The Cape of Storms

Preserved but no longer current.

Meaning · English

So Bartholomew Diaz named the south cape of Africa in 1486, but John II of Portugal (d. 1495) changed it to the Cape of Good Hope.

Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)

Sources & notes

Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.

Common questions

What does “The Cape of Storms” mean?

So Bartholomew Diaz named the south cape of Africa in 1486, but John II of Portugal (d. 1495) changed it to the Cape of Good Hope.

Is “The Cape of Storms” formal or informal?

No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.