John Cabot Essays - Age Of Discovery, John Cabot, Navigators

John Cabot John Cabot, an Italian mariner, was born in Genoa, Italy around the year 1450. He worked as a trader in what is now called the Middle East. He moved to England in 1484 with his three sons, Ludovico, Sebastiano, and Sancto and gained experience as a seaman. On his commercial journeys, which took him to the shores of Arabia, he heard of the countries rich in spices that lay to the Far East and wanted to find a better route to the Orient. John Cabot set out to get patents from the monarchs of Spain and Portugal to obtain support for his voyage. However, both turned him down. Finally, King Henry VII granted Cabot and his three sons the right to seek islands and countries of the West, with a small ship named Matthew and a crew of 18 men. So he set sail from Bristol, England in May 2, 1497. Cabot never got to China by sea. Almost two months later, John Cabot discovered the island of Newfoundland on June 24, 1497. This was the first documented voyage to Newfoundland. Many people believe he landed at Cape Bonavista. He thought he had reached a small island off the coast of Asia. On June 26th, Cabot began his return voyage because of bad weather and no food. He returned without any spices or treasure but he received a warm welcome regardless. He did return with mapped out details of the North American coast. He was granted another patent on February 3, 1498, and this allowed him to embark on a second expedition. This was made up of five ships and three hundred men, and set sail some time before July 25, 1498. King Henry VII only granted him one ship but 4 merchants hoping to cash in on a new route to Orient provided the other 4 ships. They first went north, apparently as far as possible; drifting ice forced them to turn. They sailed along the east coast of North America past Newfoundland, which Cabot named Bacallaos, and as far as Cape Hatteras. John Cabot also may have reached the Hudson Bay on his expedition to the North West Passage. Later he also explored the Rio de la Plata region of Brazil for the Spanish. In 15448 he became governor of a joint stock company in England with he negotiated a commercial treaty with Russia. This company, later called The Muscovy Company, was the first major English joint-stock trading company and financed trading expeditions to Russia and Asia. Cabot was paid cash for discovering Newfoundland. He was also given a pension. He only collected that pension once. It is believed he drowned at sea. Nevertheless, his discoveries guarantee John Cabot a place among the greatest discoverers. In fact, they are still celebrating his discoveries. The Cabot Tower was built on Signal Hill in St. John's in 1897. It was built to mark the 400th anniversary of Cabot's discovery.

Free Essays on The Time Machine

The Time Machine H.G. Wells’ writings focus on science and social science. His knowledge of the two subjects allowed him to write about situations that are most likely impossible and make them appear to be possible. Wells takes the reader through a series of explanations that seem to make sense to a casual observer and make his fiction evident and plausible. Wells used science as a tool to explain his ideas and to help the reader believe what is going on in his novels. In addition to science, Wells used society as an aid to help the reader believe what is going on in his novels. Wells created human characters in his novel that are educated and successful. These characters are upstanding citizens of society and people look up to them and respect them. Wells knowledge of science is made evident when his characters and he discussed scientific ideas and tried to reach a conclusion that ended up supporting Wells’ theories. Wells also incorporated ideas on society into his novels. The ideas on society such as a utopian world and the conflict between industrialists and the workers have been in conflict with his society and others throughout the centuries. By bringing in these real life debates on society, the reader is pushed into believing Wells’ ideas even more. With the constant incorporation of real life situations, ideas, thoughts and theories, Wells helps the reader accept his premises and allows the reader to slip their minds into accepting the novel without doubting the possibilities presented in the novel. Israel Zangwill’s review of the Time Machine is satirical and suitably amuses us with the idea of time travel and does not see anything utopian in the idea of time travel. Mark R. Hillegas, on the other hand, applauds H.G. Wells attempt to ease the mind of the reader and allowing the reader to accept the fiction as a possibility. Wells believed in the idea of a utopian world, but his writing never actually reached a poin... Free Essays on The Time Machine Free Essays on The Time Machine How Does H.G Wells use language in the novel ‘The Time Machine’ to teach us about his vision of the future? H.G Wells wrote one of the first science fiction novels: ‘The Time Machine’. This was due to a premonition that he had about the future. Science Fiction is a genre of fiction and film with an imaginary scientific, technological, or futuristic basis. Science fiction - deals with the impact of actual or imagined science upon society or individuals. It aims to shake up standard perceptions of reality through alternative realities, dystrophies, utopias and natural or man-made disasters. Early practitioners of science fiction were Jules Verne and H.G Wells. Examples of science fiction novels and films are: Percy Bysshe Shelley’s Frankenstein and Fifth Element. Another spectacular science – fiction movie called I Robot is based on our scientific progress in nana -technology. The recent smash hit clearly shows Sci-fi is still a popular genre in the modern day era. Wells was a pioneer of science fiction. His obsession with science led to him being the first man to write about Science in order to express his views about how scientific developments will potentially lead to an apocalyptic war. Wells witnessed the conspicuous class distinctions of the late nineteenth century. He felt strongly about the social divide between the rich leisured classes and the working class. ‘The Time Machine’ portrays what he felt could happen to mankind as the divisive gap between the indolent rich and hard-working poor became wider. Wells was writing to an audience that was curious about the future. There was a rise in scientific intelligence in the 19th century following the Industrial Revolution. People of the 19th century began imagining what the future would become, if all the inventions created became more advanced. Thus Victorians believed Science – Fiction opened the possibility for an entire new range of ad... Free Essays on The Time Machine The Time Machine H.G. Wells’ writings focus on science and social science. His knowledge of the two subjects allowed him to write about situations that are most likely impossible and make them appear to be possible. Wells takes the reader through a series of explanations that seem to make sense to a casual observer and make his fiction evident and plausible. Wells used science as a tool to explain his ideas and to help the reader believe what is going on in his novels. In addition to science, Wells used society as an aid to help the reader believe what is going on in his novels. Wells created human characters in his novel that are educated and successful. These characters are upstanding citizens of society and people look up to them and respect them. Wells knowledge of science is made evident when his characters and he discussed scientific ideas and tried to reach a conclusion that ended up supporting Wells’ theories. Wells also incorporated ideas on society into his novels. The ideas on society such as a utopian world and the conflict between industrialists and the workers have been in conflict with his society and others throughout the centuries. By bringing in these real life debates on society, the reader is pushed into believing Wells’ ideas even more. With the constant incorporation of real life situations, ideas, thoughts and theories, Wells helps the reader accept his premises and allows the reader to slip their minds into accepting the novel without doubting the possibilities presented in the novel. Israel Zangwill’s review of the Time Machine is satirical and suitably amuses us with the idea of time travel and does not see anything utopian in the idea of time travel. Mark R. Hillegas, on the other hand, applauds H.G. Wells attempt to ease the mind of the reader and allowing the reader to accept the fiction as a possibility. Wells believed in the idea of a utopian world, but his writing never actually reached a poin...