The Cape of Good Hope had been established by the Dutch East India Company in 1652 as a refueling station for their fleet, which needed to be supplied for the long journey east to Batavia (today Indonesia) or home to The Netherlands. Without stocking up on delicious South African fruit, vegetables and low fat meat, the sailors would have all succumbed to scurvy before reaching the end of their long journeys. These were, after all, the days of sail and we're talking of months at sea.
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