Long Ocean Voyages and The Problem of Scurvy | TOTA (2024)

Scurvy and the Challenges of Traveling by Sea

Traveling by sea is an ancient human custom, but it carried many risks for early sailors. Human beings, along with guinea pigs, are two animals that can't make their own vitamin C. As a result, people can only obtain this essential vitamin from the food they eat. A person who goes without vitamin C for about three months will develop an illness called scurvy. The first symptoms of scurvy include tiredness, small spots on the skin, joint pain, and swollen gums. Over time, these symptoms grow worse and can even lead to death.

Scurvy was common in agricultural societies that store grains for the winter. Eating only grains, which are low in vitamin C, caused regular winter outbreaks of scurvy in medieval Europe. For the most part, however, it only proved fatal when people marched to war or took to the seas. Easily stored foods like salted meats and grains could not support sailors for more than a few months of travel. On longer voyages, whole crews were struck down by scurvy. Between 1500 and 1800, an estimated 2 million European sailors died of scurvy.[1]

But these explorers were far from the first men to sail the oceans. For thousands of years, people of many different cultures have crossed vast distances without suffering from scurvy.

• How did people from these cultures avoid the illness?

• Why was it a problem for the Europeans in particular, even after they were shown several cures from other cultures?

• How can we learn from the traditions of seafaring cultures as we send our own explorers into space?

Coast-Hopping Methods of European and Mediterranean Sailors

Europe and the Mediterranean have relied on coastal trade for thousands of years. Ancient sailors like the Phoenicians routinely made long voyages from the Mediterranean. One route took them down the coast of Africa, around the Cape of Good Hope, and then north again to India. The whole trip lasted about three years. During the journey, they stopped along the way to grow crops along the coast. They only moved once they had harvested fresh supplies. In this way, they kept a stable diet by staying near the coasts.

Many centuries later, medieval Norse Vikings traveled similar distances in the cold North Atlantic. Like the Phoenicians, they did so by stopping along coasts and islands. Instead of waiting for crops to grow, they made quicker trips ashore to forage for native plants. They carried barrels of cloudberries and cranberries, as well as garlic and herbs, as sources of vitamin C.[2][3]

Long Ocean Voyages of Polynesian Explorers

Polynesian people are some of the most accomplished sailors the world has ever seen. They crossed the open ocean in double-hulled canoes, discovering many islands as they went. Their canoes may have reached South America 500 years before Columbus' famous voyage. Polynesian sailors read the stars and the swelling of sea waves to find nearby islands and supplies. Cook's navigator, a man named Tupaia, made him a map of the ocean and its islands within a 2,000-mile radius of his home.

Genetic studies of Polynesian sweet potatoes gathered by Captain Cook in 1769 show a close relationship to those grown in the Andes. While it's possible the seeds floated to their islands, Polynesians have made longer journeys successfully. Before each journey, they loaded their boats with enough food and water for the crew. Dried breadfruit, kelp, fern root cakes, and sweet potatoes were their primary sources of vitamin C. Fresh, cold water, always a challenge for European sailors, hung from the side of the canoe in bags and gourds.[2][4]

Scurvy and the Fleets of China

Another major seafaring culture, the Chinese, have left few records mentioning scurvy at sea. This may in part be due to the relatively short sailing times of Chinese junks, but diet also played a role. Green teas contain more vitamin C than black teas, and Chinese sailors frequently brought pickled vegetables like cabbage with them.[5] As trade in Tang China increased, sailors spent more and more time on board. Their ships began to carry gardens with them, probably growing quick and nutritionally dense soybean sprouts.[6]

The Scourge of Scurvy in European Sailing

In the 15th century, European nations like the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, and Britain took to the ocean in search of new land and trade. Scurvy soon reared its head. Western medicine believed it was caused by foul air instead of poor nutrition. Exploration vessels often returned home with more than half of the crew dead from scurvy. The people they met on their journeys often showed sailors how to relieve their symptoms with local fruits and herbs.

The sailors of the Netherlands were some of the first Europeans to recognize the value of citrus. Taking a page from the ancient Phoenicians, the Dutch East India Company planted citrus groves at colonial ports to resupply its ships. By 1632, Dutch trading ships were growing onboard gardens of scurvy grass, horseradish, and watercress. The practice was discouraged after tree roots began to damage the ships.[9]

Despite these separate solutions, there was no consensus on the cure for scurvy until the 18th century. At this time, a surgeon for the British Royal Navy named James Lind began conducting experiments on his patients. Using the scientific method, he gave 12 men with scurvy six potential cures. The two men given citrus fruits made full recoveries, while the rest showed little improvement. Lind's discovery, while not the first, saved many lives as the first widely publicized cure.[7][8]

Modern Challenges in Nutrition and Exploration

Today, modern explorers in space face many of the same challenges. Astronauts must take all of their food with them or grow it on the way, just like early sailors. Not only is vitamin C needed to prevent scurvy, but it can also protect them from harmful radiation. NASA sends fresh and prepackaged foods to astronauts on the International Space Station (ISS), ensuring they keep a balanced diet. Future colonists of Mars, however, will need to grow their own food. Scientists in Peru are now studying native potatoes in Mars-like Andean soils. By learning from the traditions of other cultures, NASA hopes to find answers to its own modern questions.[10]

Bibliography

1. Lee R. McDowell, Vitamin History, the Early Years (Gainsville: University of Florida, 2013).

2. Mathieu Torck, Avoiding the Dire Straits: An Inquiry Into Food Provisions and Scurvy in the Maritime and Military History of China and Wider East Asia (Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz, 2009), 48-50.

3. Colin Spencer, British Food: An Extraordinary Thousand Years of History (London: Grub Street, 2011), 126.

4. Michaeleen Doucleff, "How The Sweet Potato Crossed The Pacific Way Before The Europeans Did," NPR, January 23, 2013, NPR, accessed July 06, 2017.

5. Torck, 239-240.

6. Ibid., 133-134.

7. James Lind, A Treatise on Scurvy (London: S. Crowder, 1772).

8. Kenneth J. Carpenter, The History of Scurvy and Vitamin C (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2003).

9. J. Burnby and A. Bierman, "The Incidence of Scurvy at Sea and its Treatment," Revue d'Histoire de la Pharmacie 84, no. 312 (September 1995): doi:10.3406/pharm.1996.6243.

10. Jancy C. McPhee and John B. Charles, Human Health and Performance Risks of Space Exploration Missions: Evidence Reviewed by the NASA Human Research Program (Houston, TX: National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center, 2009).