Cabot sailed from England on May 2, 1497 on the Mathew. On June 24th, he discovered Cape Breton Island and went ashore at Aspy Bay. He only stayed long enough to put up a cross and the flags of England and Venice, his home. Then he sailed back to England. He didn’t find any spices to show the king, but he did take back huge numbers of cod. In the years to come, England and France would fight wars over this new land’s fish. Eventually these wars led to the birth of Canada.

The next year he left England with five ships and 300 men. His goal was to discover Japan. No one knows if Cabot died in a storm at sea or if he stayed on land in Newfoundland, but he was never heard from again.

Come explore!

People are still interested in Cabot. On Cape Breton Island, the Cabot Trail is named after him. Cabot Strait, the narrow body of water between Cape Breton Island and Newfoundland, is also named after him. In 1997, 500 years after his discovery, an exact copy of the Mathew was built. The ship sailed the same route as John Cabot did 500 years earlier. People are also still interested in Victoria County. Thousands of tourists come here every year. We all can still explore the place John Cabot found.

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The Mathew was a surprisingly small ship to cross the Atlantic Ocean. It was only about 60 feet long. Many house lots are only 60 feet long!