Question 1

True or false: John Cabot was the first European to set foot on the mainland of North America.

Accepted Answer

False. Leif Erikson and Norse explorers reached North America around 1000 AD, centuries before Cabot.

Question 2

True or false: Cabot discovered North America before Christopher Columbus.

Accepted Answer

False. Columbus reached the Bahamas in 1492; Cabot landed in Newfoundland in 1497, five years later.

Question 3

True or false: John Cabot's real name was Giovanni Caboto, an Italian explorer sailing for England.

Accepted Answer

True. He was born Giovanni Caboto in Genoa or Venice and later anglicized his name when serving under King Henry VII of England.

Question 4

True or false: Cabot died in a shipwreck during his final voyage, but his exact fate remains unknown.

Accepted Answer

True. After sailing in 1498, Cabot and his ships vanished; evidence suggests a storm sank them, but no wreck has been confirmed.

Question 5

True or false: Cabot's 1497 voyage was funded by a monopoly granted by King Henry VII to exploit new lands.

Accepted Answer

True. Henry VII granted Cabot a patent to explore, conquer, and trade in unknown lands, making it England's first claim in North America.

Question 6

True or false: Cabot's explorations convinced England that Asia was just a short sail west across the Atlantic.

Accepted Answer

False. Cabot believed he had reached Asia's northeast coast, but later cartographers proved he landed in North America.

Question 7

True or false: Cabot took a secret navigator's log that was lost for centuries until discovered in a Vatican archive.

Accepted Answer

False. No such log exists; Cabot's voyage records are sparse, with only a few letters and a map fragment surviving.

Question 8

True or false: The only primary source for Cabot's 1497 voyage is a letter from a Bristol merchant to a Spanish duke.

Accepted Answer

True. John Day's 1497 letter to the Duke of Medina Sidonia describes Cabot's discovery and is the sole detailed contemporary account.

John Cabot Trivia Questions