5. Columbus was not aware that he had hit upon a new continent, but supposed he had come upon some islands lying off India. He had really landed upon one of the Bahama Islands. In consequence of his mistake the islands he had discovered were called the Indies, and the natives were spoken of as Indians. Cruising among the islands, now called the West Indies, Columbus discovered Cuba and Hayti, and then returned to Spain in triumph, taking with him gold, cotton, parrots, and other products of the islands, and a few natives besides.
6. The famous voyage of Columbus soon became the common talk among seafaring men. At that time, in the port of Bristol, were two skilful mariners, father and son, named Cabot. John Cabot was a seaman of Venice, but his son Sebastian was born at Bristol. They were bent on finding a short way to India by sailing westward, like Columbus, only keeping in a much higher latitude. They obtained permission from King Henry VII. "to seek out, subdue and occupy any regions which before had been unknown to all Christians," and they were authorised to set up the royal banner in any such land and to take possession in the king's name.
7. On an old map drawn by the younger Cabot it is stated: "In the year of our Lord 1497, John Cabot, with his son Sebastian, discovered that country which no one before his time had ventured to approach, on the 24th of June, about five o'clock in the morning. He called the country The-land-first-seen, and the island opposite, St. John, because discovered on the festival of St. John the Baptist." "The-land-first-seen" was probably Nova Scotia or the island of Cape Breton.
8. Next year, Sebastian Cabot came upon Newfoundland and sailed along the coast of Labrador, picking his way among the icebergs, in his effort to discover an open channel to India. He then retraced his course and examined the coast of the United States as far as Virginia without finding the desired opening. He had, however, mapped out roughly 1800 miles of the North American coast, and secured for England the prior claim to the northern half of that continent. But nothing came of this adventure until the reign of Elizabeth, when steps were taken to occupy some part of the new-found territory.
1. We owe the founding of the royal navy to Henry VIII. Before his time there seems to have been no standing navy, private ships being hired and armed when a war-fleet was needed. With the accession, however, of Henry VIII. (1509), England began to take her right place as a naval power. The new king was rich and clever, bluff and hearty, a thorough "John Bull," with a proud resolute spirit that would brook no denial.
HENRY VIII. AND MODEL OF THE "GREAT HARRY."
2. Henry at once made up his mind to have a powerful navy that England and her sovereign might become "second to none." He knew well that if England was to secure her share of trade with other nations she must have a navy strong enough to enforce her claims and protect her merchantmen. Henry, therefore, lost no time in establishing dockyards at Deptford and Woolwich, and in procuring from Italy and elsewhere skilled shipbuilders and cannon founders.