Bartholomew+Dias

Bartholomew Dias By Kat  

 Bartholomew Dias was a Portuguese explorer who explored the Cape of Good Hope and Cape Bojador in 1434. Bartholomew Dias was born in 1457. His birth name was Bartolomeu Dias De Novais and his religion was Roman Catholic. Bartholomew Dias was best known as the first European to see the stormy Cape of Good Hope at the Southern tip of Africa. When he rounded the Southern tip of Africa he experienced severe storms so he called it the Cape of Storms. Later on, the King wanted a more positive name so he called it the Cape of Good Hope. Some of the ships that they had were the Argosy, Balener, Knorr, and the Smack.

 On his first expedition on October 10, 1486, Bartholomew sailed around the end of Africa. The purpose of this trip was to establish a sea route from Europe to the far East. Bartholomew Dias did accomplish that. In 1487-1488 Bartholomew commanded the first European ship. He made the European discovery of the Cape of Good Hope on his return voyage to Portugal. In December 1487 Bartholomew arrived in Luderitz Bay on the coast of Namibia. That was several hundreds of miles beyond the farthest point reached by Diogo Cao who made a voyage there in 1485.

 In 1500 Dias commanded a ship in the expedition of Cabral. He sailed to India. On this expedition they were blown across the Atlantic and discovered Brazil. The ship wrecked not far from the Cape of Good Hope. Bartholomew Dias got King John the II to sponsor another trip.

 Unfortunately, Bartholomew Dias was unable to take part in this next voyage as he died in a violent storm on the Cape of Good Hope on May 24, 1500. What I have learned from studying Bartholomew Dias is that he was a very brave man.    media type="custom" key="8083608" align="center"