Biddle's memoir is one of the earliest American works of serious and critical historical scholarship, and the major source and inspiration for subsequent articles on the Cabots for the next forty years. Biddle stressed the achievements and pre-eminence of Sebastian over his father John. In addition to the voyages of the Cabots, Biddle also discusses those of Cortereal, Columbus, Verrazano, Frobisher, and Hudson.An important work for anyone interested in the history of the exploration of the eastern coast of North America and in the early history of the search for the Northwest Passage. Biddle was apparently the first in the nineteenth century to distinguish between the two Cabot voyages of 1497 and 1498.