Turning his ships east now to sail home, Dias caught sight of the Cape of Good Hope for the first time. It was a historic moment: this definitive proof of the end of Africa demolished forever a tenet of Ptolemy’s geography. According to Barros, Dias and his companions named it the Stormy Cape, which King João changed to the Cape of Good Hope, “because it promised the discovery of India, so long desired and sought for over so many years.” Dias left the Cape with a good stern wind.
