the English Discovery of North America (1)

[Sidenote: Awakening of geographical research]

Over the cloud-bridge of illusion lies the path of human progress. The greatest achievements in history have been brought about more by the aid of ideas than of truth. Religious illusions have ennobled the rude masses and raised them to higher forms of society; in the domain of science intuition and hypothesis have led to fresh victories, as also in geographical exploration; there too illusions, like a fata Morgana, have impelled men forward to great discoveries.

It is true that Columbus's plan was based on the correct idea that the world was round; but if he had known the real distance of India--if he had not been fettered by the ancient dogmas of the Greeks about the great extension of the continent to the east, and their low estimate of the earth's circumference, which made India appear so enticingly near--if he had not believed in myths of lands in the west--he certainly would never have been the discoverer of a new world.

The people of the Middle Ages lived, as we have seen, to a great extent on remnants of the geographical knowledge and conceptions of the Greeks. It was the age of superstition and speculation; with the exception of the Norsemen and the Arabs, and in some degree also the Irish monks, there was during the earlier part of this period no enterprise that broke through the bounds of the known, except in the mythical world of fancy. It was not until the Crusades that the horizon began to be widened. The eastern trade of the Italian republics and the development of capable Italian seamen were of great significance. At an early date they made discoveries along the west coast of Africa. Of even greater importance was it that the Portuguese learned seamanship from them, and no doubt from the Arabs as well, and displayed great enterprise on the ocean along the shores of Africa, finding groups of islands in the west, and finally the Azores in 1427; but these must have been discovered earlier, since similar islands occur on Italian maps of the fourteenth century (cf. the Catalan Atlas of 1375).

When Ptolemy's work, and through it the geography of the Greeks, became known in Western Europe at the beginning of the fifteenth century, it created a greater stir in the learned world than even the discovery of America did later; the circle of geographical ideas was greatly changed, and the world was regarded with new eyes as a sphere. The doctrine of the possibility of circumnavigating the earth was especially framed and scientifically established by the celebrated astronomer Toscanelli of Florence. But this was not a new doctrine; for the Greeks, Eratosthenes and Posidonius, for example (cf. vol. i. pp. 77, 79), had already announced it clearly enough, and even in the Middle Ages it was not forgotten. We saw that Mandeville, the writer of fabulous narratives, fully understood the possibility of sailing round the globe, and related ancient tales about such a voyage (cf. p. 271). But at the close of the fifteenth century the idea was seriously taken up by two men of action, both Genoese. One of them was Columbus, the other Cabot. Whether the latter had already conceived the idea before the first voyage of Columbus we do not know for certain, but it is not improbable; the thought was latent in the age, and many must have come near it. Another force impelling men to the western voyage, and perhaps as powerful a one as these scientific speculations, was the belief in the mythical world of enticing islands that lay out in the ocean to the west of Europe and Africa; the Isles of the Blest of the Greeks and the Atlantis of Plato, conceptions, originally derived from the East, which were still alive, though in other forms. There lay Antillia, the Isle of the Seven Cities, mythical islands of the Arabs, and the Irish legendary world, Brandan's isles and many others; some of them had had a part in creating the Norse idea of Wineland and the White Men's Land; now they were given a fresh lease of life, and power over the imagination of Western Europe. Possibly in connection with echoes of tales of the Norsemen's discoveries--coming from Iceland to Bristol, and thence to the continent--these mythical islands helped to form a widespread belief in countries in the far west across the ocean. The fact that the Portuguese, as has been said, really found islands, the Azores, out in the Atlantic in 1427, also contributed to establish this belief. From these islands many expeditions set out in the course of the fifteenth century to search for new lands farther west.[278]

[Sidenote: Connection of Bristol with Iceland]

From the beginning of the fifteenth century Bristol was in frequent communication with Iceland, both for the fishery and for trade. As already pointed out, this was certainly due in no small degree to the number of Norwegians who had settled in the town. Sailors and merchants returning from voyages to Iceland doubtless brought thence many tales of marvels and of unknown islands and countries out in the ocean; legends of the Icelanders' voyages to Greenland and Wineland may have served to entertain the winter evenings in Bristol.[279] It was therefore surely not an accident that attempts to find land in the west should originate precisely in this enterprising sea-port.

[Sidenote: The Isle of Brazil]

On the maps of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries there lay out in the ocean to the west of Ireland the Isle of Brazil (cf. p. 228). It was the Irish fortunate isle Hy Breasail, of which it is sung:

"On the ocean that hollows the rocks where ye dwell,
A shadowy land has appeared, as they tell;
Men thought it a region of sunshine and rest,
And they called it O'Brazil--the isle of the blest.

From year unto year, on the ocean's blue rim,
The beautiful spectre showed lovely and dim;
The golden clouds curtained the deep where it lay,
And it looked like an Eden, away, far away."
[Gerald Griffin.]

