He was further granted a pension of L20 a year (which he only drew for two years, probably because he died after returning from a second voyage to the North-American coast), and he received a renewal of his patent of discovery in February, 1498.

In this patent it is evidently inferred that King Henry VII assumed a sovereignty over these distant regions because of John Cabot's hoisting of the English flag on "the new Isle" (Cape Breton Island) in the preceding year.
The new expedition of 1498 was a relatively important affair.

The king assisted to finance the ventures of the Bristol captains, and five of his ships formed part of the little fleet.

It is probable that John Cabot was in command, and almost certain that his young son Sebastian was a passenger, possibly an assistant pilot.

The course followed lay much farther to the north, and brought the little sailing vessels amongst the icebergs, ice floes, polar bears, and stormy seas of Greenland and Labrador.