“Rose's lime juice, often known simply as Rose's, is a concentrated fruit juice patented in 1867. This was the world's first commercially produced fruit concentrate.” - Wikipedia

The small green citrus fruit has long been known for its high concentrations of Vitamin C. A fact that has been repeatedly lost and rediscovered throughout history like the turbulent waters on which its name was made - its intrinsic link to human migration and flow will forever be tied to the sweet sour taste.

In 1740 George Anson, a Royal Navy officer embarked on an attempt to disrupt the Spanish strangle hold on South American commodities. departing from Portsmouth with 1900 men he led a haunted trail of ghosts across the globe in an attempt to capture Callao in Peru (the port that served the nearby capital Lima).

George Anson failed to capture Callao and his battalion was left to wonder the glassy undulating planes. He returned to Britain in 1774 having lost over 1000 men on his circumnavigation of the globe.

It was in Scotland that George Anson’s battalion of ghost sailors alerted Europe to the deadly burden that extended periods of time at sea had on its souls. Scurvy was amongst the main causes of death that led a son of a sea merchant and surgeon to conduct one of the first ever clinical trials and develop the theory that citric fruits cured scurvy. It wasn’t until the late 1700’s that it became the normal practice for sailors of the Royal Navy to receive a daily ration of lemon or lime juice. The ascorbic acid preserved in rum made limes the perfect capsule of vitality to prolong sailors ungodly lingering on the open ocean fuelling the continued oppression and exploration of the naval fleets.

This episode of Random Article carries us across the globe as we trace the paths of these ghosts and their vital Lime jewels from the ports of England and Scotland to the Gold coast of Ghana and the Caribbean island of Dominica even touching on South America’s influence on the Limey world. We explore the cultural influences and the complex relationships this fruit has formed as it infuses its green sugary nectar into our world.