[Sidenote: Expedition to find Brazil, 1480]

We have seen that on certain maps this round fabled isle was brought into connection with an "Insula verde," probably Greenland, and this conception of the latter probably came from Iceland by way of England. We do not know what myths were associated with Brazil at that time; but the belief in it was so much alive that ships were sent out from Bristol to search for the island. A contemporary account of such an attempt made in 1480 has come down to us:[280]

"On the 15th of July [25th of July N.S.] ships ... [belonging to ?]
... and John Jay junior, of 80 tons burthen, sailed out of the port of
Bristol [to navigate] as far as the island of Brazil ["insulam de
Brasylle"] on the west side of Ireland, ploughing the seas by ... and
... Thlyde [Thomas Lyde or Lloyd ?] is the most expert seaman in the
whole of England, and on the 18th of September [27th of September
N.S.] the news reached Bristol that after having sailed the seas for
about 9 months they had not discovered the island, but on account of
storms had returned to the port ... in Ireland to allow the ships and
men to rest."

Parts of the MS. being illegible, it does not appear whether John Jay, junior, was one of the leaders of the expedition or (as Harrisse thinks) one of the owners of the ships, but in any case we must suppose that the Thomas Lyde mentioned above was the actual leader or navigator. The "nine months" ("9 menses") must either be a clerical error for two months or for nine weeks, either of which would fit the dates given, while nine months is meaningless. This must at any rate have been a serious attempt to find lands in the west, twelve years before Columbus's discovery of the West Indies; and this was not the last attempt made from Bristol to find this happy land, for in 1497 Ayala, the Spanish Minister in London, writes:

"For the last seven years the Bristol people have equipped every year
two, three, or four caravels to go in search of the islands of Brazil
and of the Seven Cities,[281] following the imagination of this
Genoese."

[Sidenote: Giovanni Caboto]

"This Genoese" is Giovanni Caboto, or John Cabot, as he was called in England. We find only a few casual statements about this man, who was to give England the right of discovery to a new continent, and who, together with his fellow townsman, Columbus, forms the great turning-point in the history of discovery; for the most part an impenetrable obscurity rests upon his life and activity.[282] As he is often called, e.g., in letters from the contemporary Spanish Ambassadors in London, "this Genoese," or "a Genoese like Columbus," we must suppose that he was born in Genoa; but from existing State documents of the republic of Venice it appears that Joanni Caboto obtained his freedom in Venice on March 28, 1476, after having lived there fifteen years, which was the legal period necessary to enable a foreigner to become a citizen of the republic.[283] From the statements of contemporaries we must conclude that John Cabot was a capable seaman and navigator, with a good knowledge of charts and cartography; he also constructed a globe to illustrate his voyages. This is no more than was to be expected of a Genoese, trained in the Venetian school, which at that time was the foremost in seamanship. It may, therefore, be regarded as probable that John Cabot was familiar with the leading ideas of the geographical world of his time. Thus, while still living at Venice, he may have heard of the idea of reaching Eastern Asia by sailing to the west, which was put forward, notably by Toscanelli, as early as 1474, and in this way it is possible that, independently of Columbus, he may have thought of accomplishing this voyage to the fabulous riches of the East by a shorter route than that which the Portuguese sought to the south of Africa. In support of this it may be mentioned that in 1497 he himself told the Minister of Milan in London, Raimondo di Soncino, that

"he had once been at Mecca, whither spices were brought by caravans
from distant lands, and that those who brought them, when asked where
the said spices grew, answered that they did not know, but that other
caravans came to their home with this merchandise from more distant
lands, and these [other caravans] again say that it is brought to them
from other regions situated far away." Soncino adds that "Cabot
reasons thus--that if the eastern people tell those in the south that
these things come from places far distant from them, and so on from
hand to hand, then, granting the earth to be round, the last people
must obtain them in the north-west; and he says it in such a way that,
as it does not cost me more than it costs, I too believe it...."[284]

It is not improbable that Cabot may have thought that as, on account of the spherical form of the earth, the circumference of the lines of latitude decreases towards the north, the shortest way over the western ocean to the east coast of Asia must lie along the northern latitudes (cf. Posidonius, vol. i. p. 79). But we cannot lose sight of the fact that Cabot did not advance this until long after the first voyage of Columbus, and it is, therefore, uncertain whether the idea occurred to him before or after that time. When this journey to Mecca took place we do not know.

Pedro de Ayala, the Spanish Minister in London, says in a letter to Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain, in 1498, that Cabot is "another Genoese like Columbus, who has been in Seville and Lisbon, endeavouring to obtain help for this discovery" [i.e., of land in the west]. The question is whether this "who" refers to Columbus or Cabot. The latter appears more likely, as it seems superfluous for the Minister to inform Ferdinand and Isabella that Columbus had been in Seville. But here again we do not learn when Cabot may have made this journey to Spain and Portugal, whether before or after Columbus's voyage in 1492. In any case it may point to his having been occupied for a long time with plans of this sort.

[Sidenote: John Cabot arrives in England, circa 1490 ?]

