Reissue in Lisbon, Portugal on 10th anniversary, very limited edition. Postscript for events to 1431 in blue italics on right hand side of pages. SUPPLEMENT ISSUED IN LISBON, CHINESE FLEETS SET SAIL 8TH MARCH 1421 T I M E S TANGGREAT ARMADA GU FROM BEIJING SETS SAIL INTO THE UNKNOWN ON A VOYAGE OF 1000 DAYS INSIDE THIS ISSUE: Today, at 4.00 hrs local time The Mongols had ruled China DEPARTURE IN 1421 1 the largest fleet that the world since its conquest in 1279 by AND ALSO EARLIER THAN 1421 HISTORY has ever seen set sail from Kublai Khan, the grandson of AND VOYAGES Tanggu across the Yellow Sea. Genghis Khan. In 1352 the THE EMPEROR, THE 2 There are about 800 junks in peasants revolted plagued by ADMIRAL AND THE CANAL all. The merchant junks are 90 famine and disease. Zhu Yu- RISE AND FALL feet long by 30 feet wide. The anzhang, the son of a hired PORTUGAL (&SPAIN) 3 treasure ships are 480 feet labourer, became the leader. INHERIT THE CROWN THANKS TO long by 180 feet wide. There In 1356, his forces captured NICCOLÒ DA CONTI are over 100 of these which Nanjing and cut off corn sup- HONG BAO AND THE 3 have 16 internal watertight fast warships to protect the plies to Ta-tu (Beijing). In 1368 ANTARCTIC PENIN- SULA ZHOU MAN’S compartments, any 2 can be fleet. About 30,000 men made they entered Ta-tu and the CIRCUMNAVIGATION flooded without the ship sink- up the fleet —a trading country Mongol emperor fled. Zhu ZHOU WEN AND THE 4 ing. The rudders are a massive in its size rather than just a Yuanzhang became the first NORTH ATLANTIC THE COASTLINE OF 36 feet high. There are also basic voyage of discovery! Ming emperor and took the NORTH AMERICA name Hong Wu. Fighting YANG QING AND 4 against remaining Mongol LONGITUDE BY THE OBSERVATION OF forces lasted until 1387. His LUNAR ECLIPSES stepson Zhu Di became the CARVED STONES, 4 Prince of Yen (Beijing). Hong WRECKS, MINING AND INTRODUCED Wu died in 1398 and grand- PLANTS & ANIMALS son Zhu Yunwen became the second Ming emperor. He sent assassins to kill Zhu Di who THE FORBIDDEN escaped and defeated Zhu CITY IN BEIJING Yunwen in 1402. He became the 3rd Ming emperor in turn. • 1 million men were em- ployed in building it with THE 5 PREVIOUS VOYAGES UNDER ADMIRAL ZHENG HE another 3.5 million indi- rectly and 1 million sol- The 1st expedition from 1405 to 1419 visited every major port diers. The new capital to 1407 sailed to India in 62 in Africa, Arabia, India and Asia Beijing with the Forbid- treasure ships manned by and brought back rulers and am- den City was inaugurated 27,800 men. The 3rd fleet bassadors who have waited in on the Chinese New from 1409 to 1411 sailed to Beijing for 2 years waiting for the Year’s Day 2 February Malacca (which has been sub- inauguration of the Forbidden 1421. The envoys of all visiting heads of state sequently used as a base) and City. Another fleet has been given were required to kow tow divided into squadrons. One the task of working out longitude (prostrate themselves went to the Persian gulf and under Admiral Yang Qing. Chinese and press their foreheads another to the east coast of navigators have used Polaris to to the ground). Africa. The 4th fleet from 1417 calculate latitude for 600 years. SUPPLEMENT ISSUED IN LISBON, PORTUGAL IN MARCH 1431 Page 2 POLITICS WITHIN AND WITHOUT The walled capital of Beijing surrounding the Forbidden When Zhu Di marched south to based exclusively upon the them. There had been eunuchs City was 1500 times the area Nanjing in 1402 against Zhu teaching of Confucius (551— at the imperial court since at of walled London and housed Yunwen he reached a divided 479 BC). The mandarins saw least the eighth century BC. 50 times the population. On city. The mandarins, who were rural farmers, not foreigners or Only sexless males were per- the night of 9th May 1421, 2 the educated elite in Nanjing, merchants, as the backbone mitted to act as personal serv- months after the armada of loathed the court eunuchs. As of society. The mandarins ants to the emperor. In 1382 Zheng He had left, there was his personal attendants, the surrounding Zhu Yunwen had Zhu Di had fought against the a violent storm over the For- eunuchs had power within the succeeded in marginalizing Mongol forces in Yunnan and bidden City. Lightning caused palace. However, mandarins the court eunuchs, stripping was ordered to destroy Kun- a fire which destroyed the alone were entitled to hold them of