Dinis Dias
Dinis Dias or Dinis Diaz (* before 1442, † after 1446) was a Portuguese navigator and explorer . Bartolomeu Dias is said to have been one of his descendants. He came from the Portuguese nobility and lived at the Lisbon court of King John I of Portugal .
Dinis Dias is attributed to two trips to the African coast that he made in the service of Heinrich the Navigator . 1442 he got together with Gonçalo de Sintra to Cabo Branco . In 1444 he reached the westernmost point of continental Africa, Cabo Verde , located in what is now Senegal , and discovered the Terra dos Guineus , areas of what is now Guinea and Senegal. He also explored the island of Gorée , which is part of today's Senegal , but which he baptized with the name Palma. Later chroniclers ( João de Barros ) attributed his travels to a Dinis Fernandes, although it is probably the same person.
Dinis Dias was the first Portuguese seafarer who, on behalf of Henry the Navigator, deliberately went to capture slaves in order to minimize the high costs of the Portuguese voyages of discovery by selling them in Portugal.
On August 18, 1446, King Alfonso V appointed him chairman of the Supreme Court (Casa do Cívil).
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| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Dias, Dinis |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Diaz, Dinis |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Portuguese navigator and explorer |
| DATE OF BIRTH | before 1442 |
| DATE OF DEATH | after 1446 |