Columbus & Zheng, Research Paper Example

Columbus and Zheng He: A Tale of Two Explorers

“We shall not cease from exploration. And the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started and know the place for the first time” (Web 1).

The idea of man and exploration is nothing new. Upon a closer look into the experiences of the men behind the explorations, we can learn a great deal about the expeditions, the men who took them, and the countries that supported their efforts. The story of exploration by Christopher Columbus and Zheng He is really the story of two countries and their quest for power and control in an ever-expanding world. For Spain, Columbus’ expeditions represented both a chance to bypass regulated trade routes and conquer new people on new lands. For China, Zheng He’s expeditions represented an opportunity to maintain and renew existing relationships with neighboring countries. Although the expeditions of Columbus and Zheng were several decades apart, their commonalities and differences highlighted the reasons behind their trips and revealed what they each thought about the cultures they encountered along the way.

The early 15^th century saw China’s Ming Dynasty at the peak of its power as a kingdom. China’s wealth and power altered the context of its exploration expeditions from those of other countries during the “age of exploration.” Due to the wealth and power of China, the Ming Dynasty was able to focus expeditions on the surveillance and the maintenance of relationships with its allies. This focus reflected itself in the trips discussed in a 1431 inscription from a monument by Zheng He in a temple in China. Zheng He’s voyages to “the countries beyond the horizon” revealed a predominantly “peaceful” voyage that yielded much wealth and allegiance for China (Web 2).

Over the course of twenty-six years, Zheng He and his crew had “seven times received the commission of ambassadors to countries of the western ocean” (Filesi). During that time, according to his inscription, Zheng He travelled to “confer presents” upon neighboring ambassadors, “manifest the transforming power of the [imperial] virtue,” and “treat distant people with kindness” (Filesi). Zheng He also revealed that he and his crew “captured alive those of the native kings who were not respectful” and “exterminated those barbarian robbers who were engaged in piracy” (Filesi). To be certain, while the notion of capturing and exterminating rulers hardly seems peaceful, the acknowledgement provided an idea of the extent to which China had committed to a system of maintaining relationships with their “ambassadors” (Filesi). Whereas other countries sought the use of violent force to impose a certain regime, the inscription distinguished China’s expeditions as the renewal of pre-existing connections to neighboring allies.

The inscription also detailed what Zheng He and by extension, China, thought of its allies. In his first reference about other countries, Zheng He referred to them as “barbarians form beyond the seas” (Filesi). Despite immediately following the details of his mission, Zheng then refers to the countries in support of China as “ambassadors” and “barbarians” again (Filesi). The inscription exposed Zheng He’s attitude about China’s neighbors ultimately, as lower in rank than him. By calling them “barbarian,” Zheng He implied that there is something almost nonhuman about China’s allies, something that made them less equal to China (Filesi). Although he referred to China’s allies as “ambassadors,” the fact that it is sandwiched between use of the term “barbarian” supported the notion that Zheng He thought much less of the “subjects” of neighboring countries (Filesi).

In contrast to China, Spain found itself in a different situation during the end of the 15^th century. Whereas China was so powerful and looking to maintain that status through the reiteration of alliances, Spain (under King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella) was not. Spain found herself not only in competition with other European countries for available land and resources, but also found looking for a way to bypass the western end of the Silk Road controlled then by Turkish middlemen. Spain’s focus was on acquiring power similar to China’s through the acquisition of new routes and new people for conversion to Christianity. Because, in part, of this determination to have power, Spain exerted more force over newly encountered people than that exhibited by China. With Columbus leading the way, Spain sought new routes for trade that would undermine the ones controlled by Turkish men, as well as new resources and people to conquer.

On his expedition through what is now known as the Caribbean Islands, Columbus “found many islands inhabited by men without number” of which he “took possession” of for the King of Spain (Columbus). These islands, Columbus noted, were “very desirable” and full of convenient harbors and a “remarkable number of rivers contributing to the healthfulness of man” (Columbus). Furthermore, Columbus noted that one of the islands was “[abound] in gold,” that “hitherto mortal men [had] never reached” (Columbus).

Were Columbus or Spain merely looking for routes for trade, the habitability of the island, nor its people, would matter nearly as much as it appeared they did. On several occasions, Columbus remarked how the island people were “timid and full of fear” whenever they encountered him or his crew (Columbus). For the island people that carried no weaponry, Columbus viewed them as “cowardly” in comparison to Spain’s people, and recalled their tendency to “go always naked” (Columbus).  Noting that the island people were of “simple manners and trustworthy, and very liberal with everything they [had],” Columbus reiterated that the “fear” of the island people was often replaced with “excellent and acute understanding” of the world around them (Columbus). Despite their intelligence, cowardliness or kindness, Columbus ultimately denounced the island people when he referred to them as “many [potential] slaves for the navy” (Columbus).

Given that both Spain (through Columbus) and China (through Zheng He) were seeking power and control, their methods of doing so and their viewpoints of the people encountered reflected the different realities both countries lived in. Because China was at the height of power in its area of the world, its trips had more of a diplomatic feel to them than Spain’s. Whereas China could afford to take multiple excursions to allies to maintain ties, Spain treated its expeditions as conquest missions where people and land were to be dominated over. Had Spain not needed another route for trade, or been in search of new resources and people to add to the kingdom’s control, the trips by Columbus might have taken on a similar feel to those by Zheng He. Nevertheless, as both countries ultimately sought to either maintain power or acquire it, their views on the cultures and people encountered maintained a tone of somehow less than either that of China or Spain.

Works Cited

Class Sources:

Columbus, Christopher. “The Columbus Letter of 1493: Concerning the Islands Recently Discovered in the Indian Sea.” University of Southern Maine, Ann Arbor: Clements Library Associates. University of Southern Maine. 2010.

Filesi, Teobaldo. “Zheng He’s Inscription [David Morison trans. China and Africa in the Middle Ages].” London, UK. Frank Kass, 1972.

Websites:

Web 1: Elliot, T.S., “Exploration quote.” 2 May 2010. <http://www.nasa.gov/topics/earth/features/feldman_galapagos.html>.

Web 2: The Independent (no author listed). “Hero of the Ming Dynasty: The man who  mapped the world.” The Independent Online. 26 September 2006. Online. 2 May 2010.  <http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/hero-of-the-ming-dynasty-the-man-who-mapped-the-world-417584.html>