why was "the cape of good hope" named like this?
397489
The Cape of Good Hope was first rounded by Portuguese navigator Bartolomeu Dias in 1488 and he named it the "Cape of Storms" (Cabo das Tormentas). It was later renamed by John 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 to the east.
1178266
Uganda is called Pearl Of Africa\n\nthat was how Winston Churchill, moved by Uganda's great beauty, declared it when he visited in 1907.
482070
The name Morisseau was originally derived from the early Christian given name Mauritius, which itself comes from the Phoenician word mauharim, meaning eastern.
233270
Behind the Name gives two possible derivations:\n\n1) It could be a corruption or diminutive of Santiago - which would then make it a variant of Jacob\n\nor\n\n2) It could derive from the Greek name Didacus, meaning "teaching" or "teacher"
301211
It's called the Merlion.\nThe Merlion and its Significance\nThe choice of the Merlion as a symbol for Singapore has its roots in history, The Merlion commemorates the ancient name and the legend taken from the "Malay Annals" (literary and historical work from the 15th or 16th century) explaining how Singapore received its present name. \n\nIn ancient times, Singapore was known as Temasek which is Javanese for the sea. It was then, as it is today, a centre of trade. \n\nAt the end of the 4th century A.D, Temasek was destroyed by the Siamese, according to some historians, but by the Javanese according to others. As recorded in the legend in the Malay Annals," Prince Nila Utama of the Sri Vijaya empire rediscovered the island later in the 11th century A.D. On seeing a strange beast (which he later learnt was a lion) upon his landing he named the island Singapura which is a Sanskrit word for Lion (Singa) City (Pura).\n\nThe Merlion, with its fish-like body riding the waves of the sea, is symbolic of the ancient city of Temasek. At the same time, its majestic head recalls the legend of the discovery of Singapore by Prince Nila Utama in the 11th century, when Singapore received its present
625693
uhm hate to burst all your bubbles but if you go to this link you will find out its not at all a big mystery. it makes sense and yes it had a life boat and yes it was used. these other fictions were done by various writers the actual records of event are discussed here\nhttp://www.maryceleste.net/part2.htm
49782
There have been numerous attempts to explain the emergence of this curious colloquial expression, which seems to have swept into popular use in the US during the mid-19th century. Most of them are undoubtedly pure speculation. It does not seem at all likely, from the linguistic and historical evidence, that it derives from the Scots expression 'och aye', the Greek ola kala ('it is good'), the Choctaw Indian oke or okeh ('it is so'), the French aux Cayes ('from Cayes', a port in Haiti with a reputation for good rum) or au quai ('to the quay', as supposedly used by French-speaking dockers), or the initials of a railway freight agent called Obediah Kelly who is said to have written them on lading documents he had checked.\n\nThe oldest written references to 'OK' result from its adoption as a slogan by the Democratic party during the American Presidential election of 1840. Their candidate, President Martin Van Buren, was nicknamed 'Old Kinderhook' (after his birthplace in New York State), and his supporters formed the 'OK Club'.\n\nThis undoubtedly helped to popularize the term (though it did not get President Van Buren re-elected!). During the late 1830s there had been a brief but widespread craze in the US for humorous misspellings, and the form orl korrekt which was among them could explain the initials 'OK'. Such a theory has been supported by more than one distinguished American scholar, and is given in many dictionaries, including Oxford dictionaries.\n\nThe only other theory with at least a degree of plausibility is that the term originated among Black slaves of West African origin, and represents a word meaning 'all right, yes indeed' in various West African languages. Unfortunately, historical evidence enabling the origin of this expression to be finally and firmly established may be hard to unearth.
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Are you sure about the spelling? I couldn't find any Baterman Island on the web, and I guess I'm not the only one. Maybe that's why you don't get any answers, maybe it's Bannerman Island...
43281
...And if you're talking about Ulysses of Homer's The Odyssey, then I don't believe it was named. I've read it multiple times and I cannot recall a single instance in which the ship was called by name.
1176295
The most likely answer is that it is a  deliberate\nmisspelling of Charlie, the usual nickname for\nCharles.  I seem to remember seeing it used this\nway in print, but can't remember where.
17608
Here is a more simple answer. It is called "the black sea" because, of all the salt content in the water. Fact, when the sun sets and hits the sea just right, the salt content glares a black color in the water. That is how it got its name in the late 1300's.
