John Cabot: The Discovery of Newfoundland

Olaf Uwe Janzen is an associate professor of history at Sir Wilfred
Grenfell College at the Memorial University of Newfoundland.

If Columbus is credited with the European discovery of the New World,
then John Cabot is usually credited with the European discovery of North
America. His voyage in 1497 came after the Norse visited Newfoundland
and possibly other North American locations, but unlike those earlier
voyages, Cabot’s profoundly altered European perceptions of what lay
across the Atlantic Ocean. Within a decade, thousands of Europeans were
exploiting the rich fishing grounds off Newfoundland and Nova Scotia. It
is logical, then, for the quincentennial anniversary of Cabot’s voyage
to occasion a flood of publications and events to commemorate the
occasion. This book is simply one of the first. But that is no reason to
buy it.

Fardy is too quick to present speculations and interpretations, or just
plain incorrect information, as fact. Phrases like “it is believed”
or “it is thought” are as close as the author gets to documenting
his claims. Apparently the publisher, Harry Cuff, approves, for he
asserts in the Introduction that, while “Fardy made no pretence of
being a [sic] historical researcher,” his book “would appeal to
ordinary readers: it was not intended for professional historians.”
Perhaps; but do “ordinary people” not deserve to have fact
distinguished from fancy?

Better research might have forestalled the more ridiculous claims: none
of David B. Quinn’s writings appear in the brief bibliography, nor do
any of the invaluable essays in the Dictionary of Canadian Biography.
Proofreading is also poor; there’s no excuse for “exploder” (for
explorer) or “odessy” (for odyssey). In short, this book lacks both
substance and accuracy and is not recommended.