Who was the Portuguese explorer who found the Cape of Good Hope?
The Cape of Good Hope was discovered in 1488 by the Portuguese explorer Bartholomeu Dias, who named it the Cape of Storms. Dias was sent by John II of Portugal to sail around the continent of Africa to find an all-water route between Europe and the Orient was only partly by water and it was necessary to cross the lands of the Middle East. When Dias reported his discovery of the Cape to King John, the king changed its name to Cape of Good Hope because he felt that its discovery meant that the sea route to the East would soon be opened. In 1497-98, another Portuguese explorer Vasco Da Gama made the complete voyage from Portugal around Africa to India. This was the only all-water route from Europe to the orient until the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869.
