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542 wealthy. This famous dilemma received the name of "Morton's Fork."

Maritime Discoveries.—It was during this reign that great geographical discoveries enlarged the boundaries of the world. In 1492 Columbus announced to Europe the existence of land to the west. In 1497 Vasco da Gama sailed around the cape of Good Hope and found a water-road to the East Indies.

The same year of this last enterprise, Henry fitted out a fleet under the command of John Cabot, a Venetian sailor doing business in England, and his son Sebastian, for exploration in the western seas. The Cabots first touched at Newfoundland (or Cape Breton Island), and then the following year Sebastian explored the coast they had run against, from that point to what is now Virginia or the Carolinas. They were the first Europeans, if we except the Northmen, to look upon the American continent, for Columbus at this time had seen only the islands in front of the Gulf of Mexico. These explorations of the Cabots were of great importance for the reason that they gave England a title to the best portion of the North American coast.

Foreign Matrimonial Alliances.—The marriages of Henry's children must be noted by us here, because of the great influence these alliances had upon the after-course of English history. A common fear of France caused Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain and Henry to form a protective alliance. To secure the permanency of the union it was deemed necessary to cement it by a marriage bond. The Spanish Infanta was accordingly betrothed to Arthur, Prince of Wales. Unfortunately, the prince died soon after the celebration of the nuptials. The Spanish sovereigns, still anxious to retain the advantages of an English alliance, now urged that the young widow be espoused to Arthur's brother Henry, and the English king, desirous on his side to preserve the friendship of Spain, assented to the betrothal. A rule of the Church, however, which forbade a man to marry his brother's widow, stood in the way of this arrangement; but the queen-mother Isabella managed to secure a decree from the Pope granting permission