A Brief and True Report of the New Found Land of Virginia

Reprinted in Major Problems in American Colonial History

Published in 1999

"...some people could not tell whether to think us gods or men..."

English exploration of North America began with the voyages of Italian-born navigator John Cabot (c.1450–c.1499), who reached the region that eventually became known as New England in 1497. By 1502 fishermen were sending cod (a type of fish used for food) from Labrador, Canada, and New England to the port of Bristol, England. As early as 1508–1509 Cabot's son Sebastian (c. 1476–1557) had explored the Atlantic coast, but the English did not establish a permanent presence on the continent for another hundred years. Although Bartholomew Gosnold (d. 1607) briefly attempted...