My China related conspiracy theory:

As a total layman, if I look up the origins of the English word “mango”, I find its first use in the 1500’s by Portuguese traders converting the Tamil word mankay.

The Chinese word for mango is “mang guo”, a cognate. What’s weird is that “guo” means roughly “fruit,” also used in “ping guo” for apple.

When I ask around if the original Portuguese translation came from the Chinese word, rhe common answer is no, and that’s the conspiracy.

I think the word has already transferred into Portuguese through Mandarin before its first recorded use, either through direct trade or via Arabic traders who also visited Mandarin speaking ports.

Because otherwise the match on the “guo” is just too coincidental.