Bartolomeu Dias<ref>ˈPronunciation: English: di əs; Portuguese ˈdi əʃ; "Dias". Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary</ref> ( 1450 – 29 May 1500) was a Portuguese mariner and explorer. In 1488, he became the first European navigator to round the southern tip of Africa and to demonstrate that the most effective southward route for ships lays in the open ocean, well to the west of the African coast. His discoveries effectively established the sea route between Europe and Asia. Early life Bartholomeu Dias was born around 1455. His family had a maritime background and one of his ancestors, Dinis Dias, explored the African coast in the 1440s and discovered the Cape Verde Peninsula in 1445. Tracing his biography is complicated by the existence of several contemporary Portuguese seafarers with the same name. He was clearly a seaman of considerable experience and may have been trading for ivory along the Guinea coast as early as 1478. In 1481, Dias accompanied an expedition, led by Diogo de Azambuja, to construct a fortress and trading post called São Jorge da Mina in the Gulf of Guinea. Indirect evidence also points to his possible participation in Diogo Cão's first expedition (1482–1484) down the African coast to the Congo River. Voyage around Africa Diogo Cão had made two voyages to try to reach the southern end of Africa’s western coastline but had failed both times. Nevertheless, King John II of Portugal remained determined to continue the effort. In October 1486, he commissioned Dias to lead an expedition in search of a trade route around the southern tip of Africa. Dias was also charged with searching for Prester John, a legendary figure believed to be the powerful Christian ruler of a realm somewhere beyond Europe, possibly in the African interior. Dias was provided with two caravels of about 50 tons each and a square-rigged supply ship captained by his brother Diogo. He recruited some of the leading pilots of the day, including Pêro de Alenquer and João de Santiago, who had previously sailed with Cão.Crowley 2015, pp. 17–19 No contemporary documents detailing this historic voyage have been found. Much of the available information comes from the sixteenth-century historian João de Barros, who wrote about the voyage some sixty years later. The small fleet left Lisbon in or around July 1487. Like his predecessor, Cão, Dias carried a set of padrãos, carved stone pillars to be used to mark his