Transcript Asia and Exploration

Asia and Exploration
Ming Dynasty
▫ Ming rulers would not allow outsiders from
distant lands to threaten the peace and
prosperity they had brought to China after the
end of Mongol rule.
▫ Mongols had been a foreign group that
invaded China and now finally an ethnically
Chinese dynasty was in power.
Ming Dynasty Continued
• Yonglo – son of 1st Ming Emperor
• Had strong interest in exploring the world
• Mongols had been a foreign group that invaded
China and now finally an ethnically Chinese
dynasty was in power.
Zheng He
• Zheng He led these voyages!
▫ Early voyages set out to Southeast Asia and
India
▫ Later expeditions roamed as far as Arabia and
eastern Africa.
▫ Later expeditions went to Arabia and eastern
Africa
Zheng He
▫ 40 to 300 ships sailed in each exploration
▫ Fighting ships, storage vessels, and huge
“treasure” ships up to 440 feet long
▫ Crews outnumber 27,000 on some voyages
▫ Sailors, soldiers, carpenters, interpreters,
accountants, doctors, and religious leaders
▫ Sailed from port to port along the Indian Ocean
▫ Distributed gifts, such as gold, silver, silk, and
scented oils, to show Chinese superiority
▫ More than 16 countries sent tribute to the Ming
Court
And then….
• Chinese scholar-officials complained that these
voyages wasted valuable resources
▫ After the 7th voyage ended in 1433, there were
no more.
▫ China withdrew itself into self-sufficient
isolation.
Isolation
• To keep the influence of outsiders to a minimum,
only the government was to conduct foreign trade,
through three coastal ports.
▫ In reality, trade flourished up and down the coast
▫ Profit-minded Chinese merchants smuggled
cargoes of silk, porcelain, and other valuable
goods out of the country into the hands of eager
European merchants
▫ Europeans would pay for these goods with the
silver that had been mined in the Americas  at
the expense of Native Americans
Effects
• China did not become fully industrialized for 2
reasons
▫ The whole idea of commerce offended Chinese
Confucian beliefs. Merchants, it was said,
made their money “supporting foreigners and
robbery”
▫ Second, Chinese economic policies
traditionally favored agriculture. Taxes on
agriculture stayed low. Taxes on
manufacturing and trade skyrocketed.
Cultural Diffusion!
• Accompanying European traders into China
were Christian missionaries.
• Brought Christianity and variety of European
inventions, like the clock and prism to China.
• Many educated Chinese opposed Christianity
• First missionary was Italian Jesuit, Matteo Ricci.
He gained special place in Ming Court through
his intelligence and ability to speak and write
Chinese.