Padrão

[4] In August 1483 he erected one on the headlands of Angola at Cabo Negro with the inscription: In the era of 6681 years from the creation of the world, 1482 years since the birth of Our Lord Jesus, the most High and Excellent and Mighty Prince, King D. João II of Portugal, sent Diogo Cão squire of his House to discover this land and place these pillars.

[6] In 1498 Vasco da Gama erected a padrão at Malindi in East Africa before setting across the Indian Ocean to Calicut.

This is known today as the Vasco da Gama Pillar and includes the original cross, made from Portuguese limestone.

[7] Other notable explorers known to have erected padrões include Pero da Covilhã, Bartolomeu Dias, Goncalo Coelho and Jorge Álvares.

[8] The Lisbon Geographic Society managed to restore in the 20th century three padrões erected by Diogo Cão and one by Bartolomeu Dias.

Replica of a padrão placed by Diogo Cão on Cape Cross, Namibia.
Limestone cross on the Vasco da Gama Pillar in Malindi displaying the coat of arms of Portugal
The erection of a padrão on the mouth of Zaire River , drawing by Alfredo Roque Gameiro