John Cabot and His Son Sebastian

by Ronald Syme Author, William Stobbs Illustrator

Today the name Cabot is familiar because of Cabot Strait. Nevertheless, the record of the man who discovered North America is strangely scanty. Believing that the North Atlantic Ocean was the shortest sea route to the Orient, John Cabot sailed from Bristol in 1497 with royal authorization. The shore on which he landed was somewhere in the Newfoundland area, and his find established England's claims in America. Still disputed among modern historians, however, is the outcome of Cabot's second unsuccessful attempt to reach the Far East in 1498. Sebastian, on of Cabot's three sons, was puzzling and contradictory man. He boasted of his exploits as an explorer, but many doubted that he had accompanied his father on the first voyage as he claimed. Even so his wonderful tales were widely believed for a number of years. This handsomely illustrated biography is thought provoking precisely because the facts surrounding John and Sebastian Cabot are not completely clear. Readers will be stimulated to learn that history includes unfinished stories needing further investigation. From the dust jacket