Rounding of the Cape of Good Hope
Doblamiento del cabo de Buena Esperanza
- Date
- 1488 · confidence high
- Place
- Cape of Good Hope, South Africa
- Credited to
- Bartolomeu Dias
- People
- 👤 Bartolomé Díaz1450–1500
- Field
- Cosmos & Earth
What was discovered
Dias rounded the southern tip of Africa and showed that the Atlantic and Indian Oceans were connected, opening up the possibility of a sea route to India. John II named it the 'Cape of Good Hope' for that promise.
Coordinates of the cape discovered. First European record; the region was inhabited by Khoisan peoples. Dias initially called it the Cape of Storms.
What it led to
- Vasco da Gama's voyage to India
- The end of the Venetian-Mamluk spice monopoly
- The Portuguese maritime empire in the Indian Ocean
Built on
- Portuguese exploration of the coasts of Angola and Namibia (Diogo Cão)1482-1486
- Exploration of the African coast (Cão, Gomes)
- Caravel and mariner's astrolabe
Made possible
- Portuguese Carreira da Índia