John Cabot

John Cabot (Italian: Giovanni Caboto, Venetian: Zuan Chabotto; c. 1450 – c. 1500) was an Italian navigator and explorer whose 1497 discovery of parts of North America under the commission of Henry VII of England is commonly held to have been the first European exploration of the mainland of North America since the Norse Vikings' visits to Vinland in the eleventh century. To mark the Canadian celebration of the 500th anniversary of Cabot's expedition, the Canadian and British governments have both accepted a widely held conclusion that the landing site was at Cape Bonavista, Newfoundland. However, alternative theories have also been proposed.

Name and origins

Giovanni Caboto was born in Italy, the son of Giulio Caboto and his wife; he had a brother Piero. He is known today as Giovanni Caboto in Italy (as Zuan Chabotto in Venetian), in English as John Cabot, in French as Jean Cabot, and in Spanish as Juan Caboto. The non-Italian forms are derived from how his name was recorded in related 15th-century documents. In Venice he signed his names as "Zuan Chabotto", "Zuan" being a form of "John" typical to Venice. He continued to use this form in England, at least among Italians. He was referred to by his Italian banker in London as 'Giovanni Chabbote', in the only known contemporary document to use this version of his first name.