Voyage of Bartolomeu Dias around the southern tip of Africa
The expedition of Bartolomeu Dias was the first European voyage to round the southern tip of Africa and enter the Indian Ocean, proving that India could be reached by sea.
- Date
- between July and August 1487 – December 1488start: exact date unknown: an interval is given; end: month known · duration: ≈ 17 months
- Place
- Cape of Good Hopetoday: Cape of Good Hope, South Africa · Africa
- Route
- Lisbon → Atlantic off the Canary Islands → Atlantic off Cape Blanc → Atlantic off Cap-Vert → Atlantic off the Bissagos Islands → Atlantic off Sierra Leone → Atlantic off Cape Palmas → Gulf of Guinea → Mouth of the Congo → Atlantic off the mouth of the Kunene → Walvis Bay → Atlantic off the Namib coast → Elizabeth Bay → Open ocean south of Africa → Mossel Bay → Off Cape St. Francis → Kwaaihoek (padrão of São Gregório) → Off Cape St. Francis → Off Cape Agulhas → Cape of Good Hope
- Participants
- Bartolomeu Dias, Kingdom of Portugal
- Threads
- Age of Discovery and the New World, History of Portugal since the Battle of Aljubarrota
Two ships and a supply vessel left Lisbon in the summer of 1487 (in July or August — sources differ). Off the coast of present-day Namibia the ships headed out into the open ocean — whether driven by storms or in search of a favorable wind is debated by historians — and in early February 1488 the Portuguese sighted land already east of Africa’s southern cape, at Mossel Bay. After sailing farther east, to the point where a stone pillar (padrão) was set up on 12 March, the crews insisted on turning back.
On the way home, in May 1488, Dias first sighted the cape that King John II later named the Cape of Good Hope. The expedition returned to Lisbon in December 1488. The route along West Africa is shown approximately: no detailed record of the voyage has survived.
Connections
Consequences
- Vasco da Gama’s first voyage to India8 July 1497 – between August and September 1499 · Western and Central Europeda Gama’s expedition followed the route opened by Dias and drew on his advice
Related events
- Founding of São Jorge da Mina (Elmina)January 1482 · Africaboth belonged to John II’s African programme; five years later Dias sailed on to the south
Same participants
- Treaty of Tordesillas7 June 1494 · Western and Central Europevia Kingdom of Portugal
- Discovery of Brazil by Cabral’s expedition22 April 1500 · Latin Americavia Bartolomeu Dias
Adjacent events in the thread
- Dedication of the Great Temple of Tenochtitlan1487 · Latin America
- Columbus’s landfall on San Salvador12 October 1492 · Latin America
Meanwhile in the world
Other regions, within 5 years of this event
Western and Central Europe
- Battle of Bosworth Field22 August 1485
- Fall of Granada2 January 1492
- First voyage of Christopher Columbus3 August 1492 – 15 March 1493
- Wars of the Roses22 May 1455 – between 1485 and 1487
Eastern Europe
Central and Northern Asia
- Muscovite campaign across the Urals against Pelym and Yugra9 May – 1 October 1483
Latin America
The same period
Sources
- Wikipedia (English): Bartolomeu Dias
- Wikipedia (Russian): Диаш, Бартоломеу
- Wikipedia (Russian): Мыс Доброй Надежды
- Магидович И. П., Магидович В. И. Очерки по истории географических открытий: В 5 т. — 3-е изд. — М.: Просвещение, 1982–1986.