18. Sebastian Cabot - scoundrel, genius or both
Sebastian Cabot, son of John Cabot, left a legacy full of dubious achievements and incompetent leadership. Was he the Great Age of Exploration's first self-serving fraud and scoundrel?
Updated: 16.12.2024
“SEBASTIAN Cabot was a man capable of disguising the truth, whenever it was to his interest to do so.”1
Sebastian Cabot was the middle child - as was I, not like there is anything wrong about it. And like me, he crossed the Atlantic Ocean several times. But this is where the similarity ends. I spent the many crossings crammed into a metal tube at 30,000 feet above the water with my knees smashed against the seat ahead of mine. Mind you, Sebastian Cabot may not have had a better experience. He spent the crossings in fragile barques or caravels buffeted by intense waves and harrowing storms. He used this type of sailing vessel to reach Brazil and Labrador.
I knew that I would write about Sebastian Cabot after completing the stories of John Cabot’s discovery of Newfoundland. I had no idea what a challenge this would turn out to be. He is a controversial historical figure. During research, he came across as a scoundrel and a fraud. At other times he exhibited flashes of g…
