Cabot arrived in Bristol. It may be that he took part in
some of the voyages of the Bristol merchants, before the
achievements of Columbus began to startle the world.

At the close of the fifteenth century the town of Bristol
enjoyed a pre-eminence which it has since lost. It stood
second only to London as a British port. A group of
wealthy merchants carried on from Bristol a lively trade
with Iceland and the northern ports of Europe. The town
was the chief centre for an important trade in codfish.
Days of fasting were generally observed at that time; on
these the eating of meat was forbidden by the church,
and fish was consequently in great demand. The merchants
of Bristol were keen traders, and were always seeking
the further extension of their trade. Christopher Columbus
himself is said to have made a voyage for the Bristol
merchants to Iceland in 1477. There is even a tale that,
before Columbus was known to fame, an expedition was
equipped there in 1480 to seek the 'fabulous islands' of
the Western Sea. Certain it is that the Spanish ambassador
in England, whose business it was to keep his royal master
informed of all that was being done by his rivals, wrote
home in 1498: 'It is seven years since those of Bristol
used to send out, every year, a fleet of two, three, or
four caravels to go and search for the Isle of Brazil
and the Seven Cities, according to the fancy of the
Genoese.'

We can therefore realize that when Master John Cabot came
among the merchants of this busy town with his plans he