John Cabot Reaches North America
In June 1497 John Cabot (Giovanni Caboto), a Genoese navigator sailing under a patent from Henry VII of England, made landfall on the North American coast—probably Cape Breton Island or Newfoundland—becoming the first European since the Norse to reach the North American mainland. His voyage gave England its primary legal claim to North America under the Doctrine of Discovery, a claim it would not act upon for another century. Cabot's report of enormous fish stocks off Newfoundland was more immediately consequential than the political claim, drawing fishermen from Bristol, Portugal, and France to the Grand Banks for generations.
- Year: 1497 CE
- Category: Political
