Bartolomeu Dias

c. 1450 – 29 May 1500

Bartolomeu Dias (c. 1450-1500) was a Portuguese navigator who in 1488 became the first European known to have sailed around the Cape of Good Hope at the southern tip of Africa. His voyage proved that a sea route from the Atlantic to the Indian Ocean was possible, paving the way for Vasco da Gama's passage to India. He died in 1500 when his ship was lost in a storm near the Cape during Pedro Álvares Cabral's expedition.

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Well-documented people whose lives overlapped with Bartolomeu Dias.

Life events

Born in Portugal
c. 1450

Dias was born in Portugal around 1450; details of his early life are poorly documented.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
Birth ✓
Served as a knight of the royal court and superintendent of the royal warehouses
c. 1481

Before his famous voyage, Dias held positions at the Portuguese court and had experience as a sailing master.

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Appointed by King John II to lead an expedition around southern Africa
October 1486

King John II of Portugal charged Dias with finding the southern limit of Africa and a sea route toward India.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
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Departed Lisbon with three ships
August 1487

Dias set sail from Lisbon in mid-1487 with two caravels and a supply ship on his expedition down the African coast.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
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Rounded the Cape of Good Hope, first European to do so
3 February 1488

Blown south by a storm, Dias passed the southern tip of Africa and landed at Mossel Bay in February 1488, proving the Atlantic connected to the Indian Ocean.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
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Returned to Lisbon after a voyage of some sixteen months
December 1488

Dias arrived back in Lisbon in December 1488 and reported his discovery to King John II.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
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Supervised construction of ships for Vasco da Gama's India expedition
1497

Dias helped oversee the building of the São Gabriel and São Rafael and accompanied da Gama's fleet as far as the Cape Verde Islands in 1497.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
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Sailed with Cabral's fleet and was present at the European discovery of Brazil
22 April 1500

Commanding a ship in Pedro Álvares Cabral's fleet bound for India, Dias was among those who sighted the Brazilian coast in April 1500.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
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Died in a storm near the Cape of Good Hope
29 May 1500

Dias's ship was lost with all hands in a violent storm off the Cape of Good Hope during the crossing to India.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
Death ✓