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Jan 1, 1405
Zheng He Takes First Voyage
Yonglo, Hongwa's son, sent Zheng He, a Chinese Muslim admiral, on 7 voyages in total; he led all 7. All the expeditions were large and grand in general. The voyages went from Southeast Asia to Eastern Africa. He sailed from port to port along the Indian Ocean. Everywhere he went, he gave gold and silver to show Chinese superiority. As a result, 16 countries gave money to the Ming Court. -
Jan 1, 1419
Prince Henry Founds First Navigation School
Prince Henry, the son of Portugal's King, was the most enthusiastic supporter of exploration. He founded his Institute at Sagres on the southwestern-most point of Portugal, Cape Saint Vincent. The institute was a research and development facility, included libraries, an astronomical observatory, ship-building facilities, a chapel, and housing for staff. The institute was designed to teach navigational techniques to Portuguese sailors, to collect geographical information about the world. -
Jan 1, 1433
Ming China Adopts Isolationist Policy Following Zheng He's Seventh Voyage
Chinese scholar-officals complained that the voyages wasted too many resources that could have helped fight the barbarian attacks on northern China. After Zheng He's seventh voyage, China withdrew into isolation. China's official trade policiies in the 1500s reflected it's isolation. To kept the influence of outsiders to a minimum, only the government was to conduct foreign trade, and through only 3 coastal ports, Canton, Macao, and Ningbo. -
Jan 1, 1492
Christopher Columbus Lands in Hispaniola
In 1492, an Italian sea captain, Christopher Columbus, convinced Spain to finance a bold plan: finding a route to Asia by sailing west across the Atlantic Ocean. Later in the year, Columbus reached Hispaniola, an island in the Carribean. He overestimated the size of Asia and underestimated the size of the ocean. He thought he had reached the East Indies and called the native people Indians. -
Jan 1, 1494
Spain and Portugal Sign The Treaty of Tordesillas
The rivalry between Spain and Portugal grew tense. In 1493, Pope Alexander VI stepped in to keep peace between the two nations. He suggested an imaginary dividing line, drawn north to south, through the Atlantic Ocean. All lands west of the line, known as the Line of Demarcation, would be Spain's; these lands included most of the Americas. All lands to the east of the line would be Portugal's. In 1994, both nations signed the Tready of Tordesillas, in which they agreed to honor the line. -
Jan 1, 1498
Vasco da Gama Reaches India
In 1497, Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama began exploring the east African coast. In 1498, he reached a port of Calicut, on the southwestern coast of India. Da Gama and his crew were amazed by the spices, rare silks, and precious gems that filled Calicut's shops. The Portuguese sailors filled their ships with pepper and cinnamon and returned to Portugal in 1499. Their cargo was worth 60 times the cost of the voyage. Da Gama's remarkable journey gave Portugal a direct sea route to India. -
Tokugawa Ieyasu becomes shogun of Japan
Tokugawa Ieyasu was one of Hideyoshi's stronges daimyo allies. He completed the unification of Japan. In 1600, he defeated his rivals at the Battle of Sekigahara. His victory earned him loyalty of daimyos throughout Japan. Three years later he became the sole ruler, shogun. He moved Japan's capital to his power base at Edo, otherwise known as modern day Tokyo. Ieyasu founded the Tokugawa Shogunate, which hold power until 1867. -
Manchus establish Qing Dynasty in China
Northeast of the Great Wall, lay Manchuria. In 1644, the Manchus, the people of the region, invaded China and the Ming Dynasty collapsed. The Manchus seized Bejiing, and their leader, Kangxi, became China's new emperor. The Manchus were non-Chinese,they took a Chinese name for their dynasty, the Qing Dynasty; they would rule for more than 260 years and expand borders to include Taiwan, Chinese Central Asia, Mongolia, and Tibet. The Chinese called their country The Middle Kingdom.
