Bartolomeu Dias
Bartolomeu Dias (or
Bartholomew Diaz) (
1450 -
1500) was a
Portuguese explorer who sailed around the southern tip of
Africa in
1488, the first European known to do so since ancient times. He rounded the
Cape of Good Hope with 2 caravels, then
Cape Agulhas which is the southernmost point of Africa, finally landing at
Mossel Bay at
February 3,
1488. He originally named the Cape of Good Hope the
Cape of Storms (
Cabo das Tormentas). It was later renamed by
John II of Portugal Cape of Good Hope (
Cabo da Boa Esperança) because of the opening of a route to the east.
He also accompanied Pedro Alvares Cabral on the voyage that resulted in the discovery of Brazil. He died off the Cape of Good Hope in a storm.
See also
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