Cabot, Sebastian (c. 1474–1557)
Cabot, Sebastian (c. 1474–1557)
Sebastian Cabot (b. ca. 1474, d. 1557), Venetian or English navigator. Cabot was born in Bristol or Venice, the son of the explorer John Cabot. He served as cartographer to Henry VIII, accompanied an English force to Spain, and was appointed in 1518 by Holy Roman Emperor Charles V to the Spanish Council of the New Indies. He was named pilot major and in 1525 entrusted with an expedition to develop commercial ties with the Orient. Upon reaching South America and hearing tales from native inhabitants of enormous riches to be found upriver, Cabot chose to explore the Río de la Plata instead of continuing on to the Pacific. He also explored the Paraguay and Paraná rivers, but returned empty-handed to Spain in 1530. As punishment for the failure of his expedition, he was banished to Africa for two years, but he was then pardoned and regained his title of pilot major. In later life, he returned to England, where he organized an association of merchants to sponsor future expeditions. He died in London.
See alsoExplorers and Exploration: Spanish America .
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Henry Harrisse, John Cabot, the Discoverer of North America and Sebastian His Son (1896).
Juan Gil, Mitos y utopías del descubrimiento, vols. 2-3 (1989).
Hilary Burger