Diogo Dias

In 1500, Diogo Dias accompanied the 2nd armada of Pedro Álvares Cabral as one of the captains of the fleet, with a commission to open trade at Sofala.

Famously, Dias is credited for breaking the ice with the wary Tupiniquim on the beach by jumping into an impromptu joyful dance to the accompaniment of Tupi pipes.

Dias's subsequent attempts to find the main fleet ended with him mistakenly sailing past Cape Guardafui and into the Gulf of Aden, waters as yet unsailed by Portuguese ships.

Battered by tempests, attacked by pirates and finally forced aground on the Eritrean coast, in a desperate search for water and food for his rapidly dying crew.

Nicolau Coelho, leading the vanguard of Cabral's returning armada, finally stumbled upon the weary Dias at the watering stop of Bezeguiche (Bay of Dakar, Senegal) in June 1501.