From Glimpses of HIstory: “Almost all children around the world learn about Christopher Columbus, and how, as the popular poem starts, “In fourteen hundred ninety-two, Columbus sailed the ocean blue”, and how Columbus reached the Americas in October of 1492. They also learn that he sailed with three ships: the Nina (“Girl”), the Pinta(“Pint”), and the Santa Maria (“Holy Mary”).
All true. But what is not as well known is that over 75 years earlier a Chinese admiral made several amazing sea voyages. This admiral was seven feet tall. He was a Muslim (Muslims were, and still are, a minority in China). He was born in poverty and had worked as a servant. And he traveled over 31,000 miles and visited 37 countries (including countries in Africa) – with a crew, a fleet, and ships, all much larger than Columbus’s.
Cheng Ho was born in 1371 with the name Ma Ho. His great great grandfather was Sayyid Ajjal Shams al-Din Omar, a Persian who was the first governor of Yunnan during the early Yuan Dynasty. His father and grandfather had both made the Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca. Their travels influenced his upbringing, and he grew up familiar with Chinese, Arabic, and Persian.
When he was ten years old, his town was captured by the Chinese army, and he eventually became a servant to Prince Zhu Di, the fourth son (out of 26 sons) of the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty. He helped Zhu Di in various battles. After one such battle, Zhu Di renamed him Cheng Ho (also referred to as “Zheng He”), after a place where Cheng Ho’s horse was killed.
In 1402 Zhu Di became Emperor, and one year later Zhu Di appointed Cheng Ho as admiral. He ordered him to build a “Treasure Fleet” for three purposes: to explore the seas, to make China known to the world as a friendly power, and to establish trade relations with other countries.
Between 1405 and 1433 he led seven voyages. 1622 ships were constructed in Nanjing along the Yangtze River. The first voyage had a 30,000 person crew, 62 large ships, and 255 smaller ships. Some of these smaller ships were dedicated to specific purposes such as carrying horses, carrying fresh water, and carrying items to trade such as porcelain dishes, vases and cups, Chinese silk, gold, and silver. Each of the 62 ships were 475 feet long and 193 feet wide, and each held a crew of 1000. By comparison, Columbus’s three ships held 90 men each, and the longest of them, the Santa Maria, was 85 feet long. Cheng Ho’s fleet was so large, that it would not be matched again in history until World War I.”
via Cheng Ho | Glimpses of History.
See also: https://chindia-alert.org/political-factors/
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