So we were recently in Bristol England home of Banksy, the world’s first bungee jump and what we, ashamedly forgotten to be another very important fact about Bristol. Until last night when a guy at a bar mentioned “oh in the harbour there’s this old ship called the Matthew that you should go see” and being from Newfoundlander we were like oh my god how could we have forgotten!
Where it began…in Bristol
It all starts in 1497 when a guy called John Cabot (which is actually the English translated version of his Italian name Giovanni Caboto). He sailed The Matthew, an 18 crew sailing ship, from Bristol England across the Atlantic Ocean in an attempt to get to Asia but instead he landed on the Eastern Coast of North America, and most likely, the island of Newfoundland in Canada!
And at the time he was the first European to discover mainland/coastal North America!
But did he? Well, in reality the Vikings had been there 500 years prior. And aside from Europeans, of course indigenous Canadians had been there way before then.
But either way it was a major deal and is something Newfoundandlers are particularly proud of.
Even if some historians think Cabot may have actually landed in either Nova Scotia or even Maine, both the Canadian and British Governments officially identify Bonavista, Newfoundland as his landing point.
An historic milestone
So 1997 was the 500th year anniversary of this trek and for it they built a replica of The Matthew and then sailed it across the Atlantic Ocean again stopping across many Newfoundland ports and the eastern coast along the way. It was a huge celebration in many parts of the province.
Which leads us back to the start of the story…
If, as a Newfoundlander, you ever wondered what ever happened to The Matthew It’s now permanently kept in the harbour in Bristol England. And every day you can get hourly tours on it around the harbour and you can even rent it out for parties or weddings if you’re looking for any original event ideas. For more information visit here.
So the story actually continues past the initial voyage. It seems John Cabot returned back to England in 1498. And pretty much immediately took up a convoy of 5 ships and 300 crew to return to the new world to explore. And this is where the end of the story is unknown.
From records and many accounts, it would seem that at least 4 of the 5 ships, and likely John Cabot along with them, disappeared on this voyage and never returned.
But this is where bad record keeping gives way to an unknown ending. Did John Cabot and his crew live or die? On the voyage to North America or did it make it back to England again? But who doesn’t love a good mystery right?
Alright that’s it for now guys! See ya later!
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Thanks guys!
Chris and Larry
Great job Chris and Larry 🙂
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