Spain and Portugal signed the Treaty of Tordesillas, aiming to prevent conflict by dividing most newly explored Atlantic lands into two spheres of influence. England did not accept this agreement, which helped leave political room for later English-backed voyages like John Cabot’s. The treaty became a major backdrop for European competition in Atlantic exploration.
King Henry VII issued letters patent authorizing John Cabot (Giovanni Caboto) and his sons to sail under the English flag and seek “new” lands unknown to Christians. This legal backing mattered because it turned Cabot’s plans into a royal project, not just a private gamble. It also provided a basis for later English claims tied to “discovery.”
Cabot left Bristol on a small ship later known as the Matthew, beginning the voyage that would make his reputation. The plan was to sail west across the North Atlantic, hoping to reach Asia by a shorter route than Portugal’s Africa-based trade lanes. This departure marks the start of the 1497 crossing that English sources later treated as a landmark “discovery.”
Cabot reached land in North America on June 24, 1497 (St. John the Baptist’s Day). The exact spot remains debated in scholarship, but the voyage is widely treated as the first European expedition since the Norse era to reach parts of North America and then return to report it to a major European monarchy. This landfall became central to later English narratives about early Atlantic “firsts.”
Cabot arrived back in Bristol on August 6, 1497, ending a voyage that quickly became a point of civic pride for the port and political interest for the crown. His return turned a risky crossing into a usable piece of intelligence about routes, seas, and resources. It also set the stage for royal rewards and plans for a larger follow-up expedition.
After Cabot reported to the king, Henry VII authorized a payment of £10, an unusually visible signal of approval. The reward mattered because it showed the crown was willing to pay for results and encouraged further planning. It also helped elevate Cabot’s standing at court and among potential backers.
In a contemporary Venetian report from London, Lorenzo Pasqualigo wrote that Cabot claimed to have found the mainland of the “Great Khan,” coasted along it, and went ashore. Pasqualigo also noted Cabot brought back items like snares and described evidence (such as notched trees) suggesting inhabitants. These details helped shape European understanding of what Cabot had encountered, even as geography was still misunderstood.
Henry VII approved an annual pension of £20 for Cabot, paid from customs revenue collected at Bristol. This was more than a one-time prize: it was ongoing support that reinforced Cabot’s role as a royal agent. The pension helped keep momentum for a second, larger expedition intended to build on the 1497 voyage.
An English merchant known as John Day wrote from Spain to a “Grand Admiral” (often identified as Columbus), describing Cabot’s discovery voyage and what was reportedly seen. The letter, dated to winter 1497–1498, became one of the most important near-contemporary narratives of the 1497 expedition. It also shows how quickly Cabot’s voyage entered international information networks in the Atlantic world.
Henry VII granted a second set of letters patent empowering Cabot to take up to six English ships for a new voyage to the “land and isles” recently found. This expanded authorization shows the crown wanted more than a symbolic landing; it was preparing for sustained exploration and possible trade. The document also reflects a shift from a single-ship experiment toward a fleet-scale effort.
Cabot departed from Bristol in early May 1498 with a larger expedition, often described as five ships. Reports indicate one ship was damaged by storms and sought refuge in Ireland, while the rest continued west. This suggests the voyage faced immediate practical problems, and it also marks the last point where records track the expedition’s movements with any clarity.
After the 1498 departure, the expedition’s final outcome is unclear in surviving evidence, and Cabot was later widely presumed dead. This uncertainty mattered because it left England without an immediate, continuous program of settlement or mapping from Cabot’s effort. Even so, Cabot’s 1497 crossing had already shown that a shorter North Atlantic route was possible, shaping later English interest in transatlantic exploration and colonization.
John Cabot's North American Voyages (1496–1498)