The Journal of John Cabot, Venetian navigator and explorer.

Ciao! Mi chiamo John Cabot. I was born in Italy (1450 CE). In Italy,
people call me Giovanni Caboto. I am a Venetian citizen (Venices
resident) around 1476 CE. I married a woman named Mattea and had 3
sons. I moved to Spain and then England to escape debt accrued in
Italy. I found supporters in Bristol, England. I made Bristol the
headquarters for my seafaring. My first voyage was unsuccessful (1496
CE). I had a second voyage with my son, Sebastian and 17 crew
members and successfully landed on Newfoundland (Canada) on June
24, 1497 CE. Then I claimed this land for England. I believed I found
part of Asia, but never found the famed Northwest Passage. My last
journey set sail in 1498 CE with 2 ships and 300 men. I pushed along
the coast of Greenland, but it is got colder and colder, so I had to
navigate to the South. No discoveries were made in this time. I
returned to England in 1498 CE.
On 5 March 1496, King Henry VII gave me and my three sons the
letters patent with the following charge for exploration:

Free authority, faculty and power to sail to all parts, regions and
coasts of the eastern, western and northern sea, under our banners,
flags and ensigns, with five ships or vessels of whatsoever burden and
quality they may be, and with so many and with such mariners and
men as they may wish to take with them in the said ships, at their own
proper costs and charges, to find, discover and investigate whatsoever
islands, countries, regions or provinces of heathens and infidels, in
whatsoever part of the world placed, which before this time were
unknown to all Christians.

John Cabots
Routes
 First journey
(Failed)

Second journey
(To
Newfoundland)

Went back to
Bristol, England

Last journey (To

Newfoundland
and mapped the
This is my ship named Matthew. It
map)
was a very beautiful and wonderful ship. I
really loved it. Even though it cant carry
more than 30 people, I used this ship to travel all around.
1st Journey
I celebrated my first journey with crews and my sons before the
journey started. It was a great night. When the sunlight passed through my
eyelids, my first journey started. The journey was incredible. I saw thousands
of birds flying across the beautiful sky. There were many different kinds of
fish swimming in the enormous sea. My ship is namely Matthew. The
weight of Matthew was about 50 tons, but it was very fast and good.
However, not so long after I started the journey, I was short of supplies and
ran into bad weather, and I decided to turn back. I was so sad that my first
journey was unsuccessful.
2nd Journey
My second journey started from Bristol, England, a port city that had
served as a starting point for several previous expeditions across the North
Atlantic. There are many kind of ships there and on that day the sky was very
bright and the color was blue, so it was a good day for sailing. I sailed out of
Bristol on the small ship Matthew in May 1497, with a crew of 18 men. The
expedition made landfall in North America on June 24th. I knew that it was a
new land that no one has discovered before and I dont know what to call the
new land that I found, so I called it Newfoundland. When I went ashore, I
saw signs of habitation but no people. I only found the remains of a fire, a
human trail, nets and a wooden tool. I took possession of the land for King
Henry, but hoisted both the English and Venetian flags. I explored the area
and named various features of the region, including Cape Discovery, Island
of St. John, St. Georges Cape, Trinity Islands and Englands Cape. I really
love this land that I found and I think that if I had a chance, I will come back
to this place again in the future. I believed that I had reached Asias
northeast coast, and returned to Bristol in August 1497 with extremely
favorable reports of the exploration.

3rd Journey
My third journey started in February 1498, the king issued letters
patent for the third voyage, so that I may set off from Bristol with five ships
and 200 men. But I also do a very bad thing that I shouldnt do. I received
money from the Pope and I have to carry 4 priests to the Newfoundland. I
almost couldnt save my life from this journey, because there were severe
storms and one of the ships was disappeared. I was so sad that I couldnt
save my crew that have died by the storm. However, in the darkest part of
my life, there was a partial bit of light that shone into my life. I finally
reached Newfoundland. I did my best to explore the eastern Newfoundland.
There were many amazing creatures that I hadnt seen before out there in
Newfoundland. I also drew a map along the way that I walked. Later after a
long expedition, there was a Spanish explorer named Juan Ponce de Len
came and talk to me. He said that he wanted to buy my map with tons of
silvers, gold, and gems. I accepted that offer and I received tons of treasures.
Later, I think that I should give Spanish some things that I brought from
England, so I gave them 50 English tea leaves, 25 scones, and 10 apple pies.
After trading was done, I felt that Im very old already and I dont want to
travel anymore and if I go back to England, king would kill me, so I decided
to stay in Newfoundland for the rest of my life. It can be concluded that my
third journey was my final journey.

Impact of Exploration

From John Cabot journey, in addition to laying the groundwork for

British land claims in Canada, his expeditions proved the existence of a
shorter route across the northern Atlantic Ocean, which would later facilitate
the establishment of other British colonies in North America. John Cabot
helped England to rise power in 16th and 17th centuries.