Читать книгу A Beginner's History - William H. Mace - Страница 16

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CABOT TAKING POSSESSION OF NORTH AMERICA FOR THE KING OF ENGLAND

On the spot where he landed Cabot planted a large cross and beside it flags of England and of St. Mark

The effect in England of Columbus' discovery

22. Cabot's Voyages. When the news of Columbus' great discovery reached England, the king was sorry, no doubt, that he had not helped him. The story is that Columbus had gone to Henry VII, King of England, for aid to make his voyage. But England had a brave sailor of her own, John Cabot, an Italian, born in Columbus' own town of Genoa, who also had learned his lessons in voyages on the Mediterranean. Cabot had gone to live in the old town of Venice. Afterward he made England his home and lived in the old seaport town of Bristol, the home of many English sailors.

JOHN CABOT AND HIS SON SEBASTIAN

From the statue modeled by John Cassidy, Manchester, England

He, too, believed the world to be round, and that India could be reached by sailing westward. King Henry VII gave Cabot permission to try, providing he would give the king one fifth of all the gold and silver which everybody believed he would find in India.

What John Cabot discovered

Accordingly, John Cabot, and it may be his son, Sebastian, set out on a voyage in May, 1497. After many weeks, Cabot discovered land, now supposed to be either a part of Labrador or of Cape Breton Island. He landed and planted the flag of England, and by its side set up that of Venice, which had been his early home.

Later, he probably saw parts of Newfoundland, but nowhere did he see a single inhabitant. He did, however, find signs that the country was inhabited, but he found no proof of rich cities or of gold and silver. In the seas all around Cabot saw such vast swarms of fish that he told the people of England they would not need to go any more to cold and snowy Iceland to catch fish.

The king and people pay honor to Cabot

How John Cabot was treated by the king and people of England when he came back is seen in an old letter written from England by a citizen of Venice to his friends at home. "The king has promised that in the spring our countryman shall have ten ships, armed to his order. The king has also given him money wherewith to amuse himself till then, and he is now at Bristol with his wife, who is also a Venetian, and with his sons. His name is John Cabot, and he is called the great admiral. Vast honor is paid to him; he dresses in silk, and the English run after him like mad people, so that he can enlist as many of them as he pleases, and a number of our own rogues besides. The discoverer of these places planted on his new-found land a large cross, with one flag of England and another of St. Mark, by reason of his being a Venetian."

THE FINDING OF AMERICA

The first voyages of Columbus, the discoverer of the New World, and of Cabot, the first man to reach the mainland of North America

Cabot's second voyage

Again, in May, 1498, John Cabot started for India by sailing toward the northwest. This time the fleet was larger, and filled with eager English sailors. But Cabot could not find a way to India, so he altered his course and coasted southward as far as the region now called North Carolina.

Now because of these two voyages of Cabot, England later claimed a large part of North America, for he had really seen the mainland of America before Columbus. Spain also claimed the same region, but we have seen how Mexico and Peru drew Spaniards to those countries.

Why England was slow in settling America

If England had been quick to act and had made settlements where Cabot explored, she would have had little trouble in getting a hold in North America. But she did not do so. Henry VII was old and stingy. Cabot had twice failed to find India with its treasures of gold and silver, so little attention was given to the new lands.