Why British Sailors Were Called "Limeys"

If you've heard British people called "limeys," you can thank an 18th-century naval health crisis. For centuries, scurvy killed more sailors than combat ever did—an estimated 2 million sailors died from vitamin C deficiency between the 16th and 18th centuries.

In 1747, Scottish surgeon James Lind conducted what's considered the first clinical trial when he tested various scurvy remedies on sick sailors. The men given citrus fruit recovered. Simple, right?

The 42-Year Wait

Not exactly. Despite Lind's clear findings, it took 42 years for the Royal Navy to officially mandate citrus juice. Bureaucracy moves slowly, even when lives are at stake.

Starting in 1795, every British sailor received three-quarters of an ounce of lemon juice daily. The results were dramatic—scurvy virtually disappeared from Royal Navy ships.

Then Britain Made a Cheap Mistake

Here's where things went sour. By 1804, the Navy needed 50,000 gallons of lemon juice annually. Problem: lemons came from Spain, and Britain was at war with Spain.

The solution? Switch to limes from British Caribbean colonies. More patriotic, more convenient, and ultimately more deadly.

Limes contain only half the vitamin C of lemons and oranges. The nickname "limeys" stuck—American sailors mocked their British opponents with the term during the War of 1812—but the inferior fruit choice had real consequences.

A Lesson in False Economy

The switch to limes meant scurvy crept back into the fleet, though the Royal Navy didn't connect the dots for decades. They assumed all citrus was equal. It wasn't.

So yes, British sailors were called limeys because of their citrus rations. But the real story involves wartime logistics, penny-pinching bureaucrats, and a costly substitution that undid decades of medical progress.