CABOT, Sebastian, English navigator: b. Bristol, about 1474; other authorities say 1477; d. London 1557. He was the son of John Cabot (q.v.). Sebastian was early instructed in the mathematical knowledge required by a seaman, and at the age of 17 had made several voyages. In 1496 John Cabot obtained from Henry VII letters patent empowering him and his three sons, Lewis, Sebastian and Sanctius, to discover unknown lands, and conquer and settle them. In consequence of 'this permission John and Sebastian sailed to the northwest on 2 May with the Matthew of Bristol, manned by a crew of 18 men. In June 1497 the coast of Cape Breton, or, as some think, of Labrador, was reached. The accounts of this voyage are attended with much obscurity; but a second patent was granted to John Cabot in 1498, and it seems that in a subsequent voyage, the father and son sailed as far south as Chesapeake Bay and were actually the first who saw the main land of America. Little, however, is known of the proceedings of Sebastian Cabot for the ensuing 20 years; but it seems that, in the reign of Henry VIII, by the patronage of Sir Thomas Peart, vice-admiral of England, he procured another ship to make discoveries, and attempted a southern passage to the East Indies, in which he failed. This disappointment is supposed to have induced him to quit Eng land in 1513 and visit Spain, on the Invitation of Ferdinand. The death of the King lost
him his patron, and in a few years he returned to England and was employed by Henry VIII to find out the northwest passage. After this expedition he again entered the Spanish service, and in 1526 began a voyage which resulted in his reaching the river La Plata, where he dis covered San Salvador, and erected a fort there. He returned to England after the death of Henry VIII and settled in Bristol. He was introduced by the protector Somerset to Edward VI, who settled a pension on him. From this time he was consulted on all ques tions relating to trade and navigation; and in 1552, being governor of the company of mer chant adventurers, he drew up instructions and procured a license for an expedition to discover a passage to the East Indies by the north. He was also governor of the Russian Company, and was very active in its affairs. He was the first who noticed the variations of the compass; and he published a large map of the world, as also a work under the title of 'Navigazione nelle parti Septentrionali, per Sebastiano Ca bota' (1583). See Nicholls, 'Remarkable Life of Sebastian Cabot' (London 1869) ; Winship, 'Cabot Bibliography' (1900), and Henry Har risse's unflattering portrayal in 'John Cabot and His Son Sebastian' (London 1895).