{text:bookmark-start} John Cabot
John Cabot was born in Genoa, Italy in 1450. His father was Julio Cabot, a seaman and a merchant. In 1461, when John was 11, his family moved to Venice. One of John's favorite things to do was to watch the silk and spice shops. His father owned a spice shop and John helped out sometimes. Julio told John stories about the lands of far off Cathay and Cipango (China and Japan) and of the explorer Marco Polo. John dreamed of exploring the world too. When he became a little older his father taught him how to be a merchant but his interest was in sailing. {text:bookmark-end} In 1466, when John was 16, he went to Mecca. Mecca was a beautiful city with many new and exciting sights and good smells. After returning from Mecca, John started studying sailing and mapping. He did this for the next 10 years. One day John met a beautiful girl named Mattea. In 1477, John and Mattea got married and had 3 sons, Lewis, Sebastian and Sanctus. Shortly after, John set off to look for a sponsor for his voyage. John moved his family to Bristol, England so he could search for a sponsor. Soon he was known as a sailor and a merchant throughout Bristol. As time went on two wealthy merchants became interested in John's plan and agreed to sponsor him. On March 5, 1496 King Henry gave John a charter giving him permission to sail north, east and west. {text:bookmark-start} John Cabot set out on his first voyage on May 2, 1497 from Bristol Harbor. John named his ship the Matthew after his wife Mattea, which sailed to England and had a crew of 18 men. The Matthew was not very big so the crew had to eat, sleep and work on the deck. The kitchen or galley was where the pots, pans and dishes were kept. The crew had to bring lots of fresh water because the salty air, water and dirt would soon spoil it. John and his officers slept in the bunk room. Two very important jobs on a ship were to pump the saltwater out of the hull and to be the lookout in the crows...