Nor do we know when John Cabot came to England; but perhaps it was about 1490 that he settled in Bristol. If he really came there with ideas of making for Asia across the western ocean, he certainly found a favourable soil for such plans in the port which had already sent out ships in 1480 to look for the island of Brazil. But it is also very possible that these plans occurred to him after he had heard of this expedition, and had become familiar at first hand with the ideas of western lands which dominated the minds of the sailors of Western Europe (Englishmen and Portuguese) of that time. With the many fresh arguments he brought with him from Italy and the Mediterranean countries, it cannot have been difficult for him to induce the merchants of Bristol to make fresh attempts to find these countries in the west or north-west; and, to judge from Ayala's letter of 1497 about the expeditions sent out annually for the previous seven years, he seems to have been persistent.

We do not know whether Cabot himself took part in the attempts made after 1490. None of them seems to have met with any success before 1497, for otherwise it would have been mentioned. But it was while the people of Bristol were occupied with such enterprises that Cabot's great fellow-countryman, Columbus, made his remarkable voyage across the ocean farther to the south, in 1492, and found a new world, which he took to be India. With that came the awakening with which the time was pregnant. The news of the achievement, which fired all the adventurers of Europe, must soon have reached Bristol, and put new life and a wider purpose into the old plans.[285] That Cabot now became the soul of these plans is clear enough from all the facts, and we see from existing public documents that at the beginning of 1496 he was making special efforts to get an important expedition sent out, and was applying to the King of England for protection and letters patent to assure to himself and his three sons, Lewis, Sebastian and Sancto, the profit of the discoveries he expected to make on this expedition, which was to consist of five ships.

[Sidenote: Cabot's letters patent, 1496]

The letters patent were accorded on March 5 (14th N.S.), 1496,[286] and give Cabot and his sons the right under the English flag

"to sail in all parts, regions and bays of the sea, in the east, west
and north, with five ships or vessels of whatever burthen or kind, and
with as many men as they wished to take with them, at their own
expense, and to find, discover and investigate whatever islands,
countries, regions or provinces belonging to heathens or infidels, in
whatsoever part of the world they might be, which before that time
were unknown to all Christians." They also had the right as vassals or
governors of the King of England, to take possession of whatsoever
towns, camps or islands they might discover and be in a position to
capture and occupy. They were to give the king a fifth part of all
merchandise, profits, etc., of this voyage or of each voyage, as often
as they came to Bristol, to which port alone they were bound to
return. They were exempted from all duty on goods they might bring
from newly discovered lands, and were given a monopoly of all trade
and traffic with them. Furthermore, all English subjects, both by land
and sea, were ordered to afford the said John, his sons, heirs and
assigns, good assistance, "both in fitting-out their ships or vessels,
and in supplying them with provisions which were paid for with their
own money."

As the south is not mentioned among the regions which might be explored, and as the new countries might not be known to Christians, it is clear that Cabot is here enjoined not to frequent those waters where the Spaniards and Portuguese had just made their most important discoveries, and thus run the risk of bringing England into conflict with the Spanish or Portuguese Crown.

[Sidenote: Cabot's preparations and plans]

As the letters patent bear the same date (March 5) and are to some extent couched in the same terms as Cabot's petition, they must have been granted as the result of previous negotiation and agreement between Cabot and the King, and must therefore contain Cabot's plans for the new voyage, which were thus already formed in March 1496, when he had doubtless made at all events some preparations for the expedition.

That Cabot's plans had been spoken of at the English Court as early as January of that year appears from an existing letter from Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain to the Spanish Ambassador in England, Dr. Ruy Gonzales de Puebla. The letter is dated March 28 (April 6, N.S.), 1496, and is an answer to a letter, now lost, of January 21 (30, N.S.) from the Ambassador. The answer is as follows:

"You write that one like Columbus has come to propose to the King of
England another enterprise like that of the Indies, without prejudice
to Spain or Portugal. He has full liberty. But we believe that this
enterprise was put in the way of the King of England by the King of
France in order to divert him from other business. Take care that the
King of England be not deceived in this or any other matter. The
French will try as much as they can to lead him into such enterprises;
but they are very uncertain undertakings, and are not to be commenced
for the moment. Moreover they cannot be put into execution without
prejudice to us and to the King of Portugal."[287]

It will be understood from this that Cabot's plans had attracted attention in London, and that great importance was attached to them; consequently they must have been discussed for some time before the granting of letters patent. For this reason also, we must suppose that Cabot was prepared for his expedition in March 1496. It seems therefore unlikely that this was the expedition which did not leave until the year following that in which he applied for the letters patent, all the more so as the expedition of 1497 consisted of only one ship.[288] If we may interpret Ayala's words of 1498 literally, that Bristol had sent out ships yearly for the seven previous years to search for the island of Brazil, etc., then we must suppose that Cabot actually set out in 1496 with the projected expedition of five ships, but for some reason or other turned back without having accomplished his object. After having been unfortunate in so large an undertaking, Cabot may have found it less easy to enlist support for a fresh attempt in 1497, and was thus obliged to content himself with one small ship and a scanty crew (eighteen men).[289] It may also be supposed that as the earlier expeditions consisting of several ships had failed to find the land they were looking for, Cabot as a practical seaman wished to make a pioneer expedition with a small swift-sailing craft and a picked crew, before again embarking on a large and costly undertaking. He was more independent, and could sail farther and more rapidly to the west, than when he was tied by having to keep a fleet of several ships together.

