Biography bartolomeu dias

He was born around 1450 near Lisbon, Portugal, as a child in a noble family and has possibly received a good education.

Little is known of the early life of Bartolomeu Dias, including where and when he learned to sail and command ships.

The first time the Bartolomeu Dias appeared in historical records was in 1486 when he was described as a superintendent of the royal warehouses and a member of the court of João II, king of Portugal (1455-1495).

Modern researchers and sea divers pinpointed the shipwreck of the Portuguese ships from that period (confirmed by historical coins and items). The last two Africans were left at a place the Portuguese sailors called Angra do Salto, probably in modern Angola, and the expedition's supply ship was left there under the guard of nine men.

Routes, Voyages and Expedition Around South Africa

In January 1488, as Dias' two ships sailed off the coast of South Africa, storms blew them away from the coast.

João and his predecessors had obtained navigational intelligence, including a 1460 map from Venice that showed the Indian Ocean on the other side of Africa.

Dias' decision was risky, but it worked. But he did discover that a sea trade route to Asia was possible by going around Africa. In 1481, King John II of Portugal began sending expeditions to find a sea route around the southern shores of Africa.

Dias named the rocky second cape Cabo das Tormentas (Cape of Storms) for the tempestuous storms and strong Atlantic-Antarctic currents that made ship travel so perilous.

Back in Angra do Salto, Dias and his crew were aghast to find that only three of the nine men left guarding the food ship had survived repeated attacks by locals; a seventh man died on the journey home.

He was born in 1394 and was the son of King John I and his English wife Philippa of Lancaster. When calm weather returned, he sailed in an easterly direction and, when no land appeared, turned northward, landing at the "Baía dos Vaqueiros" (Mossel Bay) on March 12, 1488. The new bearer of the Portuguese crown, King Manuel I, ordered Dias to become personally involved in creating a new exploratory fleet helmed by seasoned sea navigator and explorer Vasco da Gama.

Wanting to return to the land quickly, he set his course toward the north, and on February 3, 1488, he finally reached Mossel Bay, South Africa. It was later renamed by King John II of Portugal as the Cape of Good Hope (Cabo da Boa Esperança) because of the opening of a route to the east. Little is known of his parents, and almost nothing is known about his birth, early life, and years during which he learned the knowledge of sea navigation.

He spent these years building ships. Credit is due under the terms of this license that can reference both the New World Encyclopedia contributors and the selfless volunteer contributors of the Wikimedia Foundation. During the early period of the European naval expansion across the Atlantic in the late 15th century, he managed to sail to, discover and chart the southernmost tip of Africa in 1488, becoming the first European mariner that opened doors for the naval expansion of European interests to Asia.

His voyage changed the map of the known world at the time. Dias' cargo included the standard "padrões," the limestone markers used to stake Portuguese claims on the continent.

This fleet of 13 ships first sailed across the Atlantic to Brazil and then turning toward Africa and India. He was mentioned to be a sailing master and navigator of a warship São Cristóvão (Saint Christopher).