The Cape of Good Hope in Africa is associated with the Age of Discovery, the legend of the Flying Dutchman, endless storms and sunken ships. The first European to reach this point on the globe was the Portuguese Bartolomeu Dias. Off the southern coast of Africa, the famous navigator ended up in 1488, trying to find a way to India. Dias never reached his final goal, but he remembered the insidious cape forever and dubbed it the “Cape of Storms”. This name is much more in line with the nature of the place, near which endless winds and powerful waves are observed to this day. An unfair number of ships have been wrecked in the area.
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Despite the fact that not everyone knows in which country the Cape of Good Hope is located, this natural attraction does not suffer from a lack of tourists. In terms of popularity, it can only be compared with Niagara Falls.
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Where is the Cape of Good Hope
The picturesque cape is located on the Cape Peninsula off the southern coast of the African continent, about 60 km from Cape Town. Its absolute height is almost 250 meters above sea level. This is one of the highest coastal cliffs in the world.
The information that the Cape of Good Hope is the southernmost point of Africa, as well as the border between the cold Atlantic and warm Indian oceans, is just a myth. In fact, 155 km further south there is Cape Agulhas (Igolny).
Most likely, an erroneous idea was formed due to geographical maps of a small scale. On them, the cape, however, looks like a tip.
Nearby, the coastline turns east for the first time, opening the way from the Atlantic Ocean to the Indian. Just 45 meters to the east is Cape Point - another rocky cape, on which a lighthouse is installed, called the "Cape of Good Hope". Because of this, some tourists are confused. But right on the spot or when studying a detailed map, everything becomes clear.
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Name of the Cape of Good Hope
A question that interests many: why is the Cape of Good Hope so called? It received its current name thanks to the Portuguese king João II.
While traveling off the coast of Africa, Bartolomeu Dias came up with many geographical names. But the gloomy phrase "Cabo Tormentoso" ("Cape of Storms" or "Cape of Storms") was not to Juan II's liking. Realizing the significance of this point in opening the sea route to India, the ruler came up with another name - "Cape of Good Hope".
For 15th-18th-century Europeans, the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa was such a significant place that it was often referred to simply as the cape ("Cabo" in Portuguese and "Cape" in English, etc.). Hence the name of the city of Cape Town, founded in 1652.
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History
School textbooks say that Bartolomeu Dias was the first to discover the Cape of Good Hope. But in reality, travelers have been here many centuries before him.
The oldest surviving evidence dates back to the 6th century BC. e. Then a group sailed to the African continent, sent by the Egyptian pharaoh Necho II. The wreckage of their ship was discovered in the cape area in the 19th century.
In the II century BC. e., making a trip around the world, the Greek navigator Eudoxus of Cyzicus sailed to the coast of Africa. Many researchers indicate that his ship is missing. However, the ancient Roman writer Pliny mentioned in one of his works that Eudoxus nevertheless reached his goal and returned home safe and sound.
In 1459, the Venetian monk and cartographer Fra Mauro created a circular map of the world. On it, the Atlantic and Indian oceans were connected, and on the southern edge of the African land there was a mark "Cape Diab". Mauro explained to his contemporaries that he was guided by data provided by a "reliable source." It is believed that it was this cartographic work that aroused in the Portuguese a desire to find the cherished path to the Indian Ocean.
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Officially, Dias was the first to round the Cape of Good Hope. His ships wandered for a long time in the Atlantic waters until they got into a terrible storm. The insidious storm did not subside for several days. When the waves finally calmed down, the navigator decided to move north. So he reached the land, turning to the northeast. This was the sea route to India.
February 3, 1488 is the exact date when the Cape of Good Hope was opened to the European world.
The sailors, exhausted by the storms, refused to move on. Therefore, Bartolomeu Dias never made it to India. He gave in to the demands of the rebellious crew and turned back.
Vasco da Gama and the Cape of Good Hope are not often mentioned together. However, it was da Gama, guided by the notes of Dias, who rounded the cape and reached the coast of India. This happened in 1497.
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Jan van Riebeeck arrived in the Cape in the 1650s. This man served as the colonial administrator. Thanks to his efforts, a settlement was founded that provided ships sailing by with the necessary food and medical care.
At the end of the 17th century, the Huguenots (French Protestants) landed on the cape. In France, their religion was declared illegal and persecuted. Many Huguenots fled to the much more tolerant Netherlands. Some of these people were sent to the Cape of Good Hope as farmers. Thus, the Cape Colony (as the first Dutch colony in South Africa was called) expanded significantly.
At the turn of the 18th-19th centuries, the colony was occupied first by the French and then by the British. Only a hundred years later, in 1910, the independent Union of South Africa (today it is South Africa) was formed.
After the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869, sailing through the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa lost its relevance. Today it is primarily a tourist attraction.
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Legend of the Flying Dutchman
Bartolomeu Dias and the Cape of Good Hope are closely connected not only with real historical facts, but also with many rumors, conjectures and legends. The most famous among sailors was the legend of the Flying Dutchman, an eternal wanderer in the ocean.
According to legend, during a severe storm, the navigator swore to the sea devil that he would wander the expanses of the ocean forever if he did not manage to go around the damned cape. Whether by promise or by coincidence, the waves pushed his ship into the right place. But 15 years later, the ship of Dias, who set off on a new expedition, went missing precisely at Cape Storms. The sailors quickly compared the facts. Some later swore that they personally saw a ghost ship in the waters of South Africa, led by a Portuguese discoverer.
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How to get to the Cape of Good Hope
On the map, the Cape of Good Hope should be looked for between the South Atlantic Ocean and the Indian Ocean. It is better to focus on the Cape Peninsula and the city of Cape Town.
The easiest way to get to the Cape of Good Hope from Cape Town is by renting a car. A distance of more than 60 km can be covered along the M3 and M4 highways in 1–1.5 hours (depending on the situation on the roads).
The exact geographical coordinates of the Cape of Good Hope (latitude and longitude): -34.3579981, 18.4720945.
There is also an option to use public transport. Every day at 8:30 and 13:00 from Green Market Square (Green Market Square in Cape Town) to Cape of Good Hope there are buses "Cape Comoot". The same buses depart back at 13:00 and 17:15.
Those taking a trip to the Cape of Good Hope should remember that the natural attraction belongs to the reserve and has a certain work schedule. In the warm season, the passage is open from 6:00 to 18:00.
The most favorable weather in terms of tourism in South Africa is from October to March. The local climate is such that the coldest months are May, June, July and August. During this period, the temperature rarely exceeds +20 degrees. January is considered the hottest month.