Spotlight On Explorers and Colonization

John Cabot

Explorer of the North American Mainland

Italian explorer John Cabot sailed to the New World under the flag of England in 1496. His travels through Canada are sketchy due to his flimsy record log and his disappearance during his third voyage. Despite never finding the riches or the Northwest Passage he sought, Cabot’s discoveries led the charge for the English colonization of North America. This resource examines Cabot’s early life, his appeals to European monarchs to fund an expedition, his eventual voyages, his mysterious fate, and his contributions to the Age of Exploration.