Should We Recognize The Voyage Of Zheng He Dbq

In the map and chart created by National Geographic titled “China’s Great Armada”, Zheng He traveled to Mombasa Kenya which is ~19,000 miles roundtrip(Doc A). This accomplishment is important because far seafaring expeditions of this extent were nearly unheard of in the 15th century due the lack of technology and knowledge. Therefore Zheng He’s skills as a great explorer are undoubtable. Moreover in the chart it exhibits that Zheng He transversed Calicut, Hormuz, Malindi, Mogadishu, and Mombasa(Doc A). All of these countries were over ~11,000 miles roundtrip and therefore, Zheng He displays that he can consistently travel far distances(Doc A).

In order to understand the political motives behind Zheng He’s expedition, it is important to look into the historical background of Emperor Yongle’s reign. Yongle did not inherit the throne from his father Emperor Hongwu. Soon after his father’s death, Yongle, the Prince of Yan at that time, initiated a military rebellion and overthrew his nephew Emperor Jianwen. Because he usurped the throne, Emperor Yongle had a huge urge to suppress rumors and legitimate his rulership during his early years of reign. During the rebellion, Emperor Jianwen disappeared and he was rumored to survive the palace fire and flee overseas. Historians argued that one of the original goals of Zheng He’s

The first reason for celebration of Zheng He's voyages is his distance and destination. In 7 voyages he traveled over 105,300 miles. Examples of some places and distance he traveled was

Should Zheng He be recognized for his travels to the east coast of Africa and the southern parts of Asia? Culture, country-to-country relationships, and trade seemed very important to Emperor Yongle, who decided that Zheng He was to explore the world for China. In document A, a map is shown, displaying his travels to east Africa and southern Asia. His furthest travels include India, Iran, Kenya, and Somalia. Along the way, he traded with these countries, including local products and animals.

Marco Polo- A sailor who told his tales of success in Asia, finding gold, silks, and spices which encouraged people to sail overseas in search for wealth.

Zheng He, a Chinese explorer, was born in 1371 in the Yunan Province of southwestern China (background essay). When Zheng He was ten years old, his father was killed right in front of him by the Ming Dynasty’s army (background essay). He was then taken prisoner, castrated, and forced to become part of the eunuchs (background essay). As he grew older, Emperor Yongle began to trust him more and more (background essay). The Emperor trusted him to travel by ship and lead a crew down the coast of China and across the ocean to eventually land in India in 1405 (background essay). This was one of the seven voyages he would take (background essay). When asked if Zheng He’s voyages should be celebrated, three factors must be taken into account: skill, scale and significance. Skill is the measure of one’s ability to do something. Scale is the measure of actions taken to preform something. Significance is the meaning of an event. The voyages of Zheng He should not be celebrated because there was no new land discovered, the cost of the trips were expensive and wasteful, and the reasons for the voyages mainly purposed Zheng He himself and Emperor Yongle.

The illustration from When China Ruled of Christopher Columbus’s Santa Maria, and Zheng He’s treasure ship on Document B show you just how ridiculous and overzealous his ships were. According the chart under the illustration on Document B, Zheng He had 255 ships, and a crew consisting of 27,500 people. Too fully comprehend how ridiculous this was, compare it to Christopher Columbus’s 3, 85 feet long ships and 90 person crew. Zheng He’s ships were 440 feet long, and 180 feet wide according to Document C’s illustration by Edward L. Dreyer. Apparently these massive ships could not sail in water more shallow than roughly 20 feet, because the port elevation was 20 feet itself so optimally, the water would have to be 30 feet deep. To understand how large the crew was; the doctor to patient ratio in the United States is

The first reason the voyages of Zheng He do deserve to be celebrated is because of his over the top ships. From an illustration of what his treasure ship might of looked like “it shows it at least being 400 feet” (Doc C). In Zheng He’s comparison chart to other navigators it shows how he had “255 ships when everyone else only had less than 5 ships” (Doc B). Clearly, one can observe that Zheng He only wanted to be the best at everything he did. And with his huge sailing technology he had managed to finally state that about himself. Therefore, Zheng He’s many advanced vessels are worth being celebrated.

Although Marco Polo started out as a humble merchant from Venice, he eventually developed a reputation as one of the world’s greatest explorers (“Marco Polo”). He was much more than just a trader however, providing the Western world with detailed accounts of the foreign society that was Medieval China under the Mongol conquest. These accounts would later become invaluable to historians for centuries to come.

Although Zheng He was great, Magellan was a better captain overall. Magellan was a Spanish explorer who was the first European to see the Pacific Ocean. He set sail on a voyage that was supposed to go around the World, but Magellan was killed before he made it. Although he did not make it around the world, he had the skills to get all the way to the Philippines. Zheng He was a Chinese admiral who led seven voyages. He was also a great captain, but he did not almost make it around the world. Instead, he stayed in the same area and stopped in the same places multiple times.

Zheng He may have journeyed far, but with little avail compared to competing captains. As the image in The Voyages of Zheng He: 1405-1433 depicts, his ships sailed to only populated areas with very little undiscovered territory (Document A). Unlike other famed explorers, who became popular off of their discovery of new land, Zheng He remained in an area within proximity of China and made no discoveries worth recognizing. In addition, the chart in When China Ruled the Sea shows Zheng He’s mileage compared to Columbus’s (Document B). He traveled nearly two days slower than his fellow explorer, and made far less progress.

Christopher Columbus made four voyages and is known for discovering America when he was seeking a westward route to India. Columbus was also a remarkable navigator and gutsy sailor, navigating by the stars to sail across the uncharted sea as no other was known to have done. Charles Lindbergh also has a well known reputation.

Zheng He was born in 1371 in Yunnan. Zheng was originally named Ma He, but his name was changed about 13 years later to Zheng He by the emperor of the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Di. Even though Zheng He’s father was of Persian Muslim ancestry, he was a minor official in the Mongol Empire (Brown). Since Zheng He’s father and grandfather made the pilgrimage to Mecca, it sparked Zheng’s interest in the outside world. In 1381, the Mongol Empire was defeated and the Ming Dynasty was established. During the battle between the Mongols and the Ming Dynasty, the Ming army invaded Yunnan and Zheng He was taken as a prisoner at ten years old. Zheng He was sent to the Imperial Palace in Nanjing, where he was castrated, as a eunuch, and forced to serve the emperor’s

Who was Zheng he was an explorer. And a great leader. In The next three paragraph I will be telling you why Zheng he’s voyages should be celebrated.

     Marco Polo was born in c.1254 in Venice. He was a Venetian explorer and merchant whose account of his travels in Asia was the primary source for the European image of the Far East until the late 19th century. Marco’s father, Niccolo, and his uncle Maffeo had traveled to China in 1260 - 1269 as merchants. Despite Marco’s enduring fame very little was known about the personal life of Marco Polo. It is known that he was born into a leading Venetian family of merchants. He also lived during a propitious time in world history, when the height of Venice’s as a city-state coincided with the greatest extent of Mongol conquest of Asia. (http://darter.ocps.k12.fl.us/classroom/who/darter1/polo.htm )