<p><em>A determined man with a dream whose mentors and friendships supported him through his difficult life&rsquo;s journey.</em></p><p>John Cabot was born Giovanni Caboto in Genoa, Italy. As a child, he dreamed of captaining a ship across a mysterious, uncharted ocean, from Europe to the riches of China. There was another boy in Genoa at the same time, with the same dream: Christopher Columbus.</p><p>The Turks, in the fifteenth century, had a stranglehold on the trade routes to the Far East. Europe&rsquo;s race to find an alternative passage was heating up. But an explorer needed patrons, funds, ships&mdash;and a vision. Whereas Columbus had taken a south and west route from Spain, Cabot was convinced a more northern route from England would lead directly to China.</p><p>Cabot remained convinced, even on his deathbed, that he&rsquo;d reached China&mdash;not realizing he&rsquo;d claimed much of North America for his patron, the King of England, and made an amazing contribution to the fabric of America.</p>