Acommon misconception is that the Cape of Good Hope is the southern tip ofAfrica, based on the misbelief that the Cape was the dividing point between theAtlantic andIndian oceans. In fact, the southernmost point of Africa isCape Agulhas about 150 kilometres (90 mi) to theeast-southeast.[1] The currents of the two oceans meet at the point where the warm-waterAgulhas current meets the cold-waterBenguela current and turns back on itself. That oceanic meeting point fluctuates between Cape Agulhas andCape Point (about 1.2 kilometres (0.75 mi) east of the Cape of Good Hope).
When following the western side of the African coastline from the equator, however, the Cape of Good Hope marks the point where a ship begins to travel more eastward than southward. Thus, the first modern rounding of the cape in 1487 byPortuguese explorerBartolomeu Dias was a milestone in the attempts by the Portuguese to establish direct trade relations with theFar East (althoughHerodotus mentioned a claim that thePhoenicians had done sofar earlier).[2] Dias called the capeCabo das Tormentas ('Cape of Storms';Dutch:Stormkaap), which was the original name of the cape.[3]
The termCape of Good Hope is also used in other ways:
It is a section of theTable Mountain National Park, within which the cape of the same name, as well as Cape Point, falls. Prior to its incorporation into the national park, this section constituted the Cape Point Nature Reserve.[5]
It was the name of the earlyCape Colony established by the Dutch East Indies Company in 1652, on the Cape Peninsula.
Around 600 BC,Necho IIreputedly commissioned an expedition ofPhoenicians,[6] who it is said in three years sailed from the Red Sea around Africa back to the mouth of the Nile; and would thereby be the first completion of theCape Route.[7][8] Herodotus' account was handed down to him byoral tradition,[9] but is seen as potentially credible because he stated with disbelief that the Phoenicians "as they sailed on a westerly course round the southern end of Libya (Africa), they had the sun on their right"—to northward of them (The Histories 4.42).[10] Pliny reported thatHanno had circumnavigated Africa, which may have been a conflation with Necho's voyage, whileStrabo,Polybius, andPtolemy doubted the description;[11]at the time it was not generally known that Africa was surrounded by an ocean (with the southern part of Africa being thought connected to Asia).[12]
When Eudoxus was returning from his second voyage to India, the wind forced him south of theGulf of Aden and down the coast of Africa for some distance. Somewhere along the coast of East Africa, he found the remains of the ship. Due to its appearance and the story told by the natives, Eudoxus concluded that the ship was from Gades and had sailed anti-clockwise around Africa, passing the Cape and entering the Indian Ocean. This inspired him to repeat the voyage and attempt acircumnavigation of the continent. Organising the expedition on his own account he set sail from Gades and began to work down the African coast. The difficulties were too great, however, and he was obliged to return to Europe.[13]
After this failure he again set out to circumnavigate Africa. His eventual fate is unknown. Although some, such asPliny, claimed that Eudoxus did achieve his goal, the most probable conclusion is that he died on the journey.[14]
In the 1450Fra Mauro map, the Indian Ocean is depicted as connected to the Atlantic. Fra Mauro puts the following inscription by the southern tip of Africa, which he names the "Cape of Diab", describing the exploration by a ship from the East around 1420:[15][16]
Detail of the Fra Mauro Map describing the construction of thejunks that navigate in the Indian Ocean.
Around 1420 a ship, or junk, from India crossed the Sea of India towards the Island of Men and the Island of Women, off Cape Diab, between the Green Islands and the shadows. It sailed for 40 days in a south-westerly direction without ever finding anything other than wind and water. According to these people themselves, the ship went some 2,000 miles ahead until—once favourable conditions came to an end—it turned round and sailed back to Cape Diab in 70 days.
The ships called junks (lit. "Zonchi") that navigate these seas carry four masts or more, some of which can be raised or lowered, and have 40 to 60 cabins for the merchants and only one tiller. They can navigate without acompass, because they have anastrologer, who stands on the side and, with anastrolabe in hand, gives orders to the navigator.
