Bartholomeu Dias, Cape Town, South Africa
S 33° 55.051 E 018° 25.680
34H E 262221 N 6244009
Bartholomeu Dias was a Portuguese explorer who is credited with discovering he Cape of Good Hope in 1487.
Waymark Code: WMJ7DE
Location: Western Cape, South Africa
Date Posted: 10/06/2013
Views: 2
This statue of Portuguese explorer Bartholomeu Dias is located in a traffic round-about in downtown Cape Town, on the foreshore, near the waterfront. The foreshore is the land which was created when in the 1930-40s, fill was brought in to "reclaim" the area from the sea.
Bartholomeu Dias
(Born 1451, Died May 29, 1500)
Dias was a Portuguese explorer who was reported to be the first European to sail around the tip of Africa. He is credited with having discovered the Cape of Good Hope (which he called the Cape of Storms).
Dias had been appointed by King John II of Portulgal to locate a trade route to India. Sailing on his vessel called São Cristóvão (Saint Christopher), (and accompanied by additional vessels) Dias set sail in December 1487, originally sailed only as far Angola and Walvis Bay, Namibia, where he landed. His crew refused to sail further, after strong winds had driven the expedition more than 1,000 kilometers off course., and they turned back. Dias then sailed a second time, and this time, in May 1488, discovered the Cape of Good Hope, providing for the first time, a direct route for trading with India. Dias erected a marker (called padrÃ?£o, or stone cross) on March 12, 1488 when he landed in Mossel Bay, near the mouth of Bushman’s River (on the Eastern coast of the Cape), and it is considered South Africa’s oldest monument. A replica f the cross has been placed at that location. Remains of Dias' original cross which were discovered by Prof. E. Axelson in 1938 have been moved to the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg and placed in a museum to preserve them.
Dias drowned at sea during a storm off the south coast of Africa, along with his crew, on May 29, as he returned with fellow explorer Pedro à lvares Cabral on an expedition which had resulted in the discovery of Brazil.
This statue of Dias was unveiled in Cape Town in 1960.
Other spellings of his name:
Bartolomeu Dias de Novais
Bartholomew Diaz
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