Cheng-tsu: Third Emperor of the Ming Dynasty

The Europeans were not the only group to pursue exploration. In 1405 the Chinese began a series of voyages into the Indian Ocean directed by Cheng Ho, a powerful court eunuch of the Ming Dynasty. The motives for exploration were surprisingly similar to the Europeans: a desire to recover trade (profit) in the form of tribute from kingdoms in Southeast Asia; the reinforcement of the claim to universal authority (similar to the spread of Christianity as the universal religion) , and a thirst for knowledge. These expeditions involved tens of thousands of men and more than a hundred large junks (a style of ship) each. They visited the Maldive Islands, Calicut, Hormuz, and along the East African coast. They fought off pirate fleets near Sumatra, installed a new ruler in Calicut and defeated the king of Ceylon. They returned with many exotic items, including a giraffe from Africa that quickly became the emblem of the Ming Dynasty. The last expedition in 1431 sent the adventurer Hung Po with a party of Muslim merchants to Mecca who return with many more precious cargo for the Emperor. Half a century later, Portuguese ships approached the same region from the south. By then the Ming program of expansion had faded and the Europeans would wait to meet the first Chinese ships in Malacca and Canton.

The Ming Dynasty's Maritime History

The Chinese Navy at the Golden Island, Yang-tse kiang

The half century between 1500 and 1550 saw the Portuguese establish control over the sea routes of the Indian Ocean, reach the source of the oriental spice trade, and establish relations with China and Japan. The men who pioneered these accomplishments came into contact with many great and long-established civilisations that were in many respects as highly developed (arguably, more developed) as their own. The goal of Portuguese exploration was to gain control over the system of maritime trade that linked the countries of southern Asia from China to the Red Sea, and by extension to southern Europe. Portugal achieved this by discovering a practical sea-route into the Indian Ocean via the circumnavigation of the African continent and by establishing a base of operations for itself on the Malabar Coast. The Portuguese then proceeded to spread their influence throughout the region with amazing rapidity. Portuguese dominance of trade continued until its Western European rivals finally challenged it in the late sixteenth century. The following pages describe the opening of the sea-route to India by Vasco da Gama, the struggle over trade by the early Portuguese pioneers, and the early contacts between the cultures of Europe, China and Japan.

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