Bartolomeu Dias facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Bartolomeu Dias
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Statue of Dias at the High Commission of South Africa, London
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| Born | 1450 Algarve, Kingdom of Portugal
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| Died | 29 May 1500 (aged approximately 50) |
| Nationality | Portuguese |
| Citizenship | Portuguese |
| Occupation | Navigator and explorer |
| Known for | First European to sail around the southernmost tip of Africa. |
| Children | 2 |
Bartolomeu Dias (or Bartholomew Dias, 1450 - May 29, 1500) was a Portuguese explorer who was the first European to sail past the Cape of Good Hope.
In 1487, King John II of Portugal asked Dias to search for the land of a legendary Christian king named Prester John in the east. In 1488 Bartholomew and his sailors sailed along the western coast of Africa. T
They got caught in a storm and landed at a cape in southern Africa and they could not sail beyond that point. They named it "Cape of Storms" and later returned to Portugal. The king of Portugal considered it as a victory gained by the Portuguese adventurers and named it as "Cape of Good Hope". Because Prester John did not really exist, they did not find his country but the route from the Atlantic Ocean to the Indian Ocean leading to Asia turned out to be valuable.
Commanding a ship in Pedro Álvares Cabral's later expedition to Brazil he died at sea in 1500 during a storm. There was a statue made for him later in Cape Town, South Africa.
Images for kids
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An illustration of the São Cristóvão and São Pantaleão
