Cabot goes to Bristol to arrange preparations…

Cabot goes to Bristol to arrange preparations for his voyage.

Bristol, the second-largest seaport in England, from 1480 onward has supplied several expeditions to look for Hy-Brazil.

According to Celtic legend, this island lies somewhere in the Atlantic Ocean.

There is widespread belief among merchants in the port that Bristol men had discovered the island at earlier date but then lost track of it. (Note: Ruddock had contended in a private 1988 letter to a colleague, Quinn, that she had found evidence in Italian archives that Bristol men had discovered North America pre-1470.

As the island was believed to be a source of brazilwood, from which a valuable red dye can be obtained, merchants had economic incentive to find it.

Cabot's first voyage is little recorded.

A winter 1497/98 letter from John Day (a Bristol merchant) to an addressee believed to be Christopher Columbus refers briefly to it, but writes mostly about the second, 1497 voyage.

He notes, "Since your Lordship wants information relating to the first voyage, here is what happened: he went with one ship, his crew confused him, he was short of supplies and ran into bad weather, and he decided to turn back."

Since Cabot received his royal patent in March 1496, it is believed that he made his first voyage that summer.