Sebastian Cabot, the second son of John Cabot, sailed to North America and explored its eastern coastline. He also made a voyage of exploration to South America.

Cabot was born in Venice and grew up in Bristol, England. He became a navigator and mapmaker and may have accompanied his father on his first North American voyage in 1497. About 1508, Cabot sailed to North America in command of two English ships. He sought a Northwest Passage--that is, a route to Asia through the Arctic Ocean. He reached the mouth of Hudson Bay in what is now Canada and thought he had found the Northwest Passage. But his crew refused to sail farther west. Cabot sailed south along the coast of America and then returned to England.

In 1526, Cabot sailed from Spain with four ships. Spanish business people paid for the voyage hoping he would bring riches from the Spice Islands, in what is now Indonesia. But he explored the eastern coast of South America and inland, hoping to find gold. After finding none, he returned to Spain in 1530.