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

• History of Portugal, for more on the exploration of the Atlantic

External links

• Catholic Encyclopedia