Which explorer reached Newfoundland in 1497 under the English flag?

John Cabot reached Newfoundland in 1497 under the English flag. An Italian navigator born Giovanni Caboto, Cabot received a commission from England’s King Henry VII to search westward for Asian trade routes and claim new lands for the English Crown.

Cabot sailed from Bristol aboard the Matthew, a small ship with a crew of roughly 18 men. The expedition reached the coast of North America in June 1497, although historians still debate the precise landfall, with locations in Newfoundland, Labrador, and Cape Breton Island proposed. Cabot claimed the territory for Henry VII and reported rich fishing grounds.

Cabot did not realize that he had reached a continent unknown to most Europeans, nor did he establish a lasting English settlement. His voyage is nevertheless regarded as the earliest known European exploration of North America after the Norse voyages to Vinland. The expedition is sometimes confused with Christopher Columbus’s voyages, but Columbus sailed for Castile, while Cabot sailed under an English commission. The identity of the explorer is secure even though the exact landing site remains uncertain.