Bartolomeu Dias

Bartolomeu Dias, also known as Bartholomew Diaz or Bartolomé Diaz (ca. 1450 - 29 May 1500) was a Portuguese navigator, the first European to sail around the Cape of Good Hope.

Very little is known about his early life. One of the reasons for this obscurity is that historical documents of the period mention several seafarers named "Bartolomeu Dias", making it difficult to know which one of them is the famous navigator. Some historians have considered him to have been related to João Dias, a navigator who sailed around Cape Bojador in 1434, or Dinis Dias, the discover of Cape Verde, Africa’s westermost point.

In 1481 John II became the new king of Portugal and began a policy of renovation of the exploration work on Africa's western coast that had began in the early 15th century under Prince Henry the Navigator. The king hoped to find a sea route to India that would avoid the Muslim lands of the Middle East, and to establish diplomatic relations with Prester John, a legendary black Christian ruler that lived somewhere in East Africa: it was expected that John would ally with Europeans in the fight against Islam. To achieve these goals, the king sent several expeditions. By sea Diogo Cão went on voyages along the unknown part of the African coast (1482-1485) as far as Cape Cross, in present day Namibia. Another important effort was the expedition of João Afonso de Aveiro to the kingdom of Benin. The explorer returned to Portugal in 1486 accompanied by a native, who informed the Portuguese that around 250 miles east of the the kingdom of Benin lived a powerful ruler named Ogane, identified by the royal cosmographers as Prester John.

African voyage

It was in these circumstances that Bartolomeu Dias was named commander of the expedition whose mission was to discover the exact extension of the west coast of Africa and, eventually, find the passage to India. Dias left Lisbon in August 1487, leading a fleet consisting of two caravels of fifty tons each and a supply ship. One caravel was under his command, João Infante captained the other and his brother, Pêro Dias, was in charge of the supply ship. This latter was to be left at a spot on the African coast, in order to allow the other ships to pick up its provisions when they returned to Portugal (previous voyages to the African coast had been limited due to the lack of provisions).

By early December 1487 Dias had passed Cape Cross, the farthest point reached by Diogo Cão on his 1485 voyage. On 4 December he named a part of the African coast Land of St Barbara (Terra de Santa Bárbara), because the day coincided with the feast of St Barbara. The convention of naming points on the coast according to the religious calendar continued as the ships headed south. Some of the names attributed on this expedition are still in use, e.g, Conception Bay, Golfo de Santa Maria da Conceição.

At Luderitz Bay (Angra das Voltas) they left the supply ship with a party of nine men, while the two caravels continued southwards. By the end of December the ships had passed Elisabeth Bay (Golfo de São Estêvão) and at the beginning of January 1488 they had reached Cardow Berg (Serra dos Reis).

At this point a storm drove the ships out to the open sea, where they stayed for about two weeks. When the weather conditions improved, Dias took the ships eastwards, hoping to approach the African coast that he mistakenly believed was there. However, when no land appeared after a few days, Dias decided to sail north. Finally, the south coast of Africa appeared and the ships anchored at mouth of the Goritz River (Rio das Vacas). They continued sailing eastwards along the coast, making stopovers at places like Mossel Bay (Baía de São Bráz), Cape Recife (Cabo do Arrecife) and Algoa Bay (Angra da Roca). It is here, near the modern South African town of Port Elisabeth, that the coast begins to veer northeast.

Bartolomeu Dias was now determined to sail up the eastern coast of Africa as far as India. However, his men were tired and frightened of being left without provisions. Explicit orders from the king stated that Dias had to follow the opinion of the majority, who voted to return. Nevertheless, the crew agreed to sail eastwards for a few more days.

Nothing of particular significance was achieved during the following days. On a small peninsula, now known as False Island, a stone pillar was erected (Padrão de São Gregório). The farthest point reached was the Great Fish River, originally named Rio do Infante, after João Infante, the captain of one of the caravels, who was apparently the first to arrive there.

On the return voyage the expedition explored the area to the west of Mossel Bay, the area they had missed when they drifted to the open sea. This part of the coast includes places such as Cape Agulhas (Africa’s southernmost point) and the Cape of Good Hope, where another stone pillar was left (Padrão de São Filipe). According to João de Barros, Dias named this promontory Cape of the Storms (Cabo das Tormentas), in memory of the storms he encountered in this part of the world; it was later King John II who changed its name to the Cape of Good Hope (Cabo da Boa Esperança), in celebration of the success of the expedition. However, other accounts make Dias the author of the name of the cape.

On 24 July 1488 the expedition returned to Luderitz Bay, where it was discovered that the provisions on the supply ship had rotted and that of the nine men only three were still alive. Before the journey was resumed, Dias ordered the destruction of the supply ship and the erection of another stone pillar (Padrão de Santiago). The two caravels proceeded along the coast of Africa, making a stop at the island of Principe. Two other stops were made at the Gulf of Guinea, one on an unidentified point called “Rio do Resgate” and the other at Elmina. The expedition arrived at Lisbon in December 1488.