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Zheng He's Armada

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Encompassing hundreds of ships, some exhibiting immense proportions compared to similar affairs of contemporary Europe, Zheng He’s armada enabled the passageway of unfathomable cargo for the day including giraffes from Africa. And in contrast to European exploration models undertaking expensive and volatile extensions of their empires through colonization, China used ostensibly passive methods. Presumably, Chinese rulers eschewed maintaining satellite governments because of the enormous price tag required accompanying that effort. On the other hand, less obvious motivation may have become a factor when the highly influential Confucian scholars known for their frugality, conservatism, and political savvy had the ear of those same overlords.

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