84 Naval Expeditions,

went on to the Westward , and discover-fbe^D'scs' et ^ Guanaja', Northward of

series. ‘ C °~ Cape Honduras, in nineteen Degrees ofNorth Latitude. Here he traffickedwith the Natives, but they, upon hisenquiring for Gold, directing him to-wards the East, he steer’d his Coursethat Way. The first Land he came toWas Castnas, on the Continent, in theProvince of Honduras, where his' Bro-ther landed, and took Possession. Sail-ing farther to the Eaji, he came to a greatPoint, from whence sailing along the’South-Coast, he touch’d at Porto Vejo,Nombre di Dios, Belen and Veragna.Thence he returned to Cuba nndjamaica,but could not get to Santo Domingo, forWant of Ships. Here his Men mutini-ed, but the Mutineers were defeated byBartholomew Columbus. The Admiral,after having endured great Hardships

&c ojthe English, Book I-

here, for near a Year, went to His- .

paniola, and then returned to Spain,in May, 1 503. and when he thought r s p s n ^ at dto have gone back to America, he dies.was prevented by Death , at Val-ladolid, on the twentieth of May ,

1506. in the iixty-fourth Year of hisAge. He was interred, by the King’sOrder, in a Magnificent Manner, atSea it, in the Cathedral, and the follow-ing Epitaph, in Spanifi, cut on hisTomb.

A Castilla, y a Leon,

Nuevo Mundo dia Colon.

That is,

To Castile, and to Leon,

Columbus gave a New World.

(

CHAP. XX.

The Lives, Actions and Discoveries of JOHN andSEBASTIAN CABOT.

A S I have, in the foregoing Chap-ter, given a brief Account of theLife, Actions and Discoveries ofthe famous Christopher Columbus, it isfitting I should render the same Honourand Justice to the no less famous Johnand Sebastian Cabot, Father and Son ;their Discoveries being made at theCharge, and for the Benefit of our ownNation. To be wiffied were it, thatour Ancestors had been as careful in re-cording the Deeds of these two greatMen, as the Spaniards were in doingJustice to Columbus , at least in this Point.A regular Journal of these great Men’sVoyages and Discoveries is wanting, andwe must, therefore, be contented withGenerals. It is not to be doubted, buta Man, so curious, and of so muchKnowledge andExperience, as it appearsSebastian was, kept a particular Detailof what he had seen, and what happen-ed to him. during his Voyages: But bywhat Accident or Neglect theWorldhasbeen deprived of it is nnkuown.ForWantof more circumstantial Materials,I shall,however, give the Reader the best Ac-count I am able, from Hackluyt, Pur-chas, Sir H. Gilbert, and others.

, , r . John Cabot was a Venetian by Birth,a Venetian, 5 who, as it was the Custom of the Vene-tians, in those Days, to leave no Part ofthe World unsearched to obtain Riches,

came into England, on Account ofTrade, and, having brought his Fami-ly with him, settled at Bristol. He hadthree Sons, Lewis, Sebastian, and San-tius: But of these three, I shall chieflyhave Occasion to speak of Sebastian.

John Cabot, the Father, who was veryskilful in Navigation and Cosmography,and had trained up his Sons in a Know-ledge of the same Sciences, conjectured,from the Success of Columbus, that theremight probably be Lands to be foundout to the Northwest. He thereforepresented a Memorial to King Henry MakessVis. of England, letting forth, that he pststfstmade no Doubt, but if His Majesty ^

would please to employ him, he could Henry *make some useful Discoveries, in hisName, and find out Islands or Countriesabounding with rich Commodities, asColumbus had lately done. The Kinglent a willing Ear to this Proposal, and,ordering a Ship to be fitted out fromBristol, gzveCabot the Command of her,with a Commission for the Discovery ofLands then unknown, and annexingthem to the Crown of England. s

Th e Commijston, the Original of which K- ^0was in Latin, was, in Substance, as sol- td

kws: Mtv

Hacjj. p n

Henry, by the Grace of God, A 11 '

" King of England, and France , and

" Lord