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In 1488, the very powerful Turkish empire closed the land roads between Europe and Asia, which was a commercial catastrophe for spice traders especially.
So some navigators decided to explore the theory that Africa might be in fact surrounded by oceans, and could therefore be sailed around from the Europe to Asia.
Portuguese Bartholomeu Dias sailed further south than the southernmost African settlement (then in Namibia), all the way to the very south of Africa, and far enough around it to confirm that there was a way to connect the Atlantic and Indian Ocean this way.
On his journey, he named this cape "the cape of storms", but upon hearing the news of this potential new commercial road, the Portuguese king renamed "Cape of Good Hope" the point from which a ship would start sailing more East than South on its way around Africa.
It is not the southernmost tip of Africa, (that's Cape Agulhas, 150km away), but it is still a great favorite for tourists.
And we are tourists 😅

The area is fairly spectacular and somewhat bleak, but also home to baboons, wild ostriches, and Oryx gazelles.Read more