1. Bartolomeu Dias
“To serve God and his Majesty, to give light to those who were in darkness and to grow rich as all men desire”
Shannon & Kenzie

2. Who is Bartolomeu Dias?
Bartolomeu Dias is a Portguguese explorer in the 1500s and a nobleman of the royal household , who sailed around the southern most tip of Africa. He did this in 1488 and became the first European known to do this at this time.

3. Why did Dias go exploring?
Dias was a knight of the royal court and a sailing- master of the man-of-war to Saint Christopher. King John II of Portugal appointed him on October 6,1486 to head an expedition to sail around the southern end of Africa. Dias went exploring because of the 3 G’s – Gold, Glory and God. Dias wanted the money because it would enable him to continue to travel. He also wanted the glory to become a great explorer. Lastly, he wanted to serve his king and god to get the praise and the glory out of it.

4. What was their goal?
King Johns hope was to find another trade route to India. John wanted to know if you could sail around Africa to get to Asia. Another purpose of the exploration was to try and revisit the countries reported by Joao Alfonso de Aveiro.

5. What route did Dias chose to take and why?
Bartolomeu Dias sailed down the west coast of Africa. He took that trade route because they were convinced that sailing around Africa they would find a route to India.

6. What did he find? Why was that important?
Dias found a piece of land that sticks out into the sea. He named that piece of land “Cape of Storms” which King John renamed it “Cape of Good Hope”. He also discovered the sea route around Africa so for the first time Europeans could travel directly to India and other parts of Asia without using the route through the Middle East of Europe.

7. How did your explorer finance his trip?
King John II of Portugal financed Dias’s exploration. Dias departed with two armed caravels of fifty tons each and one supply ship.

8. What did he take with him?
Dias was accompanied by Pero d’Alemquer (wrote a description of de Gama’s first voyage), Leitao, Joao Infante, Alvaro Martins and Joao Grego. Pero Dias, Bartolomeu’s brother, was commanded the supply ship. He took his slaves (2 black men and 4 women) with him.

9. How did this affect his trip?
The black slaves served a purpose in Africa. They would interpret what was being said among the villages so that the Portuguese could understand them. Also the slaves would tell the villages how great the Portuguese were.

10. Why was this trip so important?
This trip was important because the charts Dias created would be used later by other famous explorers. Bartolomeu Dias voyage to the Cape would become and important staging-post on the route to India. That post would then change to a port which will lead to a European colony.

11. References
Bartholomew (alternate Spelling - Bartolomeu ) Dias | South African History Online." Bartholomew (alternate Spelling - Bartolomeu ) Dias | South African History Online. N.p., n.d. Web. 02 May 2013.
"Bartolomeu Dias." - New World Encyclopedia. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 May 2013.
"Bartolomeu Dias." Bartolomeu Dias. N.p., n.d. Web. 02 May 2013.
"Bartolomeu Dias." CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA:. N.p., n.d. Web. 02 May 2013.
"English-Online." Age of Exploration. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 May 2013.
"Journey." Journey. N.p., n.d. Web. 02 May 2013.
"Table of Contents." Theageofdiscovery. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 May 2013.