Serving With da Gama
In 1497 on the first Portuguese India Armadas expedition to India, Diogo Dias served as escrivão (clerk) aboard Vasco da Gama's flagship São Gabriel. Dias was one of the main conduits between Gama and the Zamorin of Calicut, and was briefly taken prisoner by the Zamorin when negotiations got hairy.
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. Diogo Dias was one of the first to go ashore in the discovery of Brazil in April 1500. 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.
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