Origins & Early Life

Bartolomeu Dias (d. 29 May 1500) was a Portuguese mariner and explorer. In February 1488, he became the first European navigator to round the southern tip of Africa and to demonstrate that the most effective southward route for ships is to go diagonally southwest in the open ocean, well to the west of the African coast. His discoveries were later used by Vasco da Gama to establish a sea route between Europe and Asia.

Pivotal Works & Achievements

Dias's family had a maritime background. One of his ancestors, Dinis Dias e Fernandes, explored the African coast in the 1440s and discovered the Cap-Vert peninsula in today's Senegal in 1445. Tracing his biography is complicated by the existence of several contemporary Portuguese seafarers with the same name. In 1481, Dias accompanied an expedition, led by Diogo de Azambuja, to construct a fortress and trading post called São Jorge da Mina in the Gulf of Guinea. Indirect evidence also points to his possible participation in Diogo Cão's first expedition (1482–1484), down the African coast to the Congo River.

Enduring Legacy & Impact

In 1486 he seems to have been a cavalier of the king's household and superintendent of the royal warehouses. On 10 October...

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