Bartolomeu+Dias


 * Bartolomeu Dias, a titled man of the Portuguese royal household, was a Portuguese explorer. He was born during the 1450’s. There is not much to say about his early life, but legends of his descent from Prince Henry the Navigator’s pilot are unproven. Also, he was known to be the modest one of his royal household. In 1488, Dias sailed around the southernmost tip of Africa. He had reached the Indian ocean from the Atlantic. Bartolomeu Dias was the first European to have done so. **


 * Dias actually had a purpose for his expedition to Africa. When he became an adult, he was a knight of the royal court, superintendent of the royal warehouses, and sailing master of the man-of-war. On October 10, 1487, King John II of Portugal appointed Dias to head an expedition sailing around the southern tip of Africa. There they hoped he would find a trading route to India. Dias was also to search the lands ruled by Prester John. **


 * The ship Diasu sailed on was piloted by Pêro de Alenquer. Throughout most of his expedition, Dias and his crew sailed alongside the coast of West Africa. By December, after they sailed past Angola, he had reached the Golfo da Conceicão. Continuing south, a violent storm had broke out. Later, he discovered and started using the westerlies winds, but he found nothing but ocean. After thirty days without seeing land, on February 4, 1488, entered what he named Aguada de São Brás which was later renamed Mossel Bay. **


 * At the tail point end of the expedition, Dias wanted to continue sailing to India, but his crew refused to go any further. It was only on the return voyage that he discovered the Cape of Good Hope in May 1488. Dias originally named the area “The Cape of Storms.” It was later changed by King John II of Portugal to the Castle of Good Hope because it represented the opening of the route to the east. On May 29, 1500 Dias died near the Cape of Good Hope when a storm broke, and his ship was lost. The expedition of Bartolomeu Dias was significant because, Europeans realized they could trade directly with India and other parts of Asia. **