Sebastian Cabot’s voyages doubtful
But John Cabot’s discovery was not altogether unheeded in the years that followed; it was considered of sufficient importance for his son, Sebastian Cabot, by appropriating the honour of it, to acquire much fame and reputation in his day as a great discoverer and geographer. But whether he ever made discoveries on the east coast of North America is very doubtful; indeed, it is not even certain that he ever undertook a voyage to these regions. There can be no doubt that he himself asserted he had done so repeatedly and to different men, though his various utterances, so far as we know them, agree imperfectly. We see, too, that as early as 1512 he had the reputation of being acquainted with north-western waters, since he obtained an appointment in the service of King Ferdinand of Aragon on account of the remarkable knowledge he claimed to possess of “la navigacion á los Bacallaos” (the voyage to Newfoundland) [cf. Harrisse, 1892, p. 20]. But Sebastian Cabot seems, on the whole, to have been one of those men who are more efficient in words than deeds. It was the habit of the time to be not too scrupulous about the truth, if one had any advantage to gain from the contrary, and Sebastian was evidently no better than his age. If his utterances are correctly reported, he endeavoured, when his father had long been dead and forgotten, to claim for himself the honour of his voyages, in which he succeeded so well that for many centuries he, and not his father, was regarded as the discoverer of the continent of America. In the legend on the map of the world of 1544, it is true, he was modest enough to share the honour with his father, and this legend is at the same time the only evidence which might point to Sebastian as having been present on that occasion; but, as we have already seen, no great importance can be attached to it, and it is not confirmed by contemporary statements about the voyage. His assertion that he had been in north-western waters is in direct conflict with statements in the protest made on March 11, 1521, by the Wardens of the Drapers’ Company of London against King Henry VIII.’s attempt to obtain contributions towards an expedition to “the newe found Iland” (the coast of North America) in 1521 under the command of Sebastian Cabot. The protest says:
“... And we thynk it were to sore aventr to joperd V shipps wt men and goods vnto the said Iland vppon the singuler trust of one man callyd as we vnderstond Sebastyan, whiche Sebastyan as we here say was neur in that land hym self, all if he maks reports of many things as he hath hard his Father and other men speke in tymes past,” etc.
This statement is clear enough, and, coming as it does from men who were acquainted with his father’s services, it cannot be disregarded. It is also confirmed by a remarkable statement in Peter Martyr’s narrative (in 1515) of an alleged voyage of Sebastian Cabot (see later), which concludes:
“Some of the Spaniards deny that Cabot [i.e., Sebastian] was the first discoverer of the land of Bacallaos, and assert that he had not sailed so far to the west.”
This might point to his really having made a voyage, but, in the opinion of the Spaniards, never having reached the coast of North America.
Beginning of the Newfoundland fishery
The immediate consequence of John Cabot’s discovery of the continent of North America was probably that the practical merchants of Bristol, who were accustomed to fishing ventures in Iceland, at once sent out vessels to take advantage of the great abundance of fish that John Cabot had found in 1497 and that had evidently made so deep an impression on his crew that they told every one about it. But the English fishermen were soon followed, and, indeed, outstripped, by Portuguese, Basque and French (chiefly Breton) fishermen, and thus arose the famous Newfoundland fisheries. The cause of the fishermen of Portugal and other countries having followed so soon was doubtless the discovery of Newfoundland by the Portuguese Corte-Real on his voyages of 1500 and 1501 (see next chapter).
But of the development of this fishery we hear little or nothing in literature; just as in the Icelandic literature of earlier times these fishing expeditions of ordinary seamen are passed over; in the first place, they were not “notable” travellers, and in the second, men of that class in all ages have preferred to avoid advertising their discoveries for fear of competition.
Expeditions from Bristol in 1501 and following years