ew Columbus, brother of Christopher, and no doubt he
regretted his mistake. Now he was eager enough to act as the patron of
a new voyage. Accordingly, on March 5, 1496, he granted a royal licence
in the form of what was called Letters Patent, authorizing John Cabot
and his sons Lewis, Sebastian and Sancius to make a voyage of discovery
in the name of the king of England. The Cabots were to sail 'with five
ships or vessels of whatever burden or quality soever they be, and with
as many marines or men as they will have with them in the said ships
upon their own proper costs and charges.' It will be seen that Henry
VII, the most parsimonious of kings, had no mind to pay the expense of
the voyage. The expedition was 'to seek out, discover and find
whatsoever islands, countries, regions and provinces of the heathens or
infidels, in whatever part of the world they be, which before this time
have been unknown to all Christians.' It was to sail only 'to the seas
of the east and west and north,' for the king did not wish to lay any
claim to the lands discovered by the Spaniards and Portuguese. The
discoverers, however, were to raise the English flag over any new lands
that they found, to conquer and possess them, and to acquire 'for us
dominion, title, and jurisdiction over those towns, castles, islands,
and mainlands so discovered.' One-fifth of the profits from the
anticipated voyages to the new land was to fall to the king, but the
Cabots were to have a monopoly of trade, and Bristol was to enjoy the
right of being the sole port of entry for the ships engaged in this
trade.

Not until the next year, 1497, did John Cabot set out. Then he embarked
from Bristol with a single ship, called in an old history the Matthew,
and a crew of eighteen men. First, he sailed round the south of
Ireland, and from there struck out westward into the unknown sea. The
appliances of navigation were then very imperfect. Sailors could reckon
the latitude by looking up at the North Star, and noting how high it
was above the horizon. Since the North Star stands in the sky due
north, and the axis on which the earth spins points always towards it,
it will appear to an observer in the northern hemisphere to be as many
degrees above the horizon as he himself is distant from the pole or top
of the earth. The old navigators, therefore, could always tell how far
north or south they were. Moreover, as long as the weather was clear
they could, by this means, str