Bartolomé Díaz, also known as Bartolomeu Dias, was a Portuguese navigator and explorer. He is known for being the first European explorer to lead an expedition around South Africa's Cape of Good Hope (in 1488). It belonged to the noble house of Portugal, one of the government bases of the Portuguese state at the time.
Bartolomé Díaz's expedition is considered one of the most important achievements of Portuguese navigation that occurred in the 15th century. This consideration is due to the fact that with Díaz a new route was opened from Europe to Asia, crossing the Atlantic and Indian oceans.
Bartolomé Díaz is considered one of the most important Portuguese pioneers who explored the Atlantic Ocean during the 1400s. The discovery of the route to India opened a great opportunity that Portugal was able to take advantage of to enhance the power of its economy.
Biography
Little is known about the Portuguese explorer's young life, including his exact date of birth. However, it is estimated that he was born in 1450 in Portugal. It is believed that he was a descendant of the acclaimed Henry the Navigator, but any family ties he may have had with him have not been proven.
Díaz was a companion of the Royal Court of Portugal, and also acted as superintendent of the royal family's warehouses and master navigator of a warship called San Cristóbal.
In 1486, the son of King Alfonso V of Portugal entrusted Díaz with the mission of finding a connection with the Indian Ocean, after other failed expeditions by the Portuguese navigator Diogo Cao.
While two Portuguese explorers traveled overland to identify the exact location of India, Díaz traveled to southern Africa on royal orders. Their mission was to find the south of the continent, in order to connect the trade routes between Europe and India more directly.
Last days
He returned to Portugal after his great discovery in 1488. There is no historical record of his reception by the king, but after his arrival he was employed by the Portuguese royalty to supervise the construction of two exploration vessels.
These ships were the San Gabriel and the San Rafael, two of the vessels that the explorer Vasco Da Gama later used on his expedition to India in 1497. In fact, Díaz was allowed to travel with Da Gama to the Cape Verde islands.
After his return to Portugal, he set sail with Pedro Álvares Cabral in the direction of India, but they met Brazil in April 1500. This was the first European expedition to make direct contact with what is now Brazilian territory.
The following month, after returning to the African sea while en route to Portugal, a storm caused it to be lost near South Africa's Cape of Good Hope. His ship lost its way and was sunk by the storm, also taking the life of Díaz, in May 1500.
Family
During his life, Díaz had only two children. One of them, Antonio Díaz de Novais, fathered his grandson, named Paulo Díaz de Novais, who played an important role in the history of Portugal.
Novais was governor of Angola (a country that at that time was a colony of Portugal) and was the founder of the first European city in South African territory: Sao Paulo de Luanda, founded at the end of the 16th century.
His other son was named Simao Díaz de Novais, who did not play any important role in the story and, therefore, there is no record of his exploits. He did not have any children or get married.
Trips and routes
Cape of Good Hope
Diaz's expedition that found the Cape of Good Hope aimed to locate the end of the African continent.
He set sail from Portugal on his ship Sao Cristovao in August 1487 along with two other vessels. These were the Sao Pantaleao, commanded by her brother Diogo, and a supply ship.
Among the navigators that made up his crew were several of the most important explorers of the time, including two navigators who accompanied Diogo Cao (the only Portuguese explorer who had ventured to southern Africa).
Diaz and his crew passed the lowest point Cao had ever reached on December 4, and on December 26 they reached Elizabeth Bay. In January the storms did not allow him to have a fixed view of the cape, so he continued his expedition south without seeing any land.
Days later they turned north and reached the mainland, having turned the cape in its entirety. The crew and captains decided to return to Portugal after this feat, and by unanimous vote of all the sailors they headed back to their homeland.
The return trip only had a few strong currents against it, but no serious problem arose and the sailors returned to their land in perfect condition.
India (Cape Verde)
Vasco Da Gama's voyage of exploration to India in 1497 started from Portugal and, although his final destination was India, he made a first stop in Cape Verde.
This first part of the trip was the only one in which Díaz was involved, after his return from the expedition to the Cape of Good Hope.
Brazil
Shortly after, in 1500, he was appointed captain for Pedro Álvares Cabral's expedition to India. The first destination of this expedition was South America, and they encountered Brazil before continuing to India using the maritime currents from one continent to the other.
Diaz had called the Cape of Good Hope by the name "Cape of Storms." Ironically, when his expedition approached this area, a storm caused his ship and 3 others to go off course and get lost in the storm. This was Díaz's last expedition, which ended his life.
Although ships similar to those used at the time have been found in the South African region, Bartolomé Díaz's ship that was lost in this expedition has not been located today.
References
- Bartolomeu Dias, H. Livermore for Encyclopaedia Brittanica, 2017. Taken from britannica.com
- Bartolomeu Dias, The Mariner's Museum and Park, (nd). Taken from marinersmuseum.org
- Bartolomeu Dias, Famous Explorers Online, (nd). Taken from famous-explorers.org
- Bartolomeu Dias, South African History Online, (nd). Taken from sahistory.org
- Bartolomeu Dias, Wikipedia in English, 2018. Taken from Wikipedia.org