Page 55 - American Stories, A History of the United States

Cabot died during a second voyage in 1498. Although Sebastian Cabot continued
1.1 his father’s explorations in the Hudson Bay region in 1508–1509, England’s interest
in the New World waned. For the next three-quarters of a century, the English people
were preoccupied with more pressing domestic and religious concerns. When curiosity
1.2 about the New World revived, however, Cabot’s voyages established England’s belated
claim to American territory.

1.3 birth of English Protestantism
At the time of Cabot’s death, England was not prepared to compete with Spain and
Portugal for the riches of the Orient. Although Henry VII, the first Tudor monarch,
1.4 brought peace to England in 1485 after a bitter civil war, the country still contained too
many “over-mighty subjects,” powerful local magnates who maintained armed retain-
ers and often paid little attention to royal authority. Henry possessed no standing army;
1.5 his small navy intimidated no one. The Tudors gave nominal allegiance to the pope in
Rome, but unlike the rulers of Spain, they were not crusaders for Catholicism.
International diplomacy also worked against England’s early entry into New
1.6 World colonization. In 1509, to cement an alliance between Spain and England,

Read the Document Henry vII, Letters of Patent Granted to

John Cabot (1496)

HENry sEizEs THE THroNE King Henry VII’s seizure of the throne of England in 1485 brought an end to a series
of civil wars that had torn England apart for almost 30 years. Along with bringing stability to the kingdom, Henry VII
also established England’s first claims to the Americas by sponsoring the explorations of Captain john Cabot.
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