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Oh man, that would make for a fascinating alternate history – China discovers California and invades it sightly before Columbus discovers the Americas. The unfo

Oh man, that would make for a fascinating alternate history – China discovers California and invades it sightly before Columbus discovers the Americas. The unfortunate Amerinds, get crushed from both sides instead of just from one. At some point the Europeans and Chinese clash in the middle of the Americas. Of course, China doesn't ever seemed to have too much colonialist inclination, which reduces the plausibility.

vorg 13y ago
China's Zheng He fleets generally hugged the coast through Singapore, all the way around to Tanzania. That took them a long way, but Columbus went directly into the vast unknown. If China had tried what Columbus had... * the Pacific ocean is twice as wide as the Atlantic (I don't know anything about wind patterns here) * the Rockies are a lot more difficult than the Appalachians to get a military force with supply lines over * the Europeans on the East Coast can sail around Florida and up the Mississippi to attack or defend it, whereas the Panana Canal needed to be built first for the Chinese to benefit in this way * China didn't have "military inclination" because it was surround by SW dense forests, the Tianshan mountains in the west, desert in the north, and ocean elsewhere. They certainly ruled Korea when they had they chance, took over Xinjiang through the passage, South China, and the southwest when they could.
- oblio 13y ago
  > * the Pacific ocean is twice as wide as the Atlantic (I don't know anything about wind patterns here) True, but the Pacific has a lot of islands in between, the Atlantic hardly has any. I don't know what the effective range of Chinese ships was at the time, though.
- dragontamer 13y ago
  Indeed. Some hypothesize that the purpose of Zheng He's fleet was not exploration, but more about portraying power. The size and number of the ships demonstrated China's superiority over other countries. Very akin to how the US uses the Nimitz Class Carrier today. The official mission of the Nimitz Class Carriers is military... but as the largest warship ever built it tends to be more practically used as a diplomatic tool. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nimitz-class_aircraft_carrier#Symbolic_and_diplomatic_roles http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nimitz-class_aircraft_carrier#S... Similarly, Zheng He's fleet was the largest of its time. Its official purpose may have been exploration, but practically speaking, it probably was used more for diplomatic missions. When 300 giant ships arrive on your horizon, it is one way for China to physically prove their naval superiority over their neighbors.

vorg 13y ago

China's Zheng He fleets generally hugged the coast through Singapore, all the way around to Tanzania. That took them a long way, but Columbus went directly into the vast unknown. If China had tried what Columbus had... * the Pacific ocean is twice as wide as the Atlantic (I don't know anything about wind patterns here) * the Rockies are a lot more difficult than the Appalachians to get a military force with supply lines over * the Europeans on the East Coast can sail around Florida and up the Mississippi to attack or defend it, whereas the Panana Canal needed to be built first for the Chinese to benefit in this way * China didn't have "military inclination" because it was surround by SW dense forests, the Tianshan mountains in the west, desert in the north, and ocean elsewhere. They certainly ruled Korea when they had they chance, took over Xinjiang through the passage, South China, and the southwest when they could.

oblio 13y ago
> * the Pacific ocean is twice as wide as the Atlantic (I don't know anything about wind patterns here) True, but the Pacific has a lot of islands in between, the Atlantic hardly has any. I don't know what the effective range of Chinese ships was at the time, though.
dragontamer 13y ago
Indeed. Some hypothesize that the purpose of Zheng He's fleet was not exploration, but more about portraying power. The size and number of the ships demonstrated China's superiority over other countries. Very akin to how the US uses the Nimitz Class Carrier today. The official mission of the Nimitz Class Carriers is military... but as the largest warship ever built it tends to be more practically used as a diplomatic tool. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nimitz-class_aircraft_carrier#Symbolic_and_diplomatic_roles http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nimitz-class_aircraft_carrier#S... Similarly, Zheng He's fleet was the largest of its time. Its official purpose may have been exploration, but practically speaking, it probably was used more for diplomatic missions. When 300 giant ships arrive on your horizon, it is one way for China to physically prove their naval superiority over their neighbors.