John Cabot and the cod rush

An Italian sailor working for England

John Cabot was born in Italy, probably in Genoa or Gaeta, and became a citizen of Venice; in Italian his name was Zuan Chabotto. Like Columbus, he believed he could reach the rich trade of Asia by sailing west. In March 1496, England's King Henry VII gave him letters patent, permission to sail and claim lands for England, and merchants in the port of Bristol backed the trip.

A first try in 1496 turned back. In May 1497 he left Bristol again in one small ship, the Matthew, with a crew of about 18 to 20 people.

Landfall: somewhere near Newfoundland

On June 24, 1497, the Matthew reached land. Where exactly is still argued: historians have suggested Newfoundland, Labrador and Cape Breton Island, and no one has settled it. Cabot went ashore briefly, then sailed home and reported to the king that he had reached the coast of Asia. He hadn't: he had reached North America, home to the Beothuk and Mi'kmaq peoples, and Norse Greenlanders had already camped in Newfoundland about 500 years earlier.

No gold, but lots of cod

Cabot found no spices and no gold. What impressed his crew was the sea. In December 1497 the Duke of Milan's envoy in London wrote down what they said: the sea there was "swarming with fish, which can be taken not only with the net but in baskets let down with a stone." The fish were cod. It was a sailors' boast passed on second-hand, but the fish were real.

The Grand Banks and salt cod

Off southeastern Newfoundland lie the Grand Banks, wide shallow areas of the ocean floor where cod gathered in huge numbers. In the early 1500s fishers from Portugal, France (Normandy and Brittany) and the Basque coast began crossing the Atlantic each summer to fish there, and the English fishery grew later in the century.

Fresh fish spoils in days, so the crews salted their catch and dried it in the sun and wind. Salt cod kept for months, so it could be shipped home and sold all over Europe. That trade lasted into the 20th century, until overfishing emptied the banks and Canada closed the northern cod fishery in 1992.

Try it yourself

Open a map app and find Bristol, England, and St. John's, Newfoundland. Measure the distance between them, then compare it with the distance from Spain to the Bahamas that Columbus sailed in 1492. Which crossing is shorter? Now zoom in southeast of Newfoundland and look for the Grand Banks on a map that shows ocean depth.

Good to know

• The "baskets" line comes from a December 1497 letter by Raimondo de Soncino, the Duke of Milan's envoy in London, reporting what Cabot's men said. It's a boast passed on second-hand, which is why the video says "people said."
• Cabot (Zuan Chabotto) was probably born in Genoa or Gaeta and became a citizen of Venice; "Italian sailor" avoids that debate.
• Henry VII issued letters patent in March 1496, and Bristol merchants backed the voyage. A first try in 1496 turned back.
• The 1497 voyage carried about 18 to 20 people, left Bristol in May and reached land on June 24, 1497. The exact landfall (Newfoundland, Labrador or Cape Breton) is debated.
• Like Columbus, Cabot believed he had reached Asia. He vanished on a second voyage in 1498.
• England did not rush in at once: its own and Icelandic fisheries met most demand at first. Portuguese, French and Basque fishers were active in the early 1500s and the English fishery grew later, so "soon" and the list of four is a simplification.
• "Fed Europe for centuries" means the salt-cod trade, which lasted into the 20th century; overfishing led Canada to close the northern cod fishery in 1992.
• The Beothuk and Mi'kmaq lived in the region, and Norse Greenlanders reached Newfoundland about 500 years earlier (see Episode 6), so Cabot didn't "discover" it.

For AP US History learners

This is AP US History Period 1 (1491-1607): like Spain, England and other European states sent explorers west in search of new trade routes and wealth, and the North Atlantic fishery was one of the first lasting economic links between Europe and North America.