311132
It gets its name from Doctor Pangloss in Voltaire's Candide.  His belief was that all things happen for the best and that we live in the best of possible worlds.  Voltaire himself plainly doesn't believe this and events in the book contrive to prove otherwise.
580523
It's a fine name. It's en English name that means Protect the Hill \nTends to be common in Jewish circles I think ;)\nEddie
525659
It is called Bengal bay
649536
~A cape on the coast of North Carolina.
48097
Probably because it lies under the Scotia Sea, which sits between Tierra Del Fuego and the Antarctic. The sea was named after a shipped that explored there, The Scotia.
268319
After the British seized the Cape of Good Hope area in 1806, many of the Dutch settlers (the Boers) trekked north to found their own republics. The discovery of diamonds (1867) and gold (1886) spurred wealth and immigration and intensified the subjugation of the native inhabitants. The Boers resisted British encroachments, but were defeated in the Boer War (1899-1902). The resulting Union of South Africa operated under a policy of apartheid - the separate development of the races. The 1990s brought an end to apartheid politically and ushered in black majority rule.\n\nLocation:   \nSouthern Africa, at the southern tip of the continent of Africa  \nGeographic coordinates:   \n29 00 S, 24 00 E  \nMap references:   \nAfrica  \nArea:    \ntotal: 1,219,912 sq km \nland: 1,219,912 sq km \nwater: 0 sq km \nnote: includes Prince Edward Islands (Marion Island and Prince Edward Island)  \nArea - comparative:   \nslightly less than twice the size of Texas  \nLand boundaries:   \ntotal: 4,862 km \nborder countries: Botswana 1,840 km, Lesotho 909 km, Mozambique 491 km, Namibia 967 km, Swaziland 430 km, Zimbabwe 225 km  \nCoastline:   \n2,798 km  \nMaritime claims:   \nterritorial sea: 12 nm \ncontiguous zone: 24 nm \nexclusive economic zone: 200 nm \ncontinental shelf: 200 nm or to edge of the continental margin  \nClimate:   \nmostly semiarid; subtropical along east coast; sunny days, cool nights  \nTerrain:   \nvast interior plateau rimmed by rugged hills and narrow coastal plain  \nElevation extremes:   \nlowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m \nhighest point: Njesuthi 3,408 m  \nNatural resources:   \ngold, chromium, antimony, coal, iron ore, manganese, nickel, phosphates, tin, uranium, gem diamonds, platinum, copper, vanadium, salt, natural gas  \nLand use:   \narable land: 12.08% \npermanent crops: 0.79% \nother: 87.13% (2001)  \nIrrigated land:   \n13,500 sq km (1998 est.)  \nNatural hazards:   \nprolonged droughts  \nEnvironment - current issues:   \nlack of important arterial rivers or lakes requires extensive water conservation and control measures; growth in water usage outpacing supply; pollution of rivers from agricultural runoff and urban discharge; air pollution resulting in acid rain; soil erosion; desertification  \nEnvironment - international agreements:   \nparty to: Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Seals, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands, Whaling \nsigned, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements  \nGeography - note:   \nSouth Africa completely surrounds Lesotho and almost completely surrounds Swaziland  \n   People    South Africa Top of Page  \nPopulation:    \n44,344,136 \nnote: estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2005 est.)  \nAge structure:   \n0-14 years: 30.3% (male 6,760,137/female 6,682,013) \n15-64 years: 64.5% (male 13,860,727/female 14,750,496) \n65 years and over: 5.2% (male 893,360/female 1,397,403) (2005 est.)  \nMedian age:   \ntotal: 23.98 years \nmale: 23.12 years \nfemale: 24.86 years (2005 est.)  \nPopulation growth rate:   \n-0.31% (2005 est.)  \nBirth rate:    \n18.48 births/1,000 population (2005 est.)  \nDeath rate:    \n21.32 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.)  \nNet migration rate:   \n-0.22 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.)  \nSex ratio:   \nat birth: 1.02 male(s)/female \nunder 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female \n15-64 years: 0.94 male(s)/female \n65 years and over: 0.64 male(s)/female \ntotal population: 0.94 male(s)/female (2005 est.)  \nInfant mortality rat