Matthew was a caravel sailed by John Cabot in 1497 from Bristol to Newfoundland, North America.

[1] After a voyage which had got no further than Iceland, Cabot left again with only one vessel, the Matthew, a small ship (50 tons), but fast and able.

His precise landing place is a matter of much controversy, with Cape Bonavista or St. John's in Newfoundland the most likely sites.

On the homeward voyage his sailors incorrectly thought they were going too far north, so Cabot sailed a more southerly course, reaching Brittany instead of England.

[3] Until the 1950s, all that was known about its size is that it was a small ship carrying about 18 men, but the discovery of a letter from a Bristol merchant named John Day written in 1497 saying that "in his voyage he had only one ship of fifty 'toneles' and twenty men and food for seven or eight months" provided more certainty about its size.

The Matthew is owned by Bristol Trust, which is a registered charity and all money raised goes towards maintaining the ship and her legacy.

[7] This replica is made from oak and Douglas fir and has a diesel engine and a ship radio that would not have been available in the medieval times.