Spanish America Author:Julian Hawthorne Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: III TOE OABOT8, VESPUOIU8, AND MAGELLAN THE mariners of England probably heard something about the attempt of the Columbuses to induce the English king to ... more »furnish them with means to reach India by crossing the Atlantic; and there is reason to believe that expeditions were sent out from the port of Bristol, prior to Columbus's voyage, with a view of finding out what lay beyond the western horizons. The supposed "Island of Brazil" was one of the places they looked for; but they met with no success. Among the promoters of these enterprises was one John Cabot, born, like Columbus, in Genoa, and admitted to citizenship in Venice. He married there and had three sons; was a merchant, trading with the East, and was curious as to Oriental countries. In 1490 he moved to England and lived in Bristol; he was much interested in the reports of Columbus's voyage, and in 1496 or 1497 Henry VII. issued letters patent to sail to the east, west or north, with five ships carrying the English flag, to seek and discover all the islands, countries, regions, or provinces of pagans in whatever part of the world. It was to the Cabots that this permission was given; and the remonstrances of Spain were met by omitting the southern direction from the instructions. Only one ship, the "Matthew," sailed, with a crew of eighteen ; the start was in May, 1497, and on the 24th of June they discovered what was assumed to be "the territory of the Grand Cham." A month later they were back in Bristol, and King Henry made them a present of ten pounds sterling. Various honors of less substantial nature were conferred upon John Cabot, and by degrees the story circulated that he had discovered the Island of Brazil and the Seven Cities. He made another voyage in 1498, and that is the last wehear of the elder Cabot. But...« less