Portuguese ExplorersPortuguese ExplorersBartholomew DiasBartholomew Dias

S2 DiscoveryS2 Discovery

Prince HenryPrince Henry• From 1419 until his

death in 1460, Prince Henry sent expedition after expedition down the west coast of Africa to get the best trade routes and to establish colonies.

• However, these expeditions moved slowly due to the mariners' belief that waters at the equator were at the boiling point, that human skin turned black, and that sea monsters would engulf ships.

Bartholomew DiasBartholomew Dias• When Henry died in 1460, his

sailors had only reached as far as the Canary Islands in West Africa.

• It wasn't until 27 years after Henry's death that Bartholomew Dias braved these "dangers“

• The King of Portugal had sent Dias to discover the way to India. However, when he reached the tip of Africa he found the sea so stormy that he decided to turn back – but first he put up a padrao at a place where future sailors could see it clearly from the sea.

• He named this place the ‘Cape of Storms’. On his return to Portugal he told the King about this – but the king decided to change the name to the ‘Cape of Good Hope’

TaskTask

• Imagine you were the first person to reach the Southern tip of Africa

• Design the monument you would put up to show future visitors that you were first there