much of the power ming. The adult defenders were Forbidden City and the em- office beyond the palace walls. and influence they had previ- killed but prisoners who had peror’s throne was burnt to Men became mandarins and ously possessed. When Zhu not reached puberty were cas- cinders. There was also an holders of exalted official posi- Di’s army appeared before the trated and emasculated. One epidemic in which 174,000 tions only after years of inten- walls of Nanjing, the eunuchs such was Ma He whose name died in Fujian province alone. sive study and examinations threw open the city gates to was changed to Zheng He. The disasters were taken as a sign of the displeasure of the gods. Zhu Di placed a halt on ADMIRAL ZHENG HE future voyages of the treasure fleets and foreign travel was Zheng He was a devout Commander –in-chief of prohibited. Zhu Di had a se- Muslim. He became Zhu Di’s one of the largest fleets ries of strokes and was given closest adviser and was a ever built. The size of the an elixir of arsenic and mercu- formidable soldier. He was Longjiang shipyards near ry which poisoned him. Vi- over 2 metres tall and Nanjing were doubled and etnam became independent weighed over 100 kgs so it seven vast dry-docks were by July 1421. The teak for the is said. When Zhu Di be- built. They were connected ships and Forbidden City had came Prince of Yen—a re- by a series of locks to the come from there, millions of gion centred on Beijing, river and could be subdivid- acres of forest were felled. Zheng He went with him. It ed to permit three ships to The mandarins opposed him. was Zhu Di who renamed be built simultaneously. the former Mongol capital Zhu Di had inherited war- The Mongol leader Ta-tu as Beijing. In 1403 ships and merchant ships Zheng He, who had never but he now commissioned Arughtai rebelled been to sea, was appointed 1,681 new ships. and Zhu Di led an army of a million THE GRAND CANAL men against him but The Grand Canal was the main of the collapse of the Sui In 1415 the southern section they failed to catch artery between north and dynasty (AD 589-618). from the Yellow River to the south China. It was begun in Yangtze was opened. Grain him. Whilst still In 1411 dredging and recon- 486 BC under the Wu dynasty. was transported in close to struction of the northern sec- pursuing him, Zhu Di From AD 584 it was extended ten thousand flat-bottomed tion began to clear 130 miles died on 11 August to form a system stretching for barges. Shipments in 1417 of channel. 36 new locks 1,800 kms. It was built at a reached 300 million kgs 1424. His son issued were built for Beijing is over horrific human cost causing which led to shortages and 100 feet higher than the Yel- a decree that all the death of half of the 6 mil- famines in other parts of Chi- low River. 300,000 labourers lion labour force. The financial na. Each treasure ship con- voyages of the were employed to do this stresses and domestic up- sumed the wood of 300 work. treasure ships were heavals was a principal cause acres of teak forest. to be stopped. SUPPLEMENT ISSUED IN LISBON, PORTUGAL IN MARCH 1431 Page 3 THE AMAZING TALE OF NICCOLÒ DA CONTI Niccolò da Conti (1395-1469) The Chinese fleet sailed The fleets divided so as to a trader from Venice, convert- from Tanggu to Malacca and return envoys to all the East ed to Islam and so was per- then divided into squadrons African countries and met up mitted to travel south of Cairo as for the previous armadas. again near modern Maputo in Egypt by the Mamluk sul- Zheng He’s squadron was in Mozambique. The journey tans. He was in Calicut in only to return the envoys to here on the north east mon- 1421 when the Chinese treas- south-east Asia since he was soon before July and back The Chinese junks are flat ure fleets arrived. He joined needed back in China. The on the south west monsoon bottomed and broad beamed. the fleets and it is to him that rest of the fleet first returned in the latter half of the year They have a high poop deck we owe the knowledge of the the envoys to India (where had been done many times. and high masts. Fore and aft lands where the fleets went Niccolò joined them), Arabia They then travelled on the lug sails help to beat into the and the charts which have and East Africa. The Chinese Agulhas current around the wind but the hull design limits made Portugal the European had traded with Calicut Cape of Good Hope and then this.