Sebastian Cabot

Sebastian Cabot (c. 1476-1557), Italian navigator and cartographer, best known for his expeditions for Spain and England to South and North America during the 16th century.

Cabot was probably born in Venice. Although Sebastian Cabot claimed to have accompanied his father, John Cabot, to North America in 1497, it is unlikely he made a voyage to America until about 1508. In that year it is believed he reached the coast of present-day Labrador and cruised northwards as far as Hudson Bay. Subsequently engaged as a cartographer by Henry VIII, King of England, he prepared maps of south-western France for an invasion by Henry and his ally Ferdinand V, King of Spain. In 1512, while abroad with the invasion force, Cabot entered the service of Spain. After Ferdinand died, Cabot was retained by Charles I, King of Spain (later Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor). About 1518 Charles promoted Cabot to the rank of pilot major.

In 1525 Cabot received command of an exploring expedition to the Pacific Ocean, and in 1526 he reached the coast of what is now Brazil, near the estuary of the river he named the Río de la Plata (meaning Silver River; in English, River Plate). Believing reports that the La Plata region contained vast amounts of gold and silver, he abandoned his mission and began exploring the area, conducting a fruitless search for wealth. When he returned to Spain in 1530, he was arrested, found guilty of mismanagement, and banished to Africa for four years. Charles pardoned him in 1533, however, and restored him to his post of pilot major. In 1544, his last year in the service of Spain, Cabot completed an engraved map of the world. He later settled in England, and through the influence of friends and admirers in English court circles, about 1549, he received a pension from King Edward VI of England, who also named him grand pilot of England. In 1551 Cabot founded and became governor of the Muscovy Company of Merchant Adventurers, an English trading organization. On his initiative the company financed expeditions to search for the North East Passage, a sea route from Europe to Asia. Richard Chancellor, a navigator employed by Cabot, reached the Russian port of Archangel (Arkhangelsk) on the White Sea, laying the foundation for commercial relations between England and Russia.