English exploration of North America began with the voyages of the Italian-born navigator John Cabot (c. 1450–c. 1499), who, in 1497, reached the region that is present-day New England. By 1502 fishermen were sending cod (a type of whitefish) from Labrador and New England to the port of Bristol, England. As early as 1508 or 1509 Cabot's son Sebastian had explored the Atlantic coast, but the English did not establish a permanent presence on the continent for another one hundred years. Although English explorer Bartholomew Gosnold (d. 1607) briefly attempted to colonize New England in 1602, the settlers were not prepared for life in the New World (a European term for North and South America). Nevertheless, published reports of Gosnold's venture described North America as "the goodliest continent that ever we saw, promising more by farre [far] than we any way did expect." Eager investors formed colonizing companies in...