[Sidenote: Sebastian Cabot's participation in 1497 doubtful]

Cabot's sons, who are mentioned in the letters patent, may have taken part in the voyage of 1496; on the other hand, it is less probable that they were among the eighteen men in 1497.[290] It is true that his son Sebastian claimed to have been present as one of the leaders of the expedition, but he also claimed to have made the voyage alone, so that no weight can be attached to his words. In any case, he must have been very young at that time, and he cannot have played any important part. Nor is a word said about him in a single one of the letters from contemporary foreign ambassadors in London, and in Pasqualigo's letter of August 23, 1497, we are told of John Cabot after his return that "in the meantime [i.e., until his next voyage] he is staying with his Venetian wife and his sons in Bristol." This does not seem to show that any of the sons had been with him; and the protest of the Wardens of the Drapers' Company of London (see later) against Sebastian as a navigator points in the same direction.

Not a line have we from Cabot's own hand either about this important voyage of 1497 or any other. We hear that he made maps of his discoveries; but these too have been lost, like so many other maps that must have been drawn during this period before 1500.[291] We can, therefore, only draw our conclusions from the statements of others, some contemporary and some later.

The most important documents giving trustworthy information about John Cabot's voyage in 1497 are the following:

[Sidenote: Most important authorities for the voyage of 1497]

(1) The three letters from his two compatriots in London: one from the Venetian, Lorenzo Pasqualigo, to his two brothers in Venice, dated August 23 (September 1, N.S.), 1497; and two letters from the Milanese Minister, Raimondo di Soncino, to the Duke of Milan, dated August 24 (September 2, N.S.) and December 18 (27), 1497.

(2) An entry in the accounts of the King of England's privy purse, from which we see that Cabot was back in London by August 10 (19, N.S.), 1497.

(3) The map of the world, drawn in 1500, by the well-known Spanish pilot, Juan de la Cosa.

(4) A Bristol chronicle by Maurice Toby, written in 1565, but from older sources.

Besides these may be mentioned a legend on the map of the world of 1544 which, according to what is written on it, was the work of Sebastian Cabot. But even if this be correct, the legend is of no great value, as he cannot be regarded as a trustworthy authority.[292]

[Sidenote: Pasqualigo's letter of Aug. 23, 1497]

Lorenzo Pasqualigo writes on August 23 (September 1, N.S.), 1497, to his two brothers in Venice, amongst other things:

"Our Venetian, who set out with a little ship from Bristol to find new
islands, has returned, and says that he has discovered 700 leagues
[Italian nautical leagues] away the mainland of the kingdom of the
Great Khan ('Gran Cam') [China], and that he sailed 300 leagues along
its coast and landed, but saw no people; but he brought here to the
King some snares that were set up to catch game, and a needle for
making nets, and he found some trees with cuts in them, from which he
concluded that there were inhabitants. Being in doubt he returned to
the ship,[293] and was three months on the voyage, and this is
certain; and on the way back he saw two islands on the right hand, but
would not land so as not to lose time, as he was short of provisions.
He says that the tides are sluggish and do not run as here [i.e., in
England]. The King has promised him next time ten ships fitted out
according to his desires, and has given him as many prisoners to take
with him as he has asked, except those who are in prison for high
treason; and he has given him money to enjoy himself with in the
meantime, and now he is with his Venetian wife and his sons at
Bristol. His name is Zuam Talbot [sic, for Cabot], and he is called
the Grand Admiral and great honour is shown him, and he goes dressed
in silk and the Englishmen run after him like madmen, but he will have
nothing to do with any of them, and so [do] many of our vagabonds. The
discoverer of these things has planted on the soil he has found the
banner of England and that of St. Mark, as he is a Venetian; so that
our flag has been hoisted far away" [cf. Harrisse, 1882, p. 322].

[Sidenote: Soncino's letter of Aug. 24, 1497]

The Minister, Raimondo di Soncino, writes on August 24 (September 2, N.S.), 1497, to the Duke of Milan, amongst other things:

"Some months ago ('sono mesi passate') his majesty the King [of
England] sent out a Venetian who is a good sailor, and has much
ability in finding islands, and he has returned safely and has
discovered two very large and fertile islands, and found as it seems
the seven cities[294] 400 leagues to the west of the island of
England. His majesty the King here will on the first opportunity send
him with fifteen or twenty ships..." [cf. Harrisse, 1882, p. 323].

