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Christopher Columbus was an Italian explorer who sailed for Spain. He went on 4 voyages and is best known for discovering the New World, what is now North America. Columbus acted a representative of Spain as he was instrumental developing Spanish colonies. He also facilitated the Columbian Exchange was a transfer of good between Africa, Europe, and the Americas. Columbus allowed for more interconnectedness, as he connected European society to North America

Portrait of Christopher Columbus.

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Vasco de Gama was a Portuguese sailor who is best known today for discovering the Indian Ocean Spice Trade. Vasco de Gama explored Eastern Africa and the Western Indian Ocean up to Calicut. He exemplifies the theme of interconnectedness because he connected Portugal to the Indian Ocean Spice trade, this brought prosperity to Portugal and the Indian Ocean and facilitated the spread of ideas.

Portrait of Vasco de Gama.

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Ferdinand Magellan was Portuguese explorer who sailed for Portugal and Spain. He regarded as the first person to circumnavigate the globe. despite never physically circumnavigating the world. He was killed in the Philippians, yet one of his remaining ships continues westward and back to Spain, thus completing the first circumnavigation. He also discovered the Strait of Magellan, located in South Africa and is named after him. Magellan was a devout Christian and succeeded in spreading his faith to a majority of those he encountered on his journeys. He exemplifies interconnect

A map viewing Magellan's journey of circumnavigating the globe.

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On August 3rd, 1492, Columbus set sail from Spain with the Nina, Pinta and the Santa Maria in hopes of finding a new route to the Indian Spice Trade. He and his crew sailed for over 2 months and on October 12th, the crew reached land at what was most likely modern day Watling Island in the Bahamas. He saw the coast of Cuba and believed that was China, leading to him to assume that he was in Japan. He set up a colony with 39 of his men and returned to Spain with gold, spices and enslaved indigenous people. Columbus returned 3 more times creating 4 expeditions in total to the New World. Despite never achieving his one true goal, his discovery has made a humongous impact.

This map depicts the 4 voyages that Columbus embarked on to the New World.

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On July 8th 1497, Vasco de Gama sailed from Lisbon with a fleet of four ships and a crew of 170 people. They reached India, on May 20th 1498. They had stopped in Mozambique for 1 month because the crew had gotten sick from scruvy. Despite the king not approving of their gifts, they stayed several months in Calicut, trading with the people there and studying their religion. The trade system opened up new economic possibilities for Portugal, and they thrived while engaging in trade.

Map of Vasco de Gama's voyage to India

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Zheng He commanded a total of 7 explorations. He set off on his first voyage in July of 1405. The fleet had 208 vessels in total including 62 treasure ships and more than 27,800 crewmen. They traveled westward, stopping at Vietnam to give gifts to The King, they traveled through Java, Sumatra and Malacca stopping along the way for  spice trading, and continued to Calicut. His second and third voyages followed a similar route, stopping by Thailand on the second and the Persian Gulf in the third. The second voyage involved a battle between Zheng He and his crew and Calicut's forces. His 4th voyage would be considered to be his best one. Because the Chinese Emperor wanted to display China's wealth and power, Zheng He set sail with 63 large ships and a crew of over 27,000 men. He had sailed to places he had previously sailed to before, this time not staying at Calicut and instead going to Maldives. His 5th trip consisted of many destinations he had previously sailed too, along with the addition of the Somali Coast and Kenya. His 6th and shortest expedition was just him and his crew revisiting the ports they had visited on earlier expeditions. On his 7th voyage, Zheng He fell ill and died.

This map depicts all the journeys that Zheng He took.

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Zheng He was an explorer for the Ming Dynasty. He headed 7 voyages. These voyages went from Thailand, all the way to Kenya and Somali Coast. Representing China as both a diplomat and being an admiral, his contributions to the Ming Dynasty's success in foreign relations is undeniable. Zheng He was also a more moral explorer than others, he never facilitated the genocide of populations, and used violence only when it was necessary. Zheng He, increased emigration and tribute trade. He exemplifies the theme of interconnectedness by expanding trade barriers and creating diplomatic relations with other societies.

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Zhu Di, known as the Yongle Emperor, was an emperor of Ming China. He was the successor to his father, the Hongwu Emperor. Yongle made lasting improvements to Ming China by relocating the capital to Beijing and begin construction on the Forbidden City.  He also opened up China to the world and sponsored the voyages of Zheng He. He passed away in 1424 and was succeeded by his son, Hongxi Emperor.

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Hongwu is the founder of the Ming Dynasty. He instituted military, administrative and education reforms during his rule. He also participated in foreign affairs and would engage in political activity. He wanted to flaunt the Ming army's prestigious and valiant soldiers in front of nations. He sent military expeditions to Mongolia. This led to the exchange of some embassy's and led to more equal representation.

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Western Europe underwent an age of exploration as they funded explorations far across the world. With a desire to spread Christianity, and to capitalize on gold and spice trade, Europeans sent explorers to discover new places to do so.

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Blue Represents Western Europe

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Red represents the Ming Dynasty

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The Ming Dynasty, which was the successor to the Yuan Dynasty and ruled form 1368 to 1644. They were known for their trade expansion to the Indian Ocean and their cultural ties. The Ming Dynasty is also remembered through literature and it's famous porcelain.

