Expansion and Exploration - Cheng Ho by Alex Dehnke

Learning Target 1

22dehnkea — 2018-10-30 16:08:56 UTC

Cause 1 (Gold) - China was familiar with the idea that sea trading was becoming very common, as a servant of the Emperor (Emperor Ming), Cheng wanted to find different spices, materials and cuisine to bring back to his country and more importantly for the Emperor.
Cause 1 (pos/neg) - This is a positive motivation because if Cheng found new spices and raw materials and cuisine, he could bring them back to China and his country would benefit from them by making new products and food.
Cause 2 (Glory) - Cheng was captured at a young age to be a servant for the Emperor, the Emperor wanted the rest of the world to know how amazing and powerful China was to make them known. Cheng went on seven voyages to spread all this information with the world, Cheng also wanted to spread Chinese politics.
Cause 2 (pos/neg) - this is a negative motivation because if Cheng lets other countries know how powerful China is then the other people might think that they have the most powerful country which could cause conflict if everybody thinks that they’re the best. Also if Cheng gives out Chinese politics it could give other countries inside information that they do not necessarily need.

Learning Target 2

22dehnkea — 2018-10-30 16:17:35 UTC

Cheng Ho was responsible for the growth of commerce in Southeast Asia. During Cheng Ho’s seven voyages he brought goods such as porcelain, silk and raw materials to Southeast Asia. These materials were very good for them and benefited their country’s economy. One thing negative about this was that Southeast Asia could eventually overpower China. A positive is that Asians were very appreciative of Cheng because he brought them gifts.

After Chengs voyages China did not want to explore anymore, they felt like they were already technology advanced and ahead of the world and did not feel the need to explore anymore. This could have been negative because they basically did not have a ton of interaction with other countries. A positive effect of this would be that they were indeed self sufficient.

Cheng Ho kept two tablets where he documented his findings and discoveries, he mapped out what he found and brought his findings back to the Chinese government. Due to this China had an accurate map of the African area and parts of Europe. This is a positive effect because it expanded China’s geographical knowledge.

Learning Target 3 - primary source - source one

22dehnkea — 2018-10-30 16:22:44 UTC

Source 1 - “The countries beyond the horizon and at the ends of the earth have all become subjects.... Thus the barbarians from beyond the seas, though their countries are truly distant ... have come to audience bearing precious objects and presents” -Cheng Ho

Learning Target 3 - primary source two

22dehnkea — 2018-10-30 16:25:47 UTC

Source 2:

Learning Target 3 - primary source compare/contrast

22dehnkea — 2018-10-30 16:29:25 UTC

These points of view are different because quote kind of means that the world is dangerous and is a very unknown place, the other primary source which is Cheng Hos ship shows that he was very adventurous because he explored places China has never been before. Source 1 reveals Chengss thoughts on exploration while source 2 deals with what Cheng actually did to explore.

Learning Target 4 - cultural blending

22dehnkea — 2018-10-30 16:31:41 UTC

One of the biggest examples of cultural blending Cheng Ho left behind was the idea of the Islam religion in Indonesia. When Cheng traveled there he spread his religion and soon people started building religious Islamic temples and becoming active followers of Islam religion. This is extremely significant because today the majority (87%) of people in Indonesia today are Islamic which Cheng had a great impact on. Another thing that Cheng brought back to China from Africa were animals such as zebras, camels and giraffes. They gave him all these animals because he gave them the gifts of porcelain, silk, silver and gold. This was very significant because it meant new species in China which was very appreciated in China and was considered a “heavenly gift”. This is important because today there are still giraffes in China and they could not be there if it wasn’t for Cheng Ho. Giraffes are very useful for things like getting objects from trees and also useful in combat.

Learning Target 5 - effects of colonization

22dehnkea — 2018-10-30 16:33:35 UTC

One effect of colonization is that many people contained a disease. When the Europeans were coming over to the New World they spread dangerous diseases that killed up to 80-90 percent of the Native American population living south of Mexico. One of the major diseases that the Europeans brought was Smallpox. This was a negative effect because it resulted in many people dying which could reduce work and productivity within the colonies. Another effect was the spread of Christianity and Catholicism in the colonies, when the Europeans came over they spread the word of God to the Native Americans throughout the method of Jesuits whose main purpose was to spread Catholicism. The Jesuits also told the Native Americans that they would help them if they were Catholic. This was a positive effect because if all the Natives were on the same page as far as their religion goes there would be less conflict about what religion is “right”. Another effect of colonization would be deforestation. Colonists would clear areas of trees and plants so they could build new structures and civilizations. This is both a negative and positive effect because they are using the resources to their benefit but they are also hurting the environment by tearing down forests and plants.

Bibliography

22dehnkea — 2018-10-30 18:09:00 UTC

American Indians and European Diseases.” Native American Netroots, Native American Netroots, nativeamericannetroots.net/diary/325

Bancroft, Andrea. “Effects of Colonization on the New World.” Prezi.com, Prezi, 2 Oct. 2013, prezi.com/z8806x3ug72l/effects-of-colonization-on-the-new-world/.

"Chinese Exploration: The Voyages of Cheng Ho, 1405-1433.". “Chinese Exploration: The Voyages of Cheng Ho, 1405-1433.” Science and Its Times: Understanding the Social Significance of Scientific Discovery, Encyclopedia.com, 2018, www.encyclopedia.com/science/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/chinese-exploration-voyages-cheng-ho-1405-1433.

Lo, Jung-pang. “Zheng He.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 30 Nov. 2017, www.britannica.com/biography/Zheng-He.

mokky7 Follow. “Cheng Ho (a Short Introduation).” LinkedIn SlideShare, SlideShare, 3 July 2009, www.slideshare.net/mokky7/cheng-ho-a-short-introduation.

Nelson, Ken. " Explorers for Kids: Zheng He ." Ducksters. Technological Solutions, Inc. (TSI), Oct. 2018. Web. 29 Oct. 2018. < https://www.ducksters.com/biography/explorers/zheng_he.php >.

“Religion in Indonesia.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 3 Oct. 2018, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religion_in_Indonesia.

“Zheng He.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 23 Oct. 2018, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zheng_He.