[Sidenote: Soncino's letter of Dec. 18, 1497]

On December 18 (27), 1497, Soncino again writes to the Duke more fully about Cabot's voyage:

"Perhaps amongst Your Excellency's many occupations it may not be
unwelcome to hear how this Majesty has acquired a part of Asia without
drawing his sword. In this kingdom is a Venetian called Messer Zoanne
Caboto, of gentle bearing, very skilful in navigation, who, seeing
that the most serene Kings, first of Portugal and then of Spain, had
taken possession of unknown islands, proposed to himself to make a
similar acquisition for the said Majesty. After having obtained the
royal privilege, which assured to him the use of the dominions he
might discover, while the Crown retained the sovereignty over them, he
gave himself into the hands of fortune with a small ship and eighteen
men, and sailed from Bristol, a port on the west of this kingdom; and
after passing Ireland farther west, and then steering to the north, he
began to sail towards the eastern regions [i.e., westwards to the
lands of the Orient, thus making for the east coast of Asia], leaving
(after some days) the pole-star on his right hand; and after a good
deal of wandering ('havendo assai errato') he finally came to the land
('terra ferma'), where he raised the royal banner and took possession
of the country for this Highness, and after having taken some tokens
[of his discovery] he returned. As the said Messer Zoanne [John] is a
foreigner and poor, he would not be believed, if his crew, who are
nearly all English and belong to Bristol, had not confirmed the truth
of what he said. This Messer Zoanne has the description of the world
on a chart, and also on a solid sphere which he has made, showing on
it where he has been; and in travelling towards the East he went as
far as to the land of the Tanais [i.e., Asia], and they say that the
country there is excellent and temperate, and expect that brazil-wood
(il brasilio) and silk[295] grow there, and they declare that this sea
is full of fish which can be caught not only with the seine, but also
with a dip-net [or bow-net ?], to which is fastened a stone to sink it
in the water, and this I have heard related by the said Messer Zoanne.
And the said Englishmen, his companions, say that they took so many
fish that this kingdom will no longer have any need of Iceland, from
which country there is a very great trade in the fish they call
stockfish. But Messer Zoanne has set his mind on higher things, and
thinks of sailing from the place he has occupied, keeping along the
coast farther to the east, until he arrives opposite to an island
called Cipango [i.e., Japan], lying in the equinoctial region, where
he thinks that all the spices of the world, as well as jewels, are to
be found." Then follows the reference to his visit to Mecca, already
cited (p. 296). The letter continues: "And what is more, this Majesty,
who is prudent and not prodigal, has such confidence in him on account
of what he has accomplished, that he gives him a very good subsidy, as
Messer Zoanne himself tells me. And it is said that his Majesty will
shortly fit out some ships for him, and will give him all the
criminals to go out to this land and form a colony, so that they hope
to establish in London an even greater emporium of spices than that at
Alexandria. The principals in this enterprise belong to Bristol; they
are great sailors, and now that they know where to go, they say that
the voyage thither will not take more than fifteen days, if they have
a favourable wind on leaving Ireland. I have also spoken with a
Burgundian of Messer Zoanne's company, who confirms all this, and who
wishes to return thither, because the Admiral (for this is the title
they give Messer Zoanne) has given him an island; and he has given
another to his barber [surgeon ?] from Castione,[296] a Genoese, and
both consider themselves counts, nor do they reckon Monsignor the
Admiral for less than a prince. I believe some poor Italian monks who
have been promised bishoprics will also go on this voyage. And if I
had made friends with the Admiral when he was about to sail, I should
at least have got an archbishopric; but I thought the benefits that
Your Excellency has reserved for me were more certain..." [cf.
Harrisse, 1882, pp. 324, ff.].

As confirming and to some extent supplementing what is said in these letters, we have various statements in the letters of the two Spanish Ambassadors about the voyage in the following year (see later); they both say that the newly discovered country lay not more than four hundred Spanish leagues distant.

[Sidenote: Toby's chronicle]

In Maurice Toby's Bristol chronicle of 1565, we read of the year 1497:

"This year, on St. John the Baptist's day, the land of America was
found by the merchants of Bristowe in a shippe of Bristowe called the
'Mathew,' the which said shippe departed from the port of Bristowe the
second day of May, and came home again the 6th of August next
following."[297]

Of course this chronicle was written long after the voyage took place; but it is extremely probable that it was taken from older sources; for it agrees in every way (both as to the length of the voyage and the time of the return) with the contemporary statements of the Italian Ministers, with whose letters the author of the chronicle cannot possibly have been acquainted. I can, therefore, see no reason why this statement should not be correct. But the most important authorities are the letters referred to.

[Sidenote: Cabot's western course in 1497]

If we compare all this we shall get a fairly complete idea of the voyage of 1497. After sailing round the south of Ireland, probably in the middle of May according to our calendar, Cabot would at first have held a somewhat northerly course. If this is correct, he may have done so for several reasons: unfavourable winds, which in May are prevalent from the south-west; the idea that great-circle sailing would prove the shortest way;[298] fear of encroaching on the waters of the Spaniards and Portuguese to the south; finally, perhaps, an idea that the course to Asia was shorter in northern latitudes (?). But we cannot tell what reasons decided him, nor whether he steered very far to the north at all; for it must be remembered that in speaking to a foreign Minister he may have had good reason for making his course appear somewhat northerly, lest it might be said that the lands he had arrived at were those discovered by the Spaniards. In any case, it was not long before he made for the west as rapidly as possible towards his goal, and we cannot, therefore, suppose that he went very far north. And it is expressly stated in Soncino's first letter that the lands lay to the west of England, and in the letters of the Spanish Ambassadors in the following year we read that, after having seen the direction taken by Cabot, they thought that the land he had found was that belonging to Spain, or was "at the end of that land." This again does not point to any northerly course.

