Who was the English explorer who landed on the coast of Nova Scotia and gave England a claim to the North American continent?

The English explorer who landed on the coast of Nova Scotia and gave England a claim to the North American continent was John Cabot. In 1497, under an expedition financed by King Henry VII of England, Cabot is believed to have reached the shores of North America, marking the first European exploration of the mainland since the time of the Vikings. His journey is significant as it laid the groundwork for the later English claims to territories in North America. Cabot's exploration provided England with a foothold in the New World and helped spark further exploration and colonization efforts in the years that followed. His exact landing spot is still debated, but it is widely regarded as somewhere along the northeastern coast of the continent, possibly in present-day Canada.