[283] Cf. Harrisse, 1896, pp. 1, ff.
[284] Cf. Harrisse, 1882, p. 325.
[285] The Minister Raimondo di Soncino says in his letter of December 18, 1497, to the Duke of Milan, that Cabot, “after having seen that the Kings of Spain and Portugal had acquired unknown islands, had proposed to obtain a similar acquisition for the King of England.” It cannot be concluded from this that it was not till then that Cabot formed his plans, though probably it was at that time that he first entered into negotiations with the King of England. It is in the same letter that Soncino tells of Cabot’s speculations on seeing caravans arriving at Mecca from the far east with spices, etc. His son, Sebastian Cabot, who evidently on several occasions made it appear as though he himself and not his father had discovered the American continent, is reported (according to the statement of the anonymous guest in Ramusio, see below) to have said that he [i.e., Sebastian] got the idea of his expedition after having heard of the discovery of Columbus, which was a common subject of conversation at the court of Henry VII. But even if Sebastian’s words are correctly reported, which is doubtful, he must demonstrably have been lying, and therefore no weight can be attached to his statement; if he could sacrifice his father to his personal advantage, then no doubt, if he profited by it, he could also sacrifice his birthright in the plan to the advantage of Spain, in the service of which country he then was. Furthermore, Ayala’s letter, quoted above, points to John Cabot having got expeditions sent out from Bristol as early as 1491 to look for land in the west, and besides this we know of such an expedition in 1480.
[286] They are dated March 5, in the eleventh year of the reign of Henry VII. The eleventh year of Henry VII. was from August 22, 1495, to August 21, 1496.
[287] Cf. Harrisse, 1882, p. 315.
[288] It has been suggested that Cabot set out in 1496 and did not return till August 1497 [cf. Church, 1897], but this cannot be reconciled with the statements in the letters of Soncino and Pasqualigo that the expedition had only lasted a few months.
[289] According to Soncino’s letter of December 18, 1497, Cabot was a poor man. In addition to this he was a foreigner, and as such was scarcely looked upon with favour; but on the other hand, the reputation of Italian sailors was great at that time, and he may therefore have been respected for his knowledge of seamanship and cartography, which was not possessed by the sailors of Bristol.
[290] The only ones of these named in the authorities (Soncino’s letter, December 18, 1497) are Cabot’s Italian barber (surgeon ?) from Castione, and a man from Burgundy.
[291] Between 1493 and 1500 at least thirty expeditions went in search of the coast of America. These were all certainly provided with charts, and some of them also produced maps of their discoveries, but not one of these has been preserved. [Cf. Harrisse, 1900, p. 14.]
[292] No importance can be attached in this connection to any of the statements derived at second or third hand from Sebastian Cabot and communicated by Contarini, Peter Martyr, Ramusio, and others. So far as they are worthy of credence, they must refer to one or more later voyages. The statement in the Cottonian Chronicle and in the Fabyan Chronicle refers to the voyage of 1498.