What Were The Differences Between China And Europe In The Fifteenth Century

In Worlds of History: A Comparative Reader, Volume Two, Reilly poses a question about some differences between China and Europe in the fifteenth century, “What accounts for the different fortunes of China and Europe in the fifteenth century? Were the decline of China and the rise of Europe inevitable? Probably no objective observer of the time would have thought so. In what ways were the expansions of China and Europe similar? In what ways were they different?” What happened from 1400 all the way up until 1500 is a very interesting phenomenon in regards to Europe and China. Up until 1432, the East ruled the oceans. “…Chinese shipbuilding was the envy of the world. Chinese ships were larger, more numerous, safer, and better outfitted than
European ships.” During the seven expeditions sailed by Zheng He (a eunuch mariner and diplomat), the ports around the Indian Ocean were explored. The African and Arab merchants exchanged spices, medicine, ivory, and more for the Chinese silk and porcelain.
It was not until these seven expeditions took place that the Europeans caught up and discovered the Indian Ocean. This was the turning point; this was when the Portuguese voyages took place. In 1492, beginning with Christopher Columbus’ voyage, the Spanish conquerors were challenged by the English, Dutch, and the French; which wound up making Western Europe the greatest sea power of the fifteenth century.
“The disappearance of a great Chinese fleet from a great Indian port symbolized one of history’s biggest lost opportunities- Asia’s failure to dominate the second half of this millennium.
So how did this happen?” What if the Chinese had continued their expansions in sail technology and continued their power overseas before the Western European voyages? It would have been the Chinese that colonized the New World instead of the Portuguese, Dutch, and British colonies. If China would have continued to be the greatest naval army during the fifteenth century, surely the Europeans would not have taken control of trade. As a consequence, the Europeans would not have been able to afford all of their expeditions to the Americas and Asia. The only reason why it did not turn out this way was because emperor Zhu Di passed away. Zheng He was very close to emperor Zhu Di, “One of the emperors first acts (after torturing to death those who had opposed him) was to reward Zheng He with the command of a great fleet that was to sail off and assert China’s pre-eminence in the world.” Emperor Zhu Di was Zheng He’s strongest supporter. After Zhu Di’s death, his successors believed that they had spent too much of their money on the naval expeditions. They decided to put their focus on preventing the Mongols from attacking China. Because of this, the Chinese navy no longer
existed.
The biggest mistake that the Chinese could have made was disappearing completely from all sea explorations.
The Western European powers decided to invest their time and money on ocean exploration and trading just as the Chinese retired from it. Had the European’s explored half a century earlier, they would have come under the command of the Chinese Imperial army. The Europeans were no match for the Chinese, in their day. Their crews were made up of around twenty-eight thousand men in three hundred and seventeen ships . Even Christopher Colombus’ voyage consisted of just ninety men in three ships. Zheng He’s ships were rumored to be four hundred feet long, compared to Colombus’ Santa Maria at a mere eighty-five feet long . The Europeans were no match for Zheng He’s
navy.
China was the most advanced economy in the world prior to the fifteenth century. Their investments in sail technology were many that were unimaginable for Europe to invest in at the time. The mariner’s compass (invented by the Chinese) was the medieval equivalent to the modern day GPS, an essential part of going out to sea. When the ship would change directions, it would change directions as well in relation to the North. The ships themselves were the most impressive expansions in technology at the time, created also by the Chinese. Europe had the upper hand when China retired its naval army. This is when the Age of Discovery began, which lead to Colobus’ expedition, and so on. Europe became the naval power, which gave them trade power, which gave them world power.
To sum it all up, the decline of China and the rise of Europe were inevitable. The timing was all wrong for China, and all right for Europe. If Emperor Zhu Di had not passed away, the Chinese navy would have continued to rule the waters and expand its way eventually through to the Americas. The difference between the expansions of Europe and that of China is that China created its wealth. Europe, in contrast, discovered its wealth.