Many writers have thought that from Soncino's statements about the courses a conclusion might be drawn as to where on the American coast Cabot made the land; but this is impossible. In the first place Soncino's words are anything but definite; besides which, of course, Cabot could not steer in a straight line across the Atlantic, but with the frequent contrary winds of May and June was obliged to shape many courses, and often had to beat; in fact, we are told as much in Soncino's words, "havendo assai errato." Every one who has had experience of the navigation of sailing ships knows how difficult it is under such conditions to make way in the precise direction one wishes, however good one's reckoning may be; currents and lee-way set one far out of the reckoned course, and on a voyage so long as across the Atlantic the lee-way may be considerable. Whether Cabot was able to correct his reckoning by the aid of astronomical observations (with a Jacob's staff or an astrolabe) we do not know, but we hear nothing of latitudes, so that it is not very probable (cf. also Columbus's gross error in latitude). Especially during the first part of the voyage currents and prevailing winds may have set Cabot to the north-east; but he may also have encountered, particularly during the latter part of the voyage in June, heavy north-westerly gales which set him still farther to the south, and he may thus have had a southerly lee-way. In addition, as Dawson has so strongly insisted, the error of the compass must have set him to the south. Whether Cabot was aware of the error, and remarked its variation during the westward voyage, we do not know; it is possible, since we know that Columbus remarked this variation during his first voyage; but in any case, Cabot doubtless paid as little attention to it as Columbus in his navigation. Unfortunately we do not know the amount of the error at that time, but by examining the relation between the true direction of the coast-lines and those we find on the most trustworthy compass-charts (especially the Cantino chart) of a little later than 1500 (which are drawn in ignorance of the error), I have attempted to reconstruct the distribution of the error in the Atlantic Ocean at that time (cf. chart below); of course, this is purely hypothetical. According to this, during Cabot's voyage westwards the error would have varied from about 6° east at Bristol to about 30° west off the coast of America. If we suppose that he was able to follow a magnetic western course the whole way from the south coast of Ireland, then he must have passed quite to the south of Cape Race in Newfoundland. But we are told that he first held somewhat to the north, though we do not know how much, and, on the other hand, his lee-way may have set him at least as far to the south. The assertion that the course mentioned by Soncino must have brought Cabot to land in Labrador or Newfoundland is thus untenable. Nor does it agree with Soncino's allusion to the country as excellent and temperate, and one where dye-wood and silk might be expected to grow. If this be explained away as due to the usual propensity of discoverers at that time to exhibit the newly found countries in the most favourable light, which is very possible, it is not so easy to explain why we do not hear a word about their having encountered ice on the voyage. If on his western voyage Cabot came to Labrador or the north-east coast of Newfoundland some time in June, it is improbable that he should not have seen icebergs, and it is equally unlikely that the Italian Ministers should not have mentioned this, which to them would be a great curiosity, if they had heard of it; we see, too, that later, in descriptions of Sebastian Cabot's alleged voyage, the ice is mentioned above all else. Even if John Cabot might have kept quiet about the ice, lest it should cool the hopes raised by his narrative, it is not likely that his crew would have done so, if they had met with it. But although other statements of the crew are reported, we do not hear a single word about ice, nor even of icebergs, which are common enough on the Newfoundland Banks at that time of the year, and would be an entirely new experience even to Bristol sailors who were accustomed to the voyage to Iceland. From this we must suppose that in the course of his beating to the west Cabot was set so far to the south of the Newfoundland Banks that he did not encounter icebergs, and that he first made land somewhere farther west.[299]

[Sidenote: Cabot sighted America June 24, 1497]

According to the Bristol chronicle already quoted (Toby, 1565), and according to a legend on the map of 1544, which is ascribed to the collaboration of Sebastian Cabot, it was on St. John's Day (July 3, N.S.) that the first land was discovered. In spite of Harrisse's objections[300] it does not appear to me unlikely that this may be correct. If he sailed on May 2 (11), he was fifty-three days at sea. Supposing that he landed at Cape Breton, the distance in a straight line on the course indicated is about 2200 nautical miles. Consequently he would have made an average of forty-two miles a day in the desired direction. This is doubtless not very fast sailing, but agrees with just what we should expect, since he often had to beat, and "wandered a good deal," in the words of Soncino.

[Sidenote: La Cosa's map represents Cabot's discoveries in 1497]

For determining the question, what part of North America it was that Cabot discovered, it appears to me there is no trustworthy document but La Cosa's map of the world of 1500.[301] The Basque cartographer, Juan de la Cosa, who owned and navigated Columbus's ship in 1492, and who was afterwards entrusted with many public undertakings, enjoyed a reputation in Spain as a map-maker and sailor. He was commissioned by the Spanish Crown to produce a map of the world, and we must suppose that for this work he was provided with all the maps and geographical information that were available in Spain. From a letter of July 25, 1498, to Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain, from Ayala, the Spanish Minister in London, we know that the latter had obtained a copy of "the chart or mapa mundi" that John Cabot had made in order to set forth his discoveries of 1497; and there can be no doubt that a copy of this was also sent to Spain, as Ayala says he believes their Majesties already had the map. It may, therefore, be regarded as a matter of course that La Cosa was in possession of this map when, less than two years later, he was about to make his own, and that it is from this source and no other that he derived his information about the English discoveries. We do not know of any other map being sent from England to Spain during these two years, and there is no ground whatever for assuming that La Cosa's information may be derived from Cabot's voyage of 1498, which in any case must have been a failure.

