Which 15th century Portuguese navigator discovered the sea route around the Cape of Good Hope?
15th century in South Africa 15th century in South Africa In 1487-87 Bartolomeu Dias (or Bartholomew Dias) a Portuguese navigator sailed south along the coast of Southern Africa as far as the Orange River, was blown out to sea and made landfall at Mossel Bay and Algoa Bay. But at the Fish River his men refused to go any further. He sailed round the Cape of Good Hope, named by either Dias or his patron, King John II of Portugal for the “great hope it gave of discovering the Indies”. In 1497-99 Vasco da Gama a Portuguese navigator sighted land at St. Helena Bay, doubled
Cape of Good Hope far earlier). Dias called the cape "Cabo das Tormentas" ("Cape of Storms"; ), which was the original name of the "Cape of Good Hope". As one of the great capes of the South Atlantic Ocean, the Cape of Good Hope has long been of special significance to sailors, many of whom refer to it simply as "the Cape". It is a waypoint on the Cape Route and the clipper route followed by clipper ships to the Far East and Australia, and still followed by several offshore yacht races. The term "Cape of Good Hope" is also used in three other