The West and the Changing Balance of Power

A World in Transition By the year 1400, two events had led to major changes to traditional pwer structures: 1) The downfall of the last Arab caliphate in 1258. The Muslim empires (Umayyad and Abbasid) had been a source of stability for over 600 years. 2) Mongols invasions had changed the political landscape of Asia and introduced the West to various forms of technology that would aid their growth and power.

Mongol Trading Network With the complete fall of the Mongols by the early 1400’s, there was a power vacuum created. Two societies would emerge to control military and political affairs on a global scale.

Chinese Western Europeans Who’s next???

Chinese expansion (at least briefly!) After the Ming dynasty overthrew the Mongol Yuan dynasty, they decided to remind the world of their military and technological superiority. The Ming government (under the reign of Hongwu) did this by funding huge state-sponsored trading expeditions to southern Asia and beyond. These naval fleets numbered nearly 3,000 shipping vessels, 400 armed naval ships, and long-distance trading ships. Nine great treasure ships (junks) monitored the Indian Ocean from China all the way to the Persian Gulf and the Red Sea. It was the largest naval fleet in world history up to that point. The expeditions were led by the famed Chinese naval commander, Zheng He.

Admiral Zheng He Zheng He grew up in western China during the reign of the Mongols. His hometown was conquered by Ming forces and he was taken as a prize for one of the Ming princes. He became an imperial eunuch and when the prince he served became emperor, Zheng He was named imperial admiral. He led great trading expeditions on behalf of the Ming emperor from 1405-1433.

Admiral Zheng He He was also a devout Muslim, therefore, he could establish lasting trade contacts with the Arab world. His expeditions took Chinese goods to the Middle East, Africa, and India, and also brought back luxury and exotic goods from those lands. The expeditions were more of a public relations voyage than exploratory venture. They aimed to remind the world of China’s immense power. His legacy in Chinese history is seen today by the fact that July 11th is National Maritime Day in the country. This was the day that his first voyage set sail.

A Chinese Recall In 1433, Zheng He’s final fleet returned to China after his death at sea. Confucian bureaucrats, jealous of his influence, argued that the expeditions were too expensive and that the money could be better used elsewhere, like fighting nomadic threats and the ongoing construction of Beijing. Also, the new Ming emperor wanted to distance himself from the policies of his predecessor. The entire fleet and many historical records about these expeditions were burned. Zheng He's voyages (you can read more about them here)

Zheng He’s Voyages

Today, a memorial to Zheng He can be found on the outskirts of Nanjing Today, a memorial to Zheng He can be found on the outskirts of Nanjing. The steps leading up to the coffin are 28 in all, for the number of years of his voyages. They are divided into increments of seven for the total number of expeditions he led. His coffin is multi-tiered, as was Islamic custom, and has Arabic calligraphy around the top reading “Allahu Akbar”, or “God is great”. Zheng He’s Tomb

Back to the Norm Unfortunately, all of this international trade changed abruptly in 1433 (the year of his death). Never ones for foreign dependence, the cancelling of Zheng He’s expeditions in 1433 reaffirmed the Chinese policy of isolationism that had been the norm throughout their history. However, the fact that their fleets were so large and powerful and their economy so developed, the Chinese perhaps missed an opportunity for foreign expansion well before the arrival of European ships into the Indian Ocean.

Rise of the West Right as China was recoiling from the international scene, western Europe was beginning to emerge as a major world power. For western Europe, who had been mired in the Middle Ages, their location in relation to the Mongol Empire was actually perfect. They were: A) Close enough to benefit from trade and exchange (printing, the compass, paper currency, and explosive powder) due to the Mongols tolerant policy of free trade. B) Spared from the wrath of destruction that so many other cultures experienced from the Mongol raids.

An Asian Obsession One of the main reasons for European expansion was Asian goods!!! The elite, upper classes of western Europe had become obsessed with the more refined products of Asia like spices (pepper, cinnamon, nutmeg), silks, perfumes, and jewels. This was the result of exposure through trade with the Mongols and increased Asian goods being brought back from the Crusades. The cruder European goods such as wool, copper, tin, honey, and salt could not make up the discrepancy in value. The balance had to be made up in gold shipments to Asia. As gold poured out of Europe, it created a gold famine which threatened to collapse the entire European economy. The solution to this problem was simple: find more gold!!! So….Europeans began exploring (more on that later).

Asian goods European goods Gold > Wool

The Ottoman Issue Another problem Europeans were facing was a new Middle Eastern power: the Ottomans. They were a new, powerful Muslim regime that had taken over in the Middle East starting in the late 1200’s. Their control of Middle Eastern ports (like Constantinople) made them the “middle men” between Europe and Asian economies. A European response would be to find alternative routes that could bypass the Muslim realms.

Nautical Shortcomings European nations such as Spain, Portugal, and Italian city-states began searching for routes to the “Indies” by the late 1200’s. However, Europeans lacked adequate navigational techniques which prohibited them from venturing into the Atlantic. Their ships, designed for the Mediterranean, were shallow-drafted and oar-driven. Eventually, through trade with Arabs and Chinese (via the Mongols), Europeans acquired the compass and astrolabe as well as improved maps to aid their quests.

Henry the Navigator – an exploration entrepreneur Despite technological setbacks, European fascination with exploration would continue to grow. Key figures of the time period would drive that motivation, like Marco Polo and Henry the Navigator Henry the Navigator was a Portuguese prince with a fascination for exploration. A student of astronomy and nautical science himself, he funded about a third of all Portuguese voyages before his death in 1460. His motivations were scientific, intellectual, economic and religious. He also built a school of navigation in Portugal to train prospective explorers.

Early Portuguese explorations around Africa

Commercial Agriculture begins By 1439, the Portuguese explorations down the African coast had brought them control of the Azores Islands. The Spanish soon took the Madeira and Canary Islands. They began establishing plantations to grow cash crops like sugar and tobacco on these islands, and more importantly, imported African slaves for the first time to aid in this plantation style labor system. The first shipment of African slaves off the continent for European plantation agriculture was in 1441. Azores Madeira Canary Is.

European Arrival in the Americas When Europeans (Spanish) arrived in the early 1500’s to the lands of the Aztec and Inca empires, both American empires were already in decline. The Aztec had many enemies due to the enslavement of local populations and religious human sacrifice while the Inca were over expanded. These factors (along with guns, steel weapons, horses, and germs) made Spanish conquest very easy.