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These are excerpts of Christopher Columbus's Journal, some of the passages were notes to himself, and some letters addressed to King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella.

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Matteo Ricci was an Italian Jesuit missionary who lived in China during the Ming Dynasty for 27 years. He served as the court astronomer and mathematician. These are excerpts of his accounts while living there.

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These are excerpts from the journal of Vasco de Gama, these journal excerpts show the intent Portugal had with the spice trade and shows how far they are reaching for influence.

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Google Document of Bibliography:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1mQ6vU0QO88sqVCxNG23ieyFYrROsSZvG-ti9xXIE1sc/edit

References

Barksdale, N. (2014, September 30). 7 Things You May Not Know About the Ming Dynasty. History.com. Retrieved June 18, 2021, from https://www.history.com/news/7-things-you-may-not-know-about-the-ming-dynasty

Information was not used from this article, the portrait of Emperor Hongwu was supplemented only.

Campbell, E. M.J. (n.d.). Vasco de Gama. Britannica Original Sources. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Vasco-da-Gama

This article was used to provide a biography of Vasco de Gama's life and provide information about his voyages.

Cartwright, M. (2019, February 14). Yongle Emperor. World History Enclyclopedia. Retrieved June 17, 2021, from https://www.worldhistory.org/Yongle_Emperor/

Provided biography and accomplishments of Yongle Emperor, Emperor of Ming China.

Christopher Columbus. (n.d.). Lapham's Quarterly. Retrieved June 17, 2021, from https://www.laphamsquarterly.org/contributors/columbus

This webpage was used to provide a portrait of Christopher Columbus.

Christopher Columbus. (2019, November 9). History.com. Retrieved June 17, 2021, from https://www.history.com/topics/exploration/christopher-columbus

This article provides a biography on Christopher Columbus which used for the 3 Historical Figures section of my project.

Christopher Columbus (1451 – 1506). (n.d.). Highbrow. Retrieved June 17, 2021, from https://gohighbrow.com/christopher-columbus-1451-1506/

This article was not used for information but instead supplemented a diagram depicting Christopher Columbus's 4 journeys to the New World.

Columbus, Christopher. "Extracts from the journal of Columbus." American History, 11 Oct. 1492, www.let.rug.nl/usa/documents/before-1600/extracts-from-the-journal-of-columbus.php.

These are excerpts of Christopher Columbus's Journal, some of the passages were notes to himself, and some letters addressed to King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella.

Columbus reaches the "New World." (n.d.). History.com. Retrieved June 17, 2021, from https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/columbus-reaches-the-new-world

This article was used to provide more specific information on Christoper Columbus's first journey across the Atlantic.

Da Gama, Vasco. "Primary Source: Vasco De Gama, 1497." Lumen, courses.lumenlearning.com/ushistory1os/chapter/primary-source-vasco-de-gama-1497/. Accessed 17 June 2021.

Ming Dynasty. (n.d.). History.com. Retrieved June 17, 2021, from https://www.history.com/topics/ancient-china/ming-dynasty

This article helped to provide background knowledge on the Ming Dynasty and how it began and how it prospered. This information applied to the Contextual Background section of my project.

Mitchell, M. (n.d.). Ferdinand Magellan. Retrieved June 17, 2021, from https://www.britannica.com/biography/Ferdinand-Magellan

This article provides a biography of Ferdinand Magellan, the Portuguese explorer. It also helped to provide more information about his discoveries and acknowledgments. A graph depicting all of his voyages plotted onto one map was also supplemented.

PRIMARY SOURCE: The Journals of Matteo Ricci. (n.d.). Birdville Schools. Retrieved June 17, 2021, from https://www.birdvilleschools.net/cms/lib/TX01000797/Centricity/Domain/6027/MatteoRicci.pdf

Matteo Ricci was an Italian Jesuit missionary who lived in China during the Ming Dynasty for 27 years. He served as the court astronomer and mathematician. These are excerpts of his accounts while living there.

Shih, J. H.-S. (2021, May 7). Matteo Ricci. Britannica. Retrieved June 17, 2021, from https://www.britannica.com/biography/Matteo-Ricci

This article was used for information, but the primary purpose was to supplement a portrait of Matteo Ricci.

Vasco de Gama. (n.d.). The Mariners' Museum and Park. Retrieved June 17, 2021, from https://exploration.marinersmuseum.org/subject/vasco-da-gama/

This article was used to provide information about his life and his voyages that he partook on.

Vasco de Gama. (2009, December 18). History.com. Retrieved June 17, 2021, from https://www.history.com/topics/exploration/vasco-da-gama

This article was used to only provide information about Vasco de Gama and his voyages but it also supplemented a portrait of Vasco de Gama.

Yongle Emperor of China. (n.d.). New World Enclyclopedia. Retrieved June 17, 2021, from https://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Yongle_Emperor_of_China

This article was used to supplement the portrait of Yongle Emperor.

Zheng He. (n.d.). Khan Academy. Retrieved June 17, 2021, from https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/big-history-project/expansion-interconnection/exploration-interconnection/a/zheng-he

This article was used for information, but a graph featuring all of Zheng He's voyages was supplemented.

Zheng He. (n.d.). The Mariners' Museum and Park. Retrieved June 17, 2021, from https://exploration.marinersmuseum.org/subject/zheng-he/

This article was mainly used to provide details and information on Zheng He's 7 voyages.