Beyond Iberia: Florentine bankers and John Cabot’s voyage to the “New Land”

It is well known that the Florentine contribution was instrumental in the early oceanic voyages of Spain and Portugal, both in terms of capitals and in terms of men: Lisbon and Seville hosted important communities of Florentine merchants, some of whom invested in the overseas fleets but stayed in Europe, whereas others decided to sail across the Ocean. Moreover, investment in these voyages was not made solely by those merchants who resided in the ports of departure, but also by a vast network of Florentine businessmen who transferred money (and skills) from the most important marketplaces of Europe. Recent archival findings demonstrate that Florentine financial participation in the European overseas ventures also included John Cabot’s voyage, undertaken from Bristol. In other words the English early expeditions (as well as the French early voyages) were no exception: indeed they were part of a wider – international – network of voyages of discovery and exploration where the Italians – and in particular the Florentines – played a relevant financial role, in collaboration with local capital and the local nautical traditions.