william weston was the first english explorer to reach north america in 1497.
william weston was the first english explorer to reach north america in 1497.
who was the first english explorer to reach north america in 1497?
william weston
although it wasn't until 1579 that the west coast of north america was visited by an english explorer, the privateer sir francis drake who landed north of today's san francisco and claimed the area for england, calling it "new albion" or new england, the english claim to this territory dates back to john cabot's landing on the americas. the officially-accepted location for drake's landing is at drake's estero (also known as "drakes bay," just north of san francisco, in marin county). despite the facts that no permanent settlements were ever established by drake, and that the next official visit by the british would be some two hundred years later, drake's action and cabot's original claim in 1497 were the foundations of british claims to portions of the west coast of north america in the late 18th century. one of the most important consequences of these claims is that charters for the british colonies on the atlantic coast went from sea to sea, and this was the foundation of the united states claim to its current territory.
history of the west coast of north america
there is no reliable evidence to indicate that brendan ever reached greenland or the americas. the saint brendan society celebrates the belief that brendan was the first european to reach north america. tim severin demonstrated that it is possible for a leather-clad boat such as the one described in the "navigatio" to reach north america. severin's film "the brendan voyage" of 1978, which documented his team's feat, inspired the irish composer shaun davey to write his orchestral suite "the brendan voyage".
brendan