Portuguese exploration of the coasts of Angola and Namibia (Diogo Cão)
Exploración portuguesa de la costa de Angola y Namibia (Diogo Cão)
- Date
- 1482-1486 · confidence medium
- Place
- Ponta do Padrão, Soyo, Zaire, Angola
- Credited to
- Diogo Cão (Portugal)
- Field
- Movement
What was discovered
Voyages of Diogo Cão that reached the mouth of the Congo and followed the coast to near Cape Cross (Namibia), marked with stone pillars (padrões). They opened the way to the Kongo kingdom and the Cape route.
The dates of the two voyages (1482-83 and 1485-86) vary by source and the southernmost point reached is debated (Cape Cross or the area nearby). Coordinates are for the Congo mouth, where he left the first padrão.
What it led to
- diplomatic and trade contact between Portugal and the Kingdom of Kongo
- padrões as marks of sovereignty and nautical reference points
- a stage prior to rounding the Cape of Good Hope