SEBASTIAN CABOT 



A.D. 



I497. 



regions covered with beastes skinnes, yet not without the 

 use of reason. He also saith there is great plentie of 

 Beares in those regions which use to eate fish : for plung- 

 ing themselves into ye water, where they perceive a 

 multitude of these fishes to lie, they fasten their clawes 

 in their scales, and so draw them to land and eate them, 

 so (as he saith) the Beares being thus satisfied with fish, 

 are not noisome to men. Hee declareth further, that in Co / ) / >er f om ^ 

 many places of these Regions he saw great plentie of ™ m ™yP aies 

 Copper among the inhabitants. Cabot is my very mend, 

 whom I use familiarly, and delight to have him sometimes 

 keepe mee company in mine owne house. For being 

 called out of England by the commandement of the 

 Catholique King of Castile, after the death of King Henry 

 the seventh of that name King of England, he was made 

 one of our councill and Assistants, as touching the 

 affaires of the new Indies, looking for ships dayly to 

 be furnished for him to discover this hid secret of 

 Nature. 



The testimonie of Francis Lopez de Gomara a 

 Spaniard, in the fourth Chapter of the second 

 Booke of his generall history of the West 

 Indies concerning the first discoverie of a 

 great part of the West Indies, to wit, from 

 58. to 38. degrees of latitude, by Sebastian 

 Cabota out of England. 



E which brought most certaine newes 

 of the countrey & people of Baccalaos, 

 saith Gomara, was Sebastian Cabote a 

 Venetian, which rigged up two ships at 

 the cost of K. Henry the 7. of England, 

 having great desire to traffique for the 

 spices as the Portingals did. He caried 

 with him 300. men, and tooke the way towards Island 

 from beyond the Cape of Labrador, untill he found 

 himselfe in 58. degrees and better. He made relation 



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