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Blue: Important Stops that Zheng He had
Yellow: Important elements in the trip
Green: Contextulization
Red: Sourcing
Purple: Cause and Effects

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Zheng He was originally born into a Muslim Family from Western China. When he was still very young, he was taken as a slave by the Chinese and made a court eunuch. He worked in the Ming Dynasty. The Ming Emperor wanted to display China's power to the rest of the world. That was the point of these voyages. Zheng He set out to travel to different countries. These places consisted of Southeast Asia, India, and the furthest place he went, the East Coast of Africa.

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During the time that Zheng He was given a command of exploration ships, it was the “opening up” of China. China wanted to project their power to the rest of the world. Since the Ming dynasty was opening up to trade, the use of the environment and technology were important. For example, the monsoon winds. They were predictable, so sailors were able to rely on them for navigation. Additionally, one of the new technologies used was a lateen sail which was a triangular sail used to change direction. Therefore, the use of the environment and new technologies was vital for Zheng He when traveling along the indian ocean trade complex during the opening up of the ming dynasty.

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This is an image of people sailing down the Indian Ocean Trade Route using a Lateen Sail

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Causes and effect of the Indian Ocean Trade Route

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Causes and effect of the Indian Ocean Trade Route

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Cause: One cause of the Indian trade ocean was the monsoon winds. These winds made it easier and more efficient to sail greater distances by boat. If they truly understood these winds they would be able to quickly be caring sailors across the ocean.  Other causes of the Indian Ocean trade route included the creation of new technologies like lateen sails (triangular sail), a compass, and an astrolabe, which helped with direction and navigation. All these different technologies were used during Zheng He's journey across the Indian Ocean Trade Route to help with a smoother and more efficient travel.

Effects: The effects of the Indian trade ocean was the spread of religions like Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism. These religions were spread because parts of the world were becoming closer and were picking up on different cultural aspects that other places used like religions. Another thing that was created was diaspora communities. Another effect of the Indian ocean trade route was the exchange of goods, especially luxury goods.

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The Maldives was a significant stop during the travels of Zheng He. The Maldives is an Island country located in the north-central Indian Ocean. It was a strategic location because it sits along key international shipping routes in the Indian Ocean. In the Maldives, ambergris was a very valuable trading commodity. It was worth its weight in silver. In addition, cowrie shells were another trade good, which was then used as currency throughout China. One of the most important goods in the Maldives were Coconut trees, the sailors needed the coconut fibers to help bind the planks of boats together. Coconut trees are known as the “tree of life.” They can help sustain life in many ways, such as using them for food, building foods and homes, and for other cultural items.

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Zheng He is in control of 48 ships and 30,000 men. The goods that went through Malacca were cloves, nutmeg, other island spices, seed pearls, bird plumes, aloes, and batiks. Malacca was important to China because it was the gateway to the Indian Ocean. This would make sense because China could use Malacca for the trade goods they had access to. Buddhism, Islan, and Hinduism made their way to Malacca. Malacca’s survival depended on overseas trade.  Malacca finally reached sovereignty in China’s eyes when they had stability in this region and were able to sustain themselves. Malacca wanted better and more connections with other parts of the world like Japan, Brunei, and Chochine in south India. Malacca often trades with China because of their access to the Indian ocean. This is also where the entrepot was created. This was where goods would be collected and stored before the final leg of the journey home.

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Major trade goods found here were cardamom, cinnamon, ginger, turmeric, and valuable peppers. It was located in Kerala on the west coast of India. It was the most important port for trade in India and all of south Asia in the 1340s. This destination Calicut was also a very important stop on the Indian Ocean trade route because of a very large treasure fleet that even Zheng He might have thought was dangerous for him to go on that was launched from Calicut.

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Venice was a significant part of Zheng He's voyages because it was where eyeglasses were invented. Eye glasses were first introduced in the tribute that Zhu Di reviewed. This is the first they had ever seen of these eyeglasses; they first called it the Mechanism aidai. These at first valued one thousand pieces of gold. Malaccan merchants had these from trade with the West or with Venice. In Venice these had been invented for a few decades but because trade had recently become more popular and able to go farther it hadn’t diffused to the rest of the world yet. This led to the beginning of Glassmaking in China. Zheng He had brought two skilled glassblowers to help create this industry.

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In Ceylon, Zheng He met Alakeswara upon his arrival.  Alakeswara refused to pay tribute to the Chinese emperor which led to war. Zheng He states the war was fought “one against a hundred.” However, this may be an exaggeration of the story, giving himself more credit than he actually deserves. This could be because of the intended audience. Zheng He was writing this for the emperor. So, he wanted to make himself look better and make it a bigger deal than it actually is to gain favor with the emperor. If he gained favor with the emperor he would feel more stable in knowing that he always had someone powerful on his side to keep him protected and provide him with resources or gifts. Additionally, by exaggerating his victory it affects the meaning of the account of his voyages because it enhances his reputation and highlights his success to a greater extent, giving him more recognition. What most likely actually happened is that the Chinese created alliances with other countries who did not like Alakeswara on the small island of Ceylon.

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When Zheng He arrived Ceylon was divided into three warring states. When Zheng He and the Chinese were forced out of Ceylon by Alakeswara and Zheng He eventually returned to Ceylon to disrespect them purposefully. When Zheng He was forced out of Ceylon he sailed to India to conduct trade in Quilon, Cochin, and Calicut He returned to Ceylon to avenge this ingratitude and to disrespect their dragon throne. After this happened Alkeswara sent his son to demand goods from Zheng He which he had just acquired from his trading and when Zheng He refused Alakeswara sent fifty thousand troops after He to take the goods from He. As a result Zheng He found out about this and 2 thousand troops to the capital where Alakeswara didn't send that many to and more to the boat so Zheng He’s men easily defeated Alakeswara’s and escaped on the boats with Alakeswara as a prisoner of Zheng He’s. This victory of Zheng He is considered the  most glorious moment in history of his voyages.

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The Qilin (giraffe) was brought to the King in China by the ruler of Malindi. It was an extraordinary but unusual gift that no one had seen before. It was described as,“the body of a deer and the tail of an ox, and a fleshy, boneless horn, with Luminous spots like a red cloud or purple mist.” The Qilin is important to the Chinese because it was a mix of many living creatures and did not eat meat or tread on any living things. Therefore, it symbolized goodness for them. Just as the Qilin is a combination of many different creatures, The Indian ocean trade complex led to the blend of many different cultures as goods and ideas were being exchanged.

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Hormuz was a strategic location because it connected the rest of the world to the Persian gulf and was a good shipping route for oil. The Chinese traded their porcelains and silks for Hormuz’s sapphires, rubies, oriental topaz, pearls, corals, beads, amber, woolens, and carpets. Many other cities were reliant on these goods since Hormuz was so connected to the rest of the world.