"... And we thynk it were to sore aventʳ to joperd V shipps wᵗ men and goods vnto the said Iland vppon the singuler trust of one man callyd as we vnderstond Sebastyan, whiche Sebastyan as we here say was neuʳ in that land hym self, all if he maks reports of many things as he hath hard his Father and other men speke in tymes past," etc.
This statement is clear enough, and, coming as it does from men who were acquainted with his father's services, it cannot be disregarded. It is also confirmed by a remarkable statement in Peter Martyr's narrative (in 1515) of an alleged voyage of Sebastian Cabot (see later), which concludes:
"Some of the Spaniards deny that Cabot [i.e., Sebastian] was the first discoverer of the land of Bacallaos, and assert that he had not sailed so far to the west."
This might point to his really having made a voyage, but, in the opinion of the Spaniards, never having reached the coast of North America.
[Sidenote: Beginning of the Newfoundland fishery]
The immediate consequence of John Cabot's discovery of the continent of North America was probably that the practical merchants of Bristol, who were accustomed to fishing ventures in Iceland, at once sent out vessels to take advantage of the great abundance of fish that John Cabot had found in 1497 and that had evidently made so deep an impression on his crew that they told every one about it. But the English fishermen were soon followed, and, indeed, outstripped, by Portuguese, Basque and French (chiefly Breton) fishermen, and thus arose the famous Newfoundland fisheries. The cause of the fishermen of Portugal and other countries having followed so soon was doubtless the discovery of Newfoundland by the Portuguese Corte-Real on his voyages of 1500 and 1501 (see next chapter).
But of the development of this fishery we hear little or nothing in literature; just as in the Icelandic literature of earlier times these fishing expeditions of ordinary seamen are passed over; in the first place, they were not "notable" travellers, and in the second, men of that class in all ages have preferred to avoid advertising their discoveries for fear of competition.
[Sidenote: Expeditions from Bristol in 1501 and following years]