For the understanding of La Cosa's map it must be remarked first of all that it is a compass-chart, and that it takes no notice of the magnetic variation on the American coast. This explains the fact that, for instance, lines of coast which in reality run from west to south-west, are made to appear on the chart as running from west to east. Furthermore, the latitude of the coast of North America is made too northerly, through coasts which, for instance, lie magnetic west of Ireland, being placed on the chart true west of it. In this way Cape Breton (or Cape Race in Newfoundland ?) can be brought to about the same latitude as the south of Ireland, whereas in reality it lies nearly 5° farther south.

The coast marked with five English flags is, of course, the land discovered by Cabot. That La Cosa had a map of this district is further shown by the details, which distinguish it from his delineation of the remainder of the North American coast, but which give it a resemblance to that part of South America which is marked with Spanish flags and of which he had a map. Curiously enough only part of the English district has names; we must suppose that this is the coast that Cabot is said to have sailed along. La Cosa's representation of the rest of the North American coast is doubtless guesswork, although it has features which bear a remarkable resemblance to reality; but it is not altogether impossible that he may have had oral or written reports of later voyages (?), which are unknown to us.

La Cosa's map is in complete agreement with the statements in the letters of Pasqualigo, Soncino, and the two Spanish Ambassadors. Soncino says that the country lies four hundred Italian leagues to the west of England, while both Puebla and Ayala say that they believe the distance to be no more than four hundred Spanish leagues. On the other hand, according to Pasqualigo, Cabot said that at a distance of seven hundred Italian leagues he had discovered the mainland of the kingdom of the Great Khan, and that he had sailed [i.e., after having sailed ?] three hundred leagues along the coast. It has been thought that there is here a disagreement between the four hundred leagues of the three first-named and the seven hundred of Pasqualigo, but if we interpret it, in what must be the most reasonable way, as meaning that the distance of seven hundred leagues does not refer to the nearest land, but to the most distant, where Cabot thought that he had at last come within the boundaries of the kingdom of the Great Khan (China) and did not venture to go farther, then we have complete agreement, since the three hundred leagues he must first have sailed along the coast must be deducted in order to get the distance from England to the nearest land. The length of a Venetian "lega," or a Spanish "legua," cannot be precisely determined. If we assume [cf. Kretschmer, 1909, pp. 63, ff.] that between 20 and 17-1/2 went to a degree of latitude, each league would correspond to between 3 and 3.43 geographical miles (minutes), or between 5.6 and 6.3 kilometres. According to the former estimate (three miles), four hundred leagues will be about equal to 1200 miles, and seven hundred leagues to about 2100 miles.[302] The first distance is, at any rate, a good deal too small, while the second is too great. This may easily be explained by Cabot, or his crew, having naturally wished to make the voyage to the newly discovered country appear as little deterrent as possible, and, therefore, having underestimated the distance, while, desiring to make the country itself as large as possible, they greatly over-estimated the length of their sail along the coast. That the voyagers really supposed the distance to the newly discovered land to be four hundred leagues from Ireland agrees also with Soncino's statement that the Bristol sailors thought the voyage would not occupy more than fifteen days from Ireland.

La Cosa's map is drawn as an equidistant compass-chart, and we can therefore make ourselves a scale of miles by using the distance between the Equator and the Tropic. In this way we find that the easternmost headland, "Cauo de Ynglaterra" (Cape England), on the coast discovered by Cabot lies four hundred leagues from Ireland, while the distance from it to the most western headland with a name, "Cauo descubierto" (the discovered cape), is about three hundred leagues.[303] Furthermore this coast lies on the map due west of Bristol and southern England, as it should according to Soncino's first letter.

[Sidenote: Cabot's discovery, according to La Cosa's map, is probably Nova Scotia]