—Text from the Fra Mauro map, 09-P25
Fra Mauro explained that he obtained the information from "a trustworthy source", who traveled with the expedition, possibly the Venetian explorerNiccolò da Conti who happened to be inCalicut,India at the time the expedition left:
What is more, I have spoken with a person worthy of trust, who says that he sailed in an Indian ship caught in the fury of a tempest for 40 days out in the Sea of India, beyond theCape of Soffala and the Green Islands towards west-southwest; and according to the astrologers who act as their guides, they had advanced almost 2,000 miles. Thus one can believe and confirm what is said by both these and those, and that they had therefore sailed 4,000 miles.
Fra Mauro also comments that the account of the expedition, together with the relation byStrabo of the travels ofEudoxus of Cyzicus fromArabia toGibraltar through the southern Ocean inAntiquity, led him to believe that theIndian Ocean was not a closed sea and thatAfrica could be circumnavigated by her southern end (Text from Fra Mauro map, 11, G2). This knowledge, together with the map depiction of the African continent, probably encouraged the Portuguese to intensify their effort to round the tip of Africa.
"... a large map of a Javanese pilot, containing the Cape of Good Hope, Portugal and the land of Brazil, theRed Sea and theSea of Persia, the Clove Islands, the navigation of the Chinese and the Gores, with their rhumbs and direct routes followed by the ships, and the hinterland, and how the kingdoms border on each other. It seems to me, Sir, that this was the best thing I have ever seen, and Your Highness will be very pleased to see it; it had the names in Javanese writing, but I had with me a Javanese who could read and write. I send this piece to Your Highness, which Francisco Rodrigues traced from the other, in which Your Highness can truly see where theChinese andGores come from, and the course your ships must take to the Clove Islands, and where the gold mines lie, and the islands of Java and Banda, of nutmeg and mace, and the land of the King of Siam, and also the end of the land of the navigation of the Chinese, the direction it takes, and how they do not navigate farther."
— Letter of Albuquerque to King Manuel I of Portugal, 1 April 1512.
Cross of Bartholomew Dias at Cape of Good Hope.Inhabitants of theCape of Good Hope dubbedCafres by the Portuguese (Códice Casanatense,c. 1540)
In theEarly Modern Era, the first European to reach the cape was the Portuguese explorerBartolomeu Dias on 12 March 1488, who named it the "Cape of Storms" (Cabo das Tormentas).[19] It was later renamed byJohn II of Portugal as "Cape of Good Hope" (Cabo da Boa Esperança) because of the great optimism engendered by the opening of a sea route toIndia and the East.[19]
TheKhoikhoi people lived in the cape area when the Dutch first settled there in 1652. The Khoikhoi had arrived in this area about fifteen hundred years before.[20] The Dutch called themHottentots, a term that has now come to be regarded as pejorative.[21]
On 31 December 1687, a community ofHuguenots (French Protestants) arrived at the Cape of Good Hope from the Netherlands. They had fled from France due to religious persecution and gone to the Netherlands,[24] before making the journey to the Cape Colony. Members of this group includedPierre Joubert,[25][26] who came fromLa Motte-d'Aigues, as well asJean Roy. The Dutch East India Company needed skilled farmers at the Cape of Good Hope and the Dutch government saw opportunities to settle Huguenots at the Cape. The colony gradually grew over the 150 years that followed until it extended hundreds of kilometers to the north and the north-east.
