Thread by @ill_Scholar

A century Before Columbus, a fleet of 300 ships sailed from China

Over 30 years & 7 voyages, they visited Africa, Asia, India, & the Middle East

By the time Columbus sailed the Chinese fleet was burned or left to rot. The records destroyed. Why?

Thread 🧵🧭

Unlike Columbus, the Eunuch Admiral Zheng did not seek discovery, Gold, or Conquest

He was tasked with projecting Chinese Maritime Power and engaging in diplomacy/trade with tributaries & Distant Rulers

30,000 sailors, diplomats, officials, & soldiers sailed with him

The Treasure Fleet was 300 ships strong, the largest boasting 9 masts, 4 decks, and a length of ~400 ft

The fleet dwarfed any European Navy of the time to a laughable extent.

Zheng embarked from what is now Shanghai in AD 1405 on his first voyage

Over Three Years, They sailed across all of Asia, to Malacca, Java, and on to Calicut

The Fleet projected the unfathomable strength of the Middle Kingdom & secured trade & diplomatic relations at each stop

The later six voyages were equally successful, spreading Chinese Superiority to Africa & the Persian Gulf

They brought treasures & dignitaries back to China, a singing Parrot, a Giraffe, & massive Bengal Porcelain

So why did Chinese Naval Power meet such an unceremonious demise?

Emperor Yongle who funded the Voyages died, with his successors wanting to concentrate on internal affairs

The influence of foreign “barbarians” wrought through trade was seen as disruptive to Order by the more Confucian Conservative minded Emperors after Yongle

The expeditions, grand as they were, strained the treasury,

The benefits did not outweigh the costs to Emperors facing internal strife and Mongol encroachment

The Rising Power of the merchant class was also seen as a threat

The result of these factors led to not only the ending of the voyages but of a calculated campaign to destroy collective knowledge that the Ming ever undertook such travel

The Ming would wain in power over the next centuries, and neither the Ming nor the Qing Dynasty that supplanted them would attempt anything close to the Voyages of Admiral Zheng

While the Europeans grew in strength over the next centuries, expanding across the World’s Oceans, the Chinese turned inward

The attitude of disinterest in all that occurred past their Divine Borders led the Chinese to internal harmony

Apathy to World Affairs unfortunately also rendered the Chinese Empire incapable of comprehending the threat amassing beyond their Divine Borders

By the late 18th century, the growing British Empire sent Lord George MaCartney to the court of Emperor Qianlong

The goal was to open direct trade with China

The British Emissary viewed himself as a representative of the Grand World Empire on which the sun never sets, now a contemporary of the Great Chinese Empire, renowned even in Europe for Millenia

This British self-perception meant little to the Chinese Emperor, ruler of all under Heaven and of the Middle Kingdom around which the Barbarian Brit’s sun revolved.

Lord MaCartney acted accordingly, repeatedly requesting to speak directly with the Emperor, in direct opposition to Chinese custom

Nevertheless, with a tone of annoyance, bewilderment, and a growing awareness of the danger posed by the arrogant Barbarians the audience was granted.

But only to squash the arrogant request outright and settle the matter permanently

Each request of the Letter, shown below, was refused outright by the Emperor.

Lavish gifts were bestowed on the Officers and Men of the expedition and even greater sent back with them to King George III in recognition of his “tribute”

This event would be the first major rendezvous of many between the Empires.

The disparity in perception between them would eventually be reconciled on the Battlefield

The British expanded and grew in strength, regardless of the resulting destabilization of their home country

The Chinese chose the opposite path, creating harmony and stability for centuries, but leading to relative weakness which would result in incalculable death/suffering and the “Century of Humiliation” (19th century) in China

But that story will be told another day

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