alternatehistory.com

The cure for scurvy was discovered, lost, and rediscovered many times throughout history--from Ancient Egypt in 1550 BC, to Phoenician traders, to Crusaders, to the Portuguese, to the British Empire (who actually forgot the cure to scurvy, during the golden age of the Royal Navy), to the final discovery of Vitamin C in 1912.

What if there was some passage in the Bible about a voyage in the eastern Mediterranean, that, as a small relatively unimportant detail, mentioned sailors preserving and eating either citrus, root vegetables, horse meat, or liver, to keep healthy at sea and prevent the sickness suffered from long voyages? This would preserve the cure for scurvy for 2000+ years, as the Bible is copied and recopied.

What would the effects be over the centuries as navies and trading networks develop?
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