Bartolomeu Dias

I, Bartholomeu Dias, want to travel all the way to the Cape of Good Hope. Then I will go anywhere people take me, but finally end up back in Pittsburgh. If possible, before I get put in the Geocache container, I want a picture taken of me and put on the Geocache website.


Obrigado("Thank you" in Portuguese)

Bartholomeu Dias

About this Explorer

Bartholomeu Dias was born sometime around 1451, in Algarve, a city in Portugal. Very little is known of him before 1487. All we know for sure is that Dias was a superintendent of the royal wear houses for the king of Portugal. We also know that he had been a sailor beforehand, but for whom, when, and what he was doing on the sailing trips are not known.
            In 1487, Bartholomeu Dias’ three ships left the port of Lisbon, Portugal. They were following the route of Diogo Cao, a previous Portuguese explorer. Dias’ crew had six Africans that had been taken back to Portugal by previous explorers. They were left at different spots on Africa’s coast with gold and silver, and were told to go and find their tribes with friendship from the Portuguese.
            In the cargo of Bartholomeu Dias’ ships, there were many padroes, which were limestone rocks that were set at different points on the coast of Africa for later reference. They were basically like man-made landmarks.                                                                                                                                                  In 1488, Bartholomeu Dias became the first man to sail fully around the southern most point of Africa, Cabo das Agulhas, and enter into the Indian Ocean. His ships sailed from South Africa in January. They were battered by many storms, and lost sight of the coast. Land was finally spotted in February 3 1488, some few hundred miles east of today’s Cape of Good Hope. Dias wanted to go farther on, but mutiny was being threatened because of the small amount of food. Dias decided that he would sail three more days, and then turn around. He left a padroe at the point where he turned around, which today is called Eastern Cape. On the trip home, Bartholomeu saw the tip of Africa, which is called the Cape of Needles. His trip was complete.
            Dias then lived in Guinea for a while, but then went back to sea. In May of 1500, Bartholomeu Dias’ ship was lost at sea, and he was to never be seen again.