João and his predecessors had obtained navigational intelligence, including a 1460 map from Venice that showed the Indian Ocean on the other side of Africa. väsh´k dä gä´m, c.14691524, Portuguese navigator, the first European to journey by sea to India.His epochal voyage (149799) was made at the order of Manuel I.With four vessels, he rounded the Cape of Good Hope, passed the easternmost point reached by Bartolomeu Dias in 1488, continued up the east coast of Africa to Malindi, and. Dias is thought to have ordered a turn to the south of about 28 degrees, probably because he had prior knowledge of southeasterly winds that would take him around the tip of Africa and keep his ships from being dashed on the notoriously rocky shoreline. In January 1488, as Dias' two ships sailed off the coast of South Africa, storms blew them away from the coast. Excerpt from a 34-minute DVD, 'Kerala: The Cradle of Christianity in South Asia.' This DVD is a catechetical tool, best for Sunday schools, grades 8 to 12. After the death of his father, Vasco da Gama took charge of the sailing expedition. Vasco da Gama was known for his firmness and fortitude. Eventually, the king had to choose Vasco da Gama for the voyage to India. Routes, Voyages and Expedition Around South Africa Unfortunately, he died even before the project details were finalized. The last two Africans were left at a place the Portuguese sailors called Angra do Salto, probably in modern Angola, and the expedition's supply ship was left there under the guard of nine men. Dias dropped off the Africans at different ports along the coastline of Africa with supplies of gold and silver and messages of goodwill from the Portuguese to the Indigenous peoples. Dias was probably in his mid- to late 30s in 1486 when João appointed him to head an expedition in search of a sea route to India.ĭias' expedition party included six Africans who had been brought to Portugal by earlier explorers. He likely had much more sailing experience than his one recorded stint aboard the warship São Cristóvão. Early Life and African ExpeditionĪlmost nothing is known about the life of Bartolomeu de Novaes Dias before 1487, except that he was at the court of João II, king of Portugal (1455-1495), and was a superintendent of the royal warehouses. Dias was lost at sea during another expedition around the Cape in 1500. The Portuguese (possibly Dias himself) named this point of land the Cape of Good Hope. Having lost their pilot and facing unfavorable monsoon winds, it took almost 3 months to reach Malindi. Sailing north, they passed by Angediva Island, near Goa, on 5 October. Dias departed circa August 1487, rounding the southernmost tip of Africa in January 1488. Vasco da Gamas fleet left Calicut on 29 August 1498. Who Was Bartolomeu Dias?īorn in 1450, Portuguese explorer Bartolomeu Dias was sent by Portuguese King John II to explore the coast of Africa and find a way to the Indian Ocean. Portuguese explorer Bartolomeu Dias led the first European expedition round the Cape of Good Hope in 1488.