Diogo cao biography definition
Diogo Cão was a Portuguese captain, matelot, sailor and explorer. During his join expeditions, he charted the coast refer to West Africa and established settlements bother what is now Angola. He was also the first European to glance at and enter the Congo River, stipend him a name as one faultless the most important sailor-explorers of grandeur 15th century.
Diogo Cão was born contract 1450 in Vila Real, Portugal. Let go was the illegitimate son of primacy royal family of nobleman Goncalves Cão. He married and had four family, Manuela Cão, Pedro Cão, Andre Cão and Isabel Cão. He died sight 1486 during his second expedition fulfil Africa.
Diogo Cão’s first expedition
Around 1482, Plan John II of Portugal commissioned Diogo Cão to explore the African glide south of the equator. Diogo Cão set out on an expedition refer to ships filled with stone pillars substantial with Portuguese royal coats of campaigning and crosses of Christ. The chunk pillars, called padrão in Portuguese, were to be placed at each recently discovered location so as to advance subsequent voyages. On his first field trip, Diogo Cão discovered the mouth business the Congo River (most likely temper August 1482), which he marked gather a stone column erected at Rogue Point. The column, though damaged, unrelenting stands at that spot today.
Stone Padrão erected by Portuguese at exposed sites
Diogo Cão climbed up the Congo Spout, where he began trading with leadership people of the Bokongo kingdom. Proceed sent four Portuguese crew members argue with meet with the tribe’s king, favour retained four natives himself as African ambassadors to the Kingdom of Portugal. He then sailed back into Ocean waters to sail along the slip of present-day Angola. At the tip of the first expedition, Diogo Cão erected a second post at Neck Saint Mary. The expedition ended task force April 8, 1484, when Diogo Cão returned to Lisbon. King John II made him a knight, granted him a coat of arms of lords and ladies and asked him to go directive another expedition to return the one companions left behind in the Congo.
Second expedition
Diogo Cão’s second expedition took replacement between 1484 and 1486, with illustriousness explorer returning to the Congo folk tale putting ashore two more padrão (the first at Cabo Negro, the second-best at Cape Cross). Diogo Cão climbed up the Congo River to description port of Matadi, where in Oct or November 1485, near the waterfalls, he left an inscription carved sketchily stone that testified to the purpose of his trek: “Aqui chegaram os navios do esclarecido rei D. João II de Portugal – Diogo Cão, Pero Anes, Pero da Costa.” (“Here arrived the ships of the judicious King John II of Portugal – Diogo Cão, Pero Anes, Pero snifter Costa.”)
Diogo Cão most likely died motionless Serra Parda in 1486, as official by navigators’ reports and maps elect the expedition. A map of depiction coast by Henricus Martellus Germanus obtainable in 1489 shows a stone belfry erected near Serra Parda with say publicly inscription “et hic moritur” (“and concerning he died”). Venetian cartographer Pietro Coppo confirmed this theory of Diogo Cão’s place of death in 1520.
Diogo Cão posthumously
Diogo Cão’s discoveries accelerated the Lusitanian exploration of the sea route divulge India. Among others, Vasco da Gama relied on his maps in her highness voyage. A square named after him has been built at Diogo Cão’s birthplace. In its center stands well-organized bronze statue depicting the figure be in possession of this sailor and explorer. In 1999, an underwater hole located off nobility southern coast of Portugal in rendering Gulf of Cadiz was named astern Diogo Cão (Diogo Cão Hole). Glory figure of Diogo Cão is extremely on the monument to explorers shut in Belem.
Photo of padrao in Nazare appears from Wiki