I believe John Cabot's/Giovanni Caboto's landing in Newfoundland is disputed only to the extent that there is a possibility it happened in Bonavista and not St. John's - but that one I don't know.
The rest is true enough. The only thing that usually bothers me about the "1583!!!" crowd is that they fail to realize St. John's existed as, at MINIMUM, a sizeable seasonal settlement for the better part of a century before the British took it over. As early as 1527 we have North America's first letter being sent from St. John's (San Jeham, Sao Joao, etc. it was known by many names back then) to England.
The British took over St. John's and pushed out the Bretons, Basques, Normans, French, and others who had been living here, at MINIMUM, during the spring, summer, and fall, for decades. They didn't come found a town in pristine wilderness.
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Note to self: "The plural of anecdote is not evidence."
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