The European coalitions and Napoleonic wars effect on the Cape Colony
During theFrench Revolutionary Wars, the Dutch Republic was occupied by the French in 1795. The Cape Colony then became a French vassal and enemy of the British, who were at war with France. British troops invaded and occupied the Cape Colony that same year. The British relinquished control of the territory in 1803, under thepeace of Amiens, but reoccupied the Colony on 19 January 1806 following theBattle of Blaauwberg.[27] The Dutch formally ceded the territory to the British in theAnglo-Dutch Treaty of 1814.[28] It would remain a separate British colony until its incorporation into theUnion of South Africa in 1910.[29]
The Portuguese government erected two navigational beacons,Dias Cross andda Gama Cross,[30][31] to commemorateBartolomeu Dias andVasco da Gama, who were the first modern European explorers to reach the cape. When lined up, these crosses point toWhittle Rock, a large, permanently submerged shipping hazard inFalse Bay.[32] Two other beacons inSimon's Town provide the intersection.[33]
The Cape of Good Hope saw an increase of ship activity after the2021 Suez canal obstruction, and the2024 Red Sea Crisis with ships needing a different route from theIndian Ocean.[34][35][36][37] The Cape of Good Hope route took a toll on the sea freight industry—stretching the transit time, reducing carriers availability, and skyrocketing shipment cost and container hire.[38] Carriers' attempts to resort to the Red Sea route came at the expense of vessels and seafarers' safety as the Red Sea witnessed multiple sunken carriers struck byHouthi rebels.[39][40] Many large shipping companies and industries were afflicted by the situation such asIKEA,Amazon, Automotive companies, andMaersk.[41][42][43]
Map showing theCape Peninsula, illustrating the position of the Cape of Good Hope. The main mountains and their peaks, includingTable Mountain, and its relation to the City ofCape Town are shown.Map of the Cape of Good Hope andCape Agulhas, the southernmost point of Africa.
The Cape of Good Hope is at the southern tip of theCape Peninsula, about 2.3 kilometers (1.4 mi) west and a little south ofCape Point on the south-east corner.Cape Town is about 50 kilometers to the north of the Cape, inTable Bay at the north end of the peninsula. The peninsula forms the western boundary ofFalse Bay. Geologically, the rocks found at the two capes, and indeed over much of the peninsula, are part of theCape Supergroup, and are formed of the same type of sandstones asTable Mountain itself. Both the Cape of Good Hope and Cape Point offer spectacular scenery; the whole of the southernmost portion of the Cape Peninsula is a wild, rugged, scenic and generally unspoiled national park.
With its diverse habitat, ranging from rocky mountain tops to beaches and open sea, the Cape of Good Hope is home to at least 250 species of birds including one of the two mainland colonies ofAfrican penguins. "Bush birds" tend to be rather scarce because of the coarse, scrubby nature offynbos vegetation. When flowering, however,proteas andericas attractsunbirds,sugarbirds, and other species in search of nectar. For most of the year, there are more small birds in coastal thicket than in fynbos. The Cape of Good Hope section of Table Mountain National Park is home to several species of antelope. Bontebok and eland are easily seen, andred hartebeest can be seen in the grazing lawns in Smitswinkel Flats. Grey rhebok are less commonly seen and are scarce, but may be observed along the beach hills at Olifantsbos. Most visitors are unlikely to ever see either Cape grysbok or klipspringer. The Cape of Good Hope section is home to fourCape mountain zebra. They might be seen by the attentive or lucky visitor, usually in Smitswinkel Flats. There are a wealth of small animals such aslizards,snakes,tortoises andinsects. Small mammals includerock hyrax,four-striped grass mouse,water mongoose,Cape clawless otter andfallow deer. The area offers excellent vantage points for whale watching. Thesouthern right whale is the species most likely to be seen inFalse Bay between June and November. Other species are thehumpback whale andBryde's whale.Seals,dusky dolphins andorcas have also been seen. The strategic position of the Cape of Good Hope between two major ocean currents, ensures a rich diversity of marine life. There is a difference between the sea life west of Cape Point and that to the east due to the markedly differing sea temperatures. The South African Marine Living Resources Act is strictly enforced throughout theTable Mountain National Park, and especially inmarine protected areas. Disturbance or removal of any marine organisms is strictly prohibited between Schusters Bay and Hoek van Bobbejaan, but is allowed in other areas during season and with relevant permits.[citation needed]
Chacma baboons (Papio ursinus) are the mammals most intimately associated with the Cape of Good Hope. Baboons inside the Cape of Good Hope section of the park are a major tourist attraction. There are 11 troops consisting of about 375 individuals throughout the entire Cape Peninsula. Six of these 11 troops either live entirely within the Cape of Good Hope section of the park, or use the section as part of their range. The Cape Point, Kanonkop, Klein Olifantsbos, and Buffels Bay troops live entirely inside the Cape of Good Hope section of the Park. The Groot Olifantsbos and Plateau Road troops range into the park. Chacma baboons are widely distributed across southern Africa and are classified as "least concern" in theIUCN Red List of Threatened Species. However, the South African Parks Department states in its publicationMountains in the Sea that the baboon population on the Cape is "critically endangered." This is due to habitat loss, genetic isolation, and conflicts with humans. Cape baboons have been eliminated from the majority of their range across the Cape Peninsula, and the Cape of Good Hope section of Table Mountain National Park provides a sanctuary for the troops that live within its boundaries. It provides relative safety from nearby towns, where people have killed many baboons after the baboons raid their houses looking for food. Baboons are also frequently injured or killed outside of the park by cars and by electrocution on power lines. Inside the park, some management policies such as allowing barbecues and picnics in the baboon home ranges cause detriment to the troops, as they become embroiled in conflicts with guests to the park.[citation needed] At the Cape in particular, the baboon is known for eating shellfish and other marine invertebrates.[46]
The Cape of Good Hope is an integral part of theCape Floristic Kingdom, the smallest but richest of the world's six floral kingdoms. This comprises a treasure trove of 1100 species of indigenous plants, of which a number areendemic (occur naturally nowhere else on earth). The main type offynbos ("fine bush") vegetation at the Cape of Good Hope isPeninsula Sandstone Fynbos, an endangered vegetation type that is endemic to the Cape Peninsula. CoastalHangklip Sand Fynbos grows on low-lying alkaline sands and, right by the sea, small patches ofCape Flats Dune Strandveld can be found.[53][54]
Cape of Good Hope panorama – the cape at centre, and the conical Vasco da Gama Peak (266 metres) at right
The Cape of Good Hope is the legendary home of theFlying Dutchman. According to the legend, crewed by tormented and damned ghostly sailors, it is doomed forever to beat its way through the adjacent waters without ever succeeding in rounding the headland.[55]
Adamastor is a Greek-type mythological character invented by the Portuguese poetLuís de Camões in his epic poemOs Lusíadas (first printed in 1572), as a symbol of the forces of nature Portuguese navigators had to overcome during their discoveries and more specifically of the dangers they faced when trying to round the Cape of Storms.
^Unlikely with the intent of circumnavigating Africa, but for finding an alternative route to Asia than through the area near theLevant. Also, such voyages were undertaken for trading with more southern African cities; thereafter being blown off-course, if not tasked to sail around the lands.
^Israel, India, Persia, Phoenicia, Minor Nations of Western Asia. Edited byHenry Smith Williams.p118
^Anthony Tony Browder, Nile valley contributions to civilization, Volume 1. 1992 (cf. In the Twenty Fifth Dynasty, during the reign of Necho II, navigational technology had advanced to the point where sailors from Kemet successfully circumnavigated Africa and drew an extremely accurate map of the continent.)
^M. J. Cary.The Ancient Explorers. Penguin Books, 1963. Page 114
^As for Libya, we know it to be washed on all sides by the sea, except where it is attached to Asia. This discovery was first made by Necos, the Egyptian king, who on desisting from the canal which he had begun between the Nile and the Arabian gulf (referring to the Red Sea), sent to sea a number of ships manned by Phoenicians, with orders to make for the Pillars of Hercules, and return to Egypt through them, and by the Mediterranean. The Phoenicians took their departure from Egypt by way of the Erythraean sea, and so sailed into the southern ocean. When autumn came, they went ashore, wherever they might happen to be, and having sown a tract of land with corn, waited until the grain was fit to cut. Having reaped it, they again set sail; and thus it came to pass that two whole years went by, and it was not till the third year that they doubled the Pillars of Hercules, and made good their voyage home. On their return, they declared—I for my part do not believe them, but perhaps others may—that in sailing round Libya they had the sun upon their right hand. In this way was the extent of Libya first discovered."Book 4" .History of Herodotus – viaWikisource.
^The Geographical system of Herodotus by James Rennel.p348+
^Die umsegelung Asiens und Europas auf der Vega. Volume 2. By Adolf Erik Nordenskiöld.p148
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