DIAS, BARTHOLOMEU. - Navigator, born c. 1450. Commissioned by the King of Portugal to explore the west coast of Africa, he set out in 1486 or 1487 and was the first to reach Cabo Tormentoso (later renamed Cape of Good Hope).
After Vasco de Gama’s voyage, the fleet led by Pedro Álvares Cabral, of which D. was a part, prepared for new explorations in March 1500; a violent storm sank four ships, including that of D. (29 May 1500).
BIBL.: J. N. L. Baker, Histoire des découvertes géographiques et des explorations, French trans., Paris 1949, ch. 4.