Columbus, Vasco da Gama, and Zheng He - 15th Century Mariners: Crash Course World History #21
TLDRThe video compares three 15th century explorers - Chinese admiral Zheng He, who led tribute voyages showcasing China's power; Portuguese navigator Vasco da Gama, seeking Christian allies and spice trade routes; and Christopher Columbus, who unexpectedly encountered the Americas while aiming for Asia. It dispels myths about Columbus and argues his voyages, though disastrous for indigenous Americans, had an enduring global impact. The video asks viewers to evaluate greatness - as an administrator like Zheng He, daring captain like da Gama, or history-shaping but flawed explorer like Columbus.
Takeaways
- 😊 The video discusses and compares three famous 15th century explorers: Zheng He, Vasco da Gama, and Christopher Columbus
- 😲 Zheng He led huge Chinese naval expeditions through the Indian Ocean on giant 'treasure ships', seeking tribute and prestige
- 🚢 Vasco da Gama was the first Portuguese explorer to sail around Africa and reach India, seeking spices and Christians
- 🤯 Columbus sought a westward route to Asia's riches but underestimated the earth's size and found the Americas instead
- 🏴☠️ The Portuguese used military force to control ports in a 'trading post empire' and extract value via the cartaz system
- 🌍 Columbus's voyages had an enormous impact, connecting the world's hemispheres for the first time in history
- 😕 European explorers were driven by the desire for spices, gold, converts to Christianity, and prestige
- 🤔 The 'greatest' explorer depends on how you define greatness - impact, competence, legacy etc.
- 🧐 Myths dispelled: Columbus knew the earth was round and thought he'd reached Asia's 'Indies'
- 👍 The video aims to spur thinking on what makes someone 'great' - their capabilities, daring, or legacy
Q & A
Who was Zheng He and what was significant about his voyages?
-Zheng He was a Muslim eunuch admiral who led 7 naval expeditions throughout the Indian Ocean between 1405-1433 with fleets of enormous 'treasure ships'. His voyages demonstrated China's naval supremacy and promoted tribute to the Chinese emperor.
Why did the Ming emperors stop supporting maritime voyages and turn inward?
-After Zheng He died, the Ming emperors focused resources on protecting China from nomadic threats by building the Great Wall instead of supporting maritime trade.
What motivated Portugal to sponsor naval exploration?
-Portugal was resource-poor and wanted to get in on the lucrative spice trade by finding a sea route around Africa to the Indian Ocean.
Who was Prince Henry the Navigator and what was his role?
-Prince Henry was a Portuguese royal who established a naval school which trained sailors and collected nautical knowledge, giving Portugal a key advantage in exploration.
What was the Portuguese 'trading post empire'?
-Since Portugal lacked resources to control territory in Asia, they captured and controlled coastal cities which served as trading posts to oversee and tax trade.
What common myths did John Green debunk about Columbus?
-He debunked that Columbus thought the earth was flat, that Columbus thought he'd reached China, and that Columbus just got lucky and didn't know what he was doing.
Why did Ferdinand and Isabella agree to finance Columbus?
-They wanted riches and hoped to convert native peoples encountered by Columbus to Christianity to help with their crusading ambitions.
How did Columbus fail and succeed on his first voyage?
-He failed to find riches or spices but 'succeeded' in creating new Christians through forcefully subjugating native peoples.
What was the long-term impact of Columbus's voyages?
-It kickstarted the Spanish conquest of the Americas which made Spain extremely wealthy for a time and had hugely negative consequences for indigenous Americans.
Who does John Green consider the 'greatest mariner' of the 15th century and why?
-He considers Columbus the most impactful but notes Zheng He was more administratively competent while Vasco de Gama was more daring.
Outlines
🏴☠️ Columbus and Other 15th Century Explorers
Paragraph 1 introduces the video's host, John Green, who will compare and contrast 15th century explorers Columbus, Zheng He, and Vasco da Gama. It dispels myths about Columbus and argues he had a deserved reputation. Each explorer sought prestige and trade access.
🚢 Zheng He's Treasure Ships and Tribute Missions
Paragraph 2 details Zheng He's background and massive naval expeditions across Asia and Africa consisting of hundreds of ships and bringing riches and exotic animals to China. His goal was expanding China's prestige and dominance through a tribute system.
🚩 Portugal Seeks the Indian Ocean and Prester John
Paragraph 3 covers Portugal and Prince Henry the Navigator's efforts to reach the Indian Ocean's spice trade and find the mythical Christian king Prester John to help in crusades. Vasco da Gama breached Africa, reached India, and sought gold and Christians.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡explorer
💡crusade
💡tribute
💡isolationism
💡cartaz
💡dead reckoning
💡legacy
💡conversion
💡globalization
💡conquest
Highlights
Zheng He was a Muslim. That may seem strange until you consider that by the late 14th century, China had long experience with Muslims, especially when they were ruled by the Mongols.
Between 1405 and 1433, Zheng He led seven voyages throughout the Indian Ocean, the expeditions of the so-called treasure ships, and they were huge.
The flagships, known as the treasure ships, were over 400 feet long and had 7 or more masts.
Zheng He wasn’t an explorer: The Indian Ocean trade routes were already known to him, and other Chinese sailors. He visited Africa, India, and the Middle East.
One reason was that Zheng He couldn’t live forever, and sure enough, he didn’t. Also his patron, the Yongle Emperor, died. And the emperor’s successors weren’t very interested in maritime trade.
Secondly, it was relatively resource-poor, which meant it relied upon trade in order to grow. Also, the Iberian peninsula was the only place in Europe where Muslims could be found in large numbers in the 15th century.
Henry commissioned sailors to search for two things. First, a path to the Indian Ocean, so they could get in on the lucrative spice trade. And second, to find the kingdom of Prester John, a mythical Christian King who was supposed to live in Africa somewhere.
Da Gama was the first of Henry’s protégés to make it around Africa, and into the Indian Ocean. In 1498, he landed at Calicut, a major trading post on India’s west coast.
They could do this thanks to their well-armed ships, which captured cities by firing cannons into city walls like IRL Angry Birds.
Columbus navigated completely unknown waters primarily relying on a technique known as dead reckoning, in which you figure out your position based on three pieces of information: the direction you’re going, your speed, and the time, which you figure out via hourglass.
At least when it came to so-called unclaimed land. I mean, unclaimed by whom? You know, all the American Indians were like, “wait, this land is available?
Columbus’s voyages also had a huge, largely negative, impact on the people the Spanish encountered in the Americas.
But the reason we remember Columbus over him or Vasco de Gama is that Columbus’s voyages had a lasting impact on the world, even if it wasn’t necessarily a positive one.
But within two generations of Columbus, Spain would become fantastically wealthy, and for a time they were the leading power in Europe.
Except for you, Australia.
Transcripts
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