Thread by @Hieraaetus

THREAD - Zheng He and the Afro-Chinese Connection

(1) Since the dawn of history, the shores of East Africa have been a fulcrum of trade, where the South, the West & the East all met, at times in trade & mingling, at other times in war & depredation. Thus arose the Swahili Coast.

(2) Even since before the written era, evidence indicates that Africa and the East were connected, with voyagers from the Malay archipelagos spreading crops, tools, musical instruments and boat-building technology. Chief among their return harvest were slaves.

(3) These they kept among themselves, but also sold on, and from the 7th century, Chinese sources attest the purchase of black men called "Sēngqí". This in term derives from an Austronesian word, "Jenggi", which eventually would be loaned into Arabic as "Zanj", "a black African"

(4) As the centuries passed, the Malay monopoly on the Indian Ocean trade gradually slipped. In time, it would pass entirely to the Arabs along the western shores. It is in this period of shifting powers and cultures that one of the great nautical tales unfolded: The Ming Voyages

(5) The Ming dynasty ruled China from 1368-1644, following the fall of the Mongol-led Yuan. The years of subjugation by northern barbarians were a slight to Chinese imperial pride & prestige that could not be tolerated, & accordingly, the Ming emperors sought to right the record

(6) It was in this context that Zu Di, the Yongle Emperor, commissioned the great Treasure Voyages. The Chinese saw themselves as the de jure rulers of All Under Heaven, from their borders to the furthest isles. The voyages would serve to remind their wayward subjects of the fact

(7) The voyages were not punitive or explicitly expansionist, however - not even the Ming state had the ability to realistically project hard power into the far corners of the world. Instead, their purpose was to overawe, to impress the matchless wealth and power of China.

(8) To head this fleet was the trusted and talented eunuch Zheng He. Originally named Ma He and born to a Muslim family in Yunnan, Zheng had assisted the Yongle emperor in overthrowing his predecessor. He was by all accounts an imposing man, with a chest measuring 5 feet across.

(9) Of the treasure voyages there were in total 7, carried out in the years 1405-33. Their destinations varied, but 3 went so far as crossing the Indian ocean, bearing the first direct Chinese descriptions of African locations, including 'Maqdishu' and Muâ-lién (Malindi)

(10) The first of the African expeditions was prompted initially by the gifting to the Emperor of a giraffe by the sultan of Bengal, who had in turn acquired it from the sultan of Malindi. Giraffes were viewed with awe in China, associated with the heavenly qilin-beast

(11) Along the Swahili coast, the Chinese offered porcelain ware, acquiring in return mangrove poles, ambergris, leopard skins, slaves, ivory, gums, rhinoceros horns, and tortoise shells. Ceramics of Chinese origin have been in numerous archaeological sites in Kenya

(12) Evidence of the ancient links between China and Kenya have been increasingly unearthed over the last few decades. One of Zheng He's ships is said to have sunk in the waters off of the small Lamu Archipelago, and its possible wreckage has been uncovered.

(13) Even more startlingly, it has been shown that the people of Pate Island (one of the Lamu isles) have substantial Chinese ancestry, genetically vindicating the tale. These people are referred to today as "wachina" - "Chinese people", and several have visited China recently.

(14) This Afro-Chinese connection would not however last. Zhang He's voyages drew to an end, and no more followed. Another 80 years would pass before distant foreigners once more guested the Swahili coast, this time in the form of the Portuguese, ushering in a very new chapter.