Bartolomeu Dias

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Bartolomeu Dias turning the Cape of Good Hope

Bartolomeu Dias (Anglicized: Bartholomew Diaz) (1450–May 29, 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.

Dias was sent by King John II of Portugal in hopes of finding a trade route around Africa leading to Asia. He left Lisbon in August 1487 with a fleet consisting of three ships. He rounded the Cape of Good Hope with two caravels, then Cape Agulhas, which is the southernmost point of Africa, finally landing at Mossel Bay at February 3, 1488. In February he rounded the southern coast of Africa as far the Great Fish River. After it was clear that India could be reached by this route, he turned back. Dias returned to Lisbon in December 1488, having explored a total of about 2030 km of unknown African coast.

He originally named the Cape of Good Hope the "Cape of Storms" (Cabo das Tormentas). It was later renamed by John II as the Cape of Good Hope (Cabo da Boa Esperan�a) because of the opening of a route to the east.

In 1497 Dias accompanied Vasco da Gama's expedition to India. He followed Gama with one ship to Cape Verde. He also accompanied Pedro Alvares Cabral on the voyage that resulted in the discovery of Brazil in 1500. He died off the Cape of Good Hope in a storm. Dias' grandson Paulo Dias de Novais was a Portuguese colonizer of Africa in the 16th century.