JOHN CABOT'S VOYAGES 



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" 

 travelers, and in the second, men of that class in all ages 

 have preferred to avoid advertising their discoveries for fear 

 of competition. 



From various documents and statements v^e may conclude 

 that fresh expeditions were sent out from Bristol in 1501 

 and the following years; but these were Anglo-Portuguese 

 undertakings and may have been occasioned, at any rate in 

 part, by the discoveries of the Portuguese, although, of course, 

 the knowledge of Cabot's voyage may have had some signi- 

 ficance.^ 



On March 19 (28, N. S.), 1501, Henry VH. issued letters patent 

 to Richard Warde, Thomas Ashehurst, and John Thomas, 

 merchants of Bristol, who were in partnership in the enter- 

 prise with three Portuguese from the Azores, John and Francis 

 Fernandus (i.e., Joao and Francisco Fernandez) and John 

 Gunsolus (Joao Gonzales?)." They were given the right for 



1 It was suggested above that the Burgundian who took part in Cabot's 

 voyage in 1497 may have been from the Azores. It might be supposed that he 

 also accompanied Joao Fernandez or Cortereal in 1500, and now took part 

 with Fernandez in the English undertaking, and in this way we should get a 

 connection; but all this is mere guessing. 



- Possibly the first-named Portuguese was the origin of the name of Lab- 

 rador. On a Portuguese map of the sixteenth century, preserved at Wolfen- 

 biittel it is stated that the country of Labrador was " discovered by English- 

 men from the town of Bristol, and as he who first gave the information was 

 a ' labrador ' [i.e., laborer] from the Azores, they gave it that name " [cf. Har- 

 risse, 1892, p. 580; 1900, p. 40]. Ernesto do Canto [Archivo dos Agores, xii. 

 1894] points out that in documents of as early as 1492 there is mention of a 

 Joao Fernandez who is described as " llavorador," and who was engaged with 

 another (Pero de Barcellos) in making discoveries at sea. " Llavorador " did 

 not mean merely a common laborer, but one who tilled the ground, an agricul- 

 turist, landowner. We are then tempted to suppose that, as Do Canto as- 

 sumes, this Joao Fernandez (llavorador) is John Fernandus, who is men- 

 tioned in the letters patent of 1501. The name of Labrador first appears on 

 Portuguese maps [cf. the King map of about 1502], and is there used of Green- 

 land. It may there be due to this Joao Fernandez (llavorador), who, perhaps 

 returned to Portugal in 1502, as he is no longer mentioned in the letters 



