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02-139 John Cabot II: The Search for Cathay
Vol. 02- No. 139
2010
Lead: In the spring of 1497 John Cabot, an Italian explorer in the service of King Henry VII of England, sailed west from Bristol, England, to find a shorter route to the riches of China. Intro: A Moment In Time with Dan Roberts. Content: Cabot had tried to secure backing from the Spanish but Christopher Columbus was the dominant figure in exploration in the wake of his successful voyages to the Caribbean, and the largely unknown Cabot had to turn to the English for financial support. After months of preparation, on May 20th Cabot's ship, the Matthew, glided down the Avon River and sailed north and west. Cabot was able to use a compass, quadrant, and traverse table to navigate the 50-ton ship. The trip across the Atlantic went without incident until on June 21st, thirty days out, a gale enveloped the ship and threatened the already low morale. After the storm blew itself out, Cabot began to get signs they were nearing land, among them: low-hanging clouds, foraging birds, and the smell of fir trees carried by the land breeze far out to sea. At 5:00 AM on June 24th, the rugged coast of northern Newfoundland sprang up over the horizon. Cabot's goal was in sight. He had achieved landfall within five miles of L'Anse aux Meadows where the Scandinavian explorer, Leif Ericsson, reportedly had tried to establish a colony about the year 1000. Little is known of Cabot's exploration, but he probably utilized a fresh breeze blowing off the land to skirt the coast to the south for a harbor. Most likely he settled on the place that came to be known as Griquet (cricket) and there formally took possession of the land for King Henry of England. Cabot saw no people as he worked his way around the eastern shore of Newfoundland, but he did see snares and fishnets and evidence of domesticated animals, probably moose or caribou. West of Cape St. Mary's, the water dramatically deepens and Cabot may have thought he had reached the passage to China. Whatever he thought, this proved to be the end of the trip. He turned back, retraced his steps and arrived home on August 6, 1497. Cabot was able to secure funds to mount another five-ship expedition the next year. One of the ships came home early, but Cabot and the remaining four disappeared without a trace. The producer of A Moment In Time is Steve Clark. At the University of Richmond, this is Dan Roberts. Resources Morison, Samuel Eliot. "Cabot, The Mysterious Sailor Who Gave England Rights to North America, Smithsonian 2 (1, April, 1971), 12-20. Williamson, James Alexander. The Cabot Voyages and Bristol Discovery under Henry VII. Cambridge, England: Published for the Hakluyt Society at the University Press, 1962. Copyright 2010 by Broadcast Partners, LLC spc012610
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