There is thus full agreement between this map and all the contemporary information we have of the voyage, and there is no room for doubt that its names represent John Cabot's discoveries of 1497, which thus extended from Cauo de Ynglaterra on the east (with two islands, Y. verde and S. Grigor, to the east of it) to Cauo descubierto on the west. But it seems to me that this tract must be either the south coast of Newfoundland or the south-east coast of Nova Scotia, and Cauo de Ynglaterra must be either Cape Race or Cape Breton; the latter is more probable;[304] this also agrees best with all the documents we possess and involves fewest difficulties. It might then seem probable that Cabot first arrived off the land at Cauo de Ynglaterra or Cape Breton,[305] and that he sailed westward (magnetic) from there to explore the newly discovered country. The main direction of the coast of Nova Scotia is about W.S.W., and if we suppose that the compass error at Cape Breton was then about 28° W., which I have found in another way[306] (cf. above, p. 308; it is now 25° W.), this will mean that the coast extended a little to the north of west by compass, which exactly agrees with La Cosa's map. On account of contrary winds, and of the care necessary in sailing along an unknown coast, the voyage may have proceeded slowly, and Cabot greatly over-estimated his distances, which is not an uncommon thing with explorers in unknown waters, ever since the days of Pytheas. Finally, about three hundred miles on, Cabot came to the south-western point of Nova Scotia, which at first he must have taken for the end of the land. But as he certainly would be bent upon deciding this, he may have continued to sail across the mouth of the Bay of Fundy until he again sighted land, the fertile coast of smiling Maine, stretching westward as far as the eye could reach, and he would then have thought that he had surely arrived at the coast of the mainland of the vast kingdom of the Great Khan. Here it must have been that he landed, as related by Pasqualigo and Soncino,[307] and saw signs of inhabitants, but met with none. He may, of course, have landed earlier at Cape Breton or in Nova Scotia without finding trace of inhabitants, and said nothing about it; for he was not looking for an uninhabited country, but the wealthy Eastern Asia. It may also very well be the spot where he first found signs of men that is called Cauo descubierto; for it is striking that on La Cosa's map this name is not placed on any projecting headland of the coast, but in front of a comparatively deep gulf, which in that case might be the mouth of the Bay of Fundy. And it is in the sea to the west of this bay, across which Cabot sailed, that La Cosa has placed his "mar descubierta por jnglese" (sea discovered by the English). La Cosa's "mar" will then be probably the whole gulf between Cape Sable and Cape Cod.[308]

[Sidenote: Cabot's homeward voyage, 1497]

Cabot now thought he had found what he so eagerly sought. He was not provisioned for any long stay, and with his small crew he could not expose himself to possible attacks of the inhabitants of the country. Consequently he had good reason for turning back. To provide himself with the necessary water, and perhaps wood, for the homeward voyage would not take long. Food was a greater difficulty, and we are told that he was so short of it that on the way back he would not stop at new islands; it is true that we hear of abundance of fish, but this cannot have been sufficient. He then returned to Cauo de Ynglaterra, and thence homewards as quickly as possible.[309] The distance from Cape Breton past the southern point of Nova Scotia to the coast of Maine is 420 geographical miles. There and back, with a cruise in the open sea towards Cape Cod, it might be 1200 miles. If we suppose Cabot to have taken twenty days to do it, including the time occupied in going ashore, this will be sixty miles a day, which may seem a good deal; but if on the way back he had a favourable wind and was able to sail a somewhat straight course, it is possible; and, in that case, he may have been back at Cape Breton or Cauo de Ynglaterra about July 14 (23), and then have laid his course for home east by compass out to sea. This course took him off Newfoundland, and he had the island of Grand Miquelon, with Burin Peninsula to the east of it ["S. Grigor" on La Cosa's map ?], in sight on his starboard bow, or on his right hand, as Pasqualigo says. As he was afraid of more land in that direction, which would be awkward to come near, especially when sailing at night, he bore off to the south-east, where he knew from the outward voyage that there was open water. After a time, thinking himself safe, he again set his course east by compass, but then had fresh land, Avalon Peninsula, ahead or on his starboard bow, and again had to bear off. He took this for another large island ["Y. verde"], but would not land, both on account of shortness of provisions, and because he wanted to be home as soon as possible with the news of his discovery, and to prepare a larger expedition to take possession of the new country.[310] To be quite sure of encountering no more land, Cabot may then have borne off well to the south-east, thus reaching the Newfoundland Banks on the south, and keeping quite clear of the icebergs which are found farther north. For his eastern voyage he was well served by the wind, since nearly all the winds in this part of the Atlantic are between south and west or north-west in July and the beginning of August. He was further helped by the current to some extent, and may, therefore, very easily have made the homeward voyage in twenty-three days, and sailed back into the port of Bristol about the 6th (15th) of August, 1497. That Cabot cannot have taken much more than twenty days on the return voyage also appears from the statement already quoted of the Bristol sailors, that they could make the voyage in fifteen days.[311]

[Sidenote: Legend on the map of 1544]

The view of John Cabot's voyage of 1497 set forth above agrees also with the map of the world of 1544, which is attributed to the collaboration of Sebastian Cabot, but which the latter in any case cannot have seen or corrected after it was engraved, probably in the Netherlands, and by an engraver who did not understand Spanish, the language of the map [cf. Harrisse, 1892, 1896; Dawson, 1894]. Its delineation of the northern east coast of North America is for the most part borrowed from the representation on French maps of Cartier's discoveries in the Gulf of St. Lawrence (cf. Deslien's map of 1541). Cape Breton is called "Prima tierra vista," and in the inscription referring to the northern part of the American coast,[312] the import of which must apparently be derived from Sebastian Cabot, we read:

"This land was discovered by Joan Caboto Veneciano and Sebastian
Caboto his son in the year 1494 [sic] after the birth of our saviour
Jesus Christ, the 24th of June in the morning; to which they gave the
name 'Prima Tierra Vista,' and to a large island which is near the
said land they gave the name of St. John, because it was discovered
the same day" [i.e., St. John's Day].[313]