The Cabot expedition, after leaving Bristol, had…

The Cabot expedition, after leaving Bristol, had sailed past Ireland and across the Atlantic, making landfall somewhere on the coast of North America on June 24, 1497.

The exact location of the landfall has long been disputed, with different communities vying for the honor.

Historians have proposed Cape Bonavista and St. John's in Newfoundland; Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia; and Labrador in Canada; and Maine in the United States as possibilities.

Cabot's expedition is believed to be the first by Europeans to mainland North America since the Vikings five hundred years before.

Cabot is reported to have landed only once during the expedition and did not advance "beyond the shooting distance of a crossbow".

Pasqualigo and Day both state that the expedition made no contact with any native people; the crew found the remains of a fire, a human trail, nets and a wooden tool.

The crew appears to have remained on land just long enough to take on fresh water; they also raise the Venetian and Papal banners, claiming the land for the King of England and recognizing the religious authority of the Roman Catholic Church.

After this landing, Cabot will spend some weeks "discovering the coast," with most "discovered after turning back.”