Sebastian Cabot
Sebastian Cabot was an influential navigator and explorer of the late 15th and early 16th centuries, born as the second son of the famed explorer John Cabot. His early life remains somewhat enigmatic, with records suggesting he was either born in Venice or England. Much of his identity and ambition were shaped by his father's legendary expeditions, including the first recorded crossing of the Atlantic by an English vessel in 1497. Following his father's disappearance during a voyage in 1498, Sebastian's own explorations led him to pursue northwest passage routes to Asia, although these missions often faced adversity, including mutinies among his crew.
Cabot's career included significant roles in both the English and Spanish navies, where he was recognized for his cartographic skills and knowledge of the North American coastline. His expeditions to South America from 1526 to 1530, however, were marked by turmoil and criticism, ultimately leading to judicial proceedings against him for failure to fulfill his mission. Despite these challenges, Cabot maintained his status and continued to contribute to exploration efforts, producing a prized world map in 1544.
His legacy lies in his contributions to navigation and mapping, which supported the colonial ambitions of Spain and England during the Renaissance. Despite not discovering faster trade routes to the East, Cabot's journeys broadened European understanding of the Americas and emphasized the importance of vision and determination in exploration. He passed away around 1557, leaving behind a complex legacy intertwined with the age of exploration.
Sebastian Cabot
English cartographer, explorer, and navigator
Sebastian Cabot’s journeys to North and South America provided detailed knowledge of the east coasts of the two continents. His status as an expert cartographer was ensured by his highly praised 1544 map of the world.
Area of Achievement Geography, exploration, warfare and conquest, government and politics
Early Life
Sebastian Cabot was born the second son of explorer John Cabot, either in Venice or in England. Sebastian’s life was inextricably tied to his father’s legend. Much of what is known about father and son is speculative because early accounts disagree.
It is known that John Cabot, most likely born in Genoa, became a citizen of the Republic of Venice. He had sailed Mediterranean waters and traveled the Middle East. Some suggest that John, independent of Christopher Columbus, concluded that Asia could be reached by crossing the Atlantic Ocean.
In search of a sponsor, John moved to England. On March 5, 1496, Tudor king Henry VII granted John and his three sons (Ludovico, Sebastiano, and Sancto) the right to sail on voyages of discovery. With charter in hand, John Cabot sailed westward on the first of his voyages. Though there is no definitive proof that Sebastian accompanied his father, some argue that he did because the grant expressly named John and his sons. The excursion, though, was unsuccessful.
The following year another attempt was made. On May 20, 1497, John set sail on the Matthew. Some contend that Sebastian accompanied him yet again. The ship crossed the Atlantic, making this the first recorded crossing of this body of water by an English vessel. On June 24, 1497, the expedition reached land, most likely Cape Breton Island, Labrador, or Newfoundland. Interestingly, once ashore, both English and Venetian flags were planted. After sailing the coastline and making navigational notations, the ship left for home.
On arrival in Bristol, another voyage was approved. John sailed in May, 1498, but Sebastian did not leave with him. After departing, John Cabot was never heard from again. Whether Sebastian accompanied his father on the earliest expeditions or not, John’s dreams and exploits continued to be Sebastian’s driving inspirations long after John’s last voyage. Indeed, for many years historians all but forgot John Cabot, attributing the initial English crossing of the Atlantic to Sebastian instead.
Life’s Work
The facts concerning Sebastian Cabot’s life in the immediate years after his father’s disappearance on the 1498 voyage remain murky. There is some evidence that he led an expedition in 1508 to discover a northwest passage to the Orient. Sailing toward Labrador, he traveled along a passage leading westward, then turned in a southerly direction. Though Cabot was certain he had found a sea passage west toward Asia, his men mutinied. Eventually, he was forced to sail back to England, but not before exploring the coastline as far south as New England.
Reviewing Cabot’s description of seas thick with floating ice, some modern scholars believe he may have discovered what is now called Hudson Strait and that he sailed part of what is now called Hudson Bay before his crew made him abandon this northerly route. Other writers fully refute this assertion, claiming that the entire voyage is unsubstantiated.
Back in England, however, it is certain that in 1512, Cabot accompanied the English army of Henry VIII to the European continent in the king’s attempt to aid the Spanish against the French. King Ferdinand II of Spain, impressed by Cabot's skills as a cartographer and his knowledge of the North American coastline, awarded him a commission in the Spanish navy in order that he might head an exploratory expedition. Cabot's plans for a new voyage across the Atlantic, however, came to an early end with the death of Ferdinand. Fortune then took Cabot to the court of the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, where he was appointed to the Spanish Council of the New Indies. Later, he also was appointed pilot-major, and he was given the authority to examine ships’ pilots sailing under the emperor’s banners.
For the next few years, Cabot’s activities in Spain remain obscure. There is some evidence that he returned to England by 1520 when it was proposed that he be given a command in the small navy of Henry VIII. In the end, that command did not materialize. By 1525, he was back in the services of the Spanish crown. Never having abandoned his ambitions as an explorer, Cabot was only too glad to accept a mission to navigate South American waters for Spain.
The expedition of 1526 to 1530 was a voyage fraught with mystery and intrigue. Spanish financiers sponsored this voyage to discover a passage to the Orient through the waters of South America. Unfortunately, what little information is available about this trip comes from those who later brought Cabot up on charges for misdeeds and incompetence, and is therefore not wholly reliable. What is certain is that, after Cabot's expedition reached the southern shores of what is now called Brazil, he allowed himself to be enticed by tales of treasure.
For the next three years, Cabot and his men sailed along the coast of eastern South America looking for gold and silver. Making his way up the La Plata River, some of Cabot’s men mutinied and he responded by forcing them to disembark. Sailing up and down the La Plata River and its varied tributaries, Cabot and his crew stopped to replenish supplies and build small fortifications. A good number of his men would be killed by indigenous peoples. In 1528, Cabot sent a ship back to Spain for provisions and reinforcements. The original promoters of the expedition, however, loudly criticized him. Nevertheless, the king’s faith in the navigator remained strong, but no royal expedition was sent back to relieve Cabot and his men.
Meanwhile, indigenous peoples continued to attack the beleaguered Spanish adventurers, killing and wounding many. In 1529, the survivors decided to abandon their quest for riches and to sail back to Spain. On Cabot’s return he faced formal judicial proceedings. Two years into the dispute, he was pronounced guilty of failure to carry out his formal mission. Though he was sentenced to banishment to Morocco, the expulsion was never enforced and he was eventually pardoned. As a testament to Cabot's continued prestige, he remained in the service of the Spanish crown for some years to come.
Cabot continued to pursue his skills as a mapmaker and, in 1544, produced a greatly prized map of the world. With the succession of Edward VI to the English throne, Cabot was invited back to the British Isles. After his return to England, Cabot was pensioned by the Crown and appointed governor of the Merchant Adventurers. He thereafter organized plans to search for a northeastern passage from which English ships could sail to the northernmost reaches of Russia and then to distant Asia. While such a route was never found, English trade with Russia was promoted by expeditions sent to the northern seas. Evidence suggests that Cabot died sometime in or before 1557.
Significance
Sebastian Cabot was a skilled navigator, an admired cartographer, and a determined explorer who, sailing for the English and later for the Spanish, visited both the North American and South American continents, lands that were unknown to Europeans of his day. While Cabot’s adventurous spirit led him to make dangerous yet thrilling voyages, his intellectual interests encouraged him to chart those expeditions.
Cabot’s journeys and detailed maps would later serve to further the colonial interests and claims of two of the most successful empires to emerge from Renaissance Europe: Spain and England. In addition, even though Cabot’s explorations did not discover quicker sea passages from Europe to the Far East, his journeys to North America and South America, and his plans for a new trade route through Russian waters, offer lessons in the power of a person’s vision and determination.
Bibliography
Dalton, Heather. Merchants and Explorers: Roger Barlow, Sebastian Cabot, and Networks of Atlantic Exchange 1500–1560. Oxford: Oxford UP, 2016. Print.
Firstbrook, Peter L. The Voyage of the Matthew: John Cabot and the Discovery of North America. San Francisco, Calif.: Publishers Group West, 1997. Print.
Mattern, Joanne. The Travels of John and Sebastian Cabot. Austin, Texas: Raintree Steck-Vaughn, 2001. Print.
Quinn, David B. Sebastian Cabot and Bristol Exploration. Bristol, England: Bristol Historical Association, 1993. Print.
Roberts, David. Great Exploration Hoaxes. New York: Modern Library, 2001. Print.
"Sebastian Cabot." Newfoundland & Labrador Heritage. Memorial University, 2016. Web. 23 Jun. 2016.