CABOT, JOHN,
\kˈabɒt], \kˈabɒt], \k_ˈa_b_ɒ_t]\
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the founder of the English claim to North America, was born at Genoa, settled in Venice as a merchant and mariner, and removed to Bristol in England about 1490. In May, 1497, he sailed from Bristol on a voyage of discovery, under the authority of letters patent from the king, Henry VII. He discovered a region which was supposed to be the coast of China, returned to England with the news, and received from the frugal king the sum of ten pounds. The next year he sailed again and explored the coast of North America. The exact extent of his voyages is uncertain, but he probably visited Labrador, the Gulf of St. Lawrence and the coast of New England, southward perhaps to Cape Cod. After the second voyage he disappears from history. The best account of the Cabots is by Harrisse.
By John Franklin Jameson
