The prevailing winds and ocean currents in the South Atlantic [1] made it easier for ships going from Europe to the Cape of Good Hope to sail along the South Am

The prevailing winds and ocean currents in the South Atlantic [1] made it easier for ships going from Europe to the Cape of Good Hope to sail along the South American coast than the African coast. Ships could also reprovision more easily in South America. The Macartney expedition from England to China in the 1790s stopped at Rio de Janiero, as explained in [2]. [1] https://seos-project.eu/oceancurrents/oceancurrents-c02-p03.html https://seos-project.eu/oceancurrents/oceancurrents-c02-p03.... [2] https://archive.org/details/authenticaccount01stau/page/142/mode/2up https://archive.org/details/authenticaccount01stau/page/142/...