Cape of Good Hope is a peninsula in South Africa that lies about 100 miles (160 kilometers) northwest of Cape Agulhas, the southern tip of Africa (see Cape Agulhas). It extends south from Table Mountain and is part of the city of Cape Town (see Cape Town). South Africans call this peninsula Cape Peninsula. They call the peninsula’s southern tip Cape Point. The peninsula forms the west side of False Bay. The cape is famous for its fine roads and its excellent beaches. Much of the peninsula lies in Table Mountain National Park.
The Portuguese explorer Bartolomeu Dias is said to have named the Cape of Good Hope when he discovered it in 1488 because he believed his discovery might lead to a sea route to India. The Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama proved this hope a fact. In November 1497, he sailed around the Cape of Good Hope, and in May 1498, he reached Kozhikode (also known as Calicut), India.
See also Cape Colony; Da Gama, Vasco; Dias, Bartolomeu; Flying Dutchman; Van Riebeeck, Jan.
