What influenced how Bartolomeu Dias led his life?

That he is the first European known to sail around the southern tip of Africa and that he witnessed the discovery of the future Brazil are two reasons why Bartolomeu Dias (c. 1451-May 29, 1500) is important to history.

Specifically, Bartolomeu participated in an expedition of 1487-1488. The expedition's purpose was finding a sea route to India and setting up direct trade arrangements with Indians. The overland trade route was controlled by the Muslim middlemen of the Middle East.

Dias also was one of the first Europeans known to have discovered the Land of the True Cross. He was a member of the expedition led by Pedro Alvares Cabral (1467? 1468? 1469? - c. 1520) in 1500. Through a navigation error, the expedition ended up off the coast of the subsequent Brazil.