The Voyage of the Matthew: John Cabot and the Discovery of North America

by Peter Firstbrook

Book Overview

Celebrating the great Age of Discovery in the late 15th century, Peter Firstbrook called upon his knowledge of the sea and his love of sailing to reproduce Englishman John Cabot's 1497 landing on the... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0771031211
• ISBN13: 9780771031212
• Release Date: January 1997
• Publisher: McClelland & Stewart
• Length: 192 Pages
• Weight: 1.70 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 7.8" x 10.0"

Customer Reviews

excellent

The book was in excellent condition. My daughter and I used it for a report in school. It served our purpose well.

Entertaining, Informative and Enlightening

John Cabot and the Matthew are to Newfoundlanders and Canadians what Christopher Columbus and the Santa Maria are to Americans. When the modern replica of Giovanni Caboto's (Cabot's Italian name) caravel Matthew visited our shores in 1997 to celebrate the 500th Anniversary of the originals voyage, I was smitten! The fact that it was the 20th Century, and not the 15th, didn't detract from the realism of the reinactment of John Cabot's transatlantic crossing of 1497. The modern crew battled north atlantic gales, encountered icebergs and vast fogbanks, much as had Cabot's crew of 500 years previous. On June 24th, 1997 amidst freezing temperatures and a howling gale, 500 years to the day after the original Matthew landed in Bonavista, the modern replica sailed out of a fog bank at landed at the very spot where Cabot reportedly first sighted land! After 53 days at sea in oftentimes trying conditions, the mostly novice crew, ranging in age from 20 years to 77, managed to sail their tiny replica ship from Bristol, England to Newfoundland and into the hearts of all Newfoundlanders. Fisrstbrook's book chronicles the birth of the idea for the recreation of Cabot's historic voyage through to the ships design and construction and her sea trials in 1996/97. Also, the book deals with the medeival world of late 15th century Europe that spawned such explorers as Columbus, Cabot and Corte Real as well as the historical facts surrounding Cabot's three voyages. Firstbrook also entertains the various theories dealing with Cabot's subsequent disappearance during his mysterious and ill-fated third voyage of 1498. For anyone interested in sailing ships, or history, or just an interesting read, this is an excellent book. The book is a companion to a BBC TV documentary which coincided with the Matthew replica's voyage in May/June of 1997. I haven't had the opportunity to see this series, as it has yet to be carried by local television unfortunately. For those who may tend towards the actual adventure of sailing a replica of a 15th century caravel across the stormy North Atlantic during one of the worst times of the year, I recommend "Bound Down for Newfoundland; the Diary of a Young Seaman Aboard the Matthew" by crewman Chris Legrow. You'll feel the stiff salt breeze reading this one!