Editing Diogo Cão (section)

===First voyage===
[[Image:Caopillar.JPG|thumb|130px|The ''padrão'' bearing the arms of Portugal erected by Cão at Cape St. Mary]]
When [[João II]] restarted the work of [[Henry the Navigator]], he sent out Cão, probably around midsummer 1482, to explore the African coast south of the equator. Diogo Cão filled his ship with stone pillars (''[[padrão|padrões]]'') surmounted by the cross of the Order of Christ and engraved with the Portuguese royal arms, planning to erect them at significant landmarks along his voyage of discovery.{{sfn |Ravenstein |1900 |pages=627–628}} On the way, the expedition stopped at Sao Jorge da Mina to resupply.{{sfn |Howgego |2003 |page=185}}

In August 1482, Cão arrived at the Congo River mouth and marked it with a padrão erected on Shark Point, commemorating the Portuguese occupation. This padrão stood until 1642 when it was destroyed by the Dutch during their occupation of the Congo.{{sfn |Ravenstein |1900 |page=630}}

Cão sailed up the great river for a short distance and commenced modest commerce with the natives of the [[Kingdom of Kongo|Bakongo]] kingdom. He was told that their king lived farther upriver, so he sent four Christian native messengers to search for the ruler and then proceeded south along the coast of present-day Angola where he erected a second ''padrão'', probably marking the termination of this voyage, at [[Cabo de Santa Maria (Angola)|Cabo de Santa Maria]]. When he returned to the Congo, Cão was annoyed to find that his messengers had not returned, so he abducted four local natives who were visiting his ship and returned with them to Portugal.{{sfn |Howgego |2003 |page=185}}

[[File:Armas Diogo Cão.jpg|thumb|left|100px|Diogo Cão's Coat of Arms]]
He reached Lisbon by 8 April 1484, where John II ennobled him, promoting him from esquire to a cavalier of his household,{{sfn |Howgego |2003 |page=185}} and granted him an annuity of eighteen thousand ''reals'' and a coat of arms on which two ''padrões'' are depicted.{{sfn|Ravenstein|1900|page=107}}

The King also asked him to sail back to Kongo to repatriate the 4 men he left behind.