Oranges, were introduced into Portugal by the Moors (current day Moroccans and Algerians) when they invaded Iberian Peninsula. It spread from there to the rest

Oranges, were introduced into Portugal by the Moors (current day Moroccans and Algerians) when they invaded Iberian Peninsula. It spread from there to the rest of Europe. Funny thing is that the Persians knew citrus fruits (originated in Central Asia) long before the Portuguese but they also call it portqale while the Portuguese name (laranja) comes from the sanskrit "nāraṅga" brought by the Persians themselves. The reason is that the Portuguese discovered very soon that the citrus are very efficient to fight scurvy, caused by C vitamin deficiency, a disease that made impossible to travel long oceanic voyages. So during 15th and 16th century they established a lot of trading posts around the world where they could get a supply of fresh oranges. Oranges were one of the secrets discovered by the Portuguese to enable long sailing ships. Like land and celestial maps and gun powder, they were one of the most essential technologies to enable mercantilism, European colonialism and globalization.