White P. Exploration in the World of the Middle Ages, 500-1500
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Exploration in the World of the
Middle Ages, 500–1500
Revised Edition
Discovery & exploration
Exploration in the World of the Ancients,
Revised Edition
Exploration in the World of the Middle Ages,
500–1500, Revised Edition
Exploration in the Age of Empire, 1750–1953,
Revised Edition
Exploring the Pacific, Revised Edition
Exploring the Polar Regions, Revised Edition
Discovery of the Americas, 1492–1800,
Revised Edition
Opening Up North America, 1497–1800,
Revised Edition
Across America: e Lewis and Clark Expedition,
Revised Edition
Exploring North America, 1800–1900, Revised Edition
Exploring Space, Revised Edition
Exploration in the World of
the Middle Ages, 500–1500
Revised Edition
Pamela White
JOhN S. BOWmaN and maURiCe iSSeRmaN
General editors
Exploration in the World of the Middle Ages, 500–1500, Revised Edition
Copyright © 2010 by Infobase Publishing
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
White. Pamela.
Exploration in the world of the middle ages, 500-1500 / Pamela White, John S.
Bowman, and Maurice Isserman, general editors. -- Rev. ed.
p. cm. -- (Discovery and exploration)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-1-60413-193-2 (hardcover)
ISBN 978-1-4381-3051-4 (e-book)
1. Discoveries in geography--History--To 1500. I. White, Pamela II. Bowman, John
Stewart, 1931- III. Isserman, Maurice. IV. Title. V. Series.
G82.W45 2010
910.9’02--dc22
2009030202
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Text design by Erika Arroyo
Cover design by Keith Trego
Composition by EJB Publishing Services
Cover