and Gonzales, with two English associates, were again
the leaders. They were to have a monopoly of trade for
forty years, but were cautioned not to interfere with
the territory of the king of Portugal. Of the fate of
these enterprises nothing is known.

By the time of Henry VIII, who began to reign in 1509,
the annual fishing fleet of the English which sailed to
the American coast had become important. As early as in
1522, a royal ship of war was sent to the mouth of the
English Channel to protect the 'coming home of the New
Found Island's fleet.' Henry VIII and his minister,
Cardinal Wolsey, were evidently anxious to go on with
the work of the previous reign, and especially to enlist
the wealthy merchants and trade companies of London in
the cause of western exploration. In 1521 the cardinal
proposed to the Livery Companies of London--the name
given to the trade organizations of the merchants--that
they should send out five ships on a voyage into the New
Found Land. When the merchants seemed disinclined to make
such a venture, the king 'spake sharply to the Mayor to
see it put in execution to the best of his power.' But,
even with this stimulus, several years passed before a
London expedition was sent out. At last, in 1527, two
little ships called the Samson and the Mary of Guildford
set out from London with instructions to find their way
to Cathay and the Indies by means of the passage to the
north. The two ships left London on May 10, put into
Plymouth, and finally sailed therefrom on June 10, 1527.
They followed Cabot's track, striking westward from the