Bartolomeu Dias (
1450 -
1500) was a
Portuguese explorer who sailed around the southern tip of
Africa in
1488, the first European known to do so since ancient times. He rounded the
Cape of Good Hope, then
Cape Agulhas[?] which is the southernmost point of Africa, finally landing at
Mossel Bay[?] at
February 3,
1488. He originally named the Cape of Good Hope the
Cape of Storms (
Cabo Tormentoso). It was later renamed by
John II of Portugal Cape of Good Hope (
Cabo de Bõa Esperança) because of the opening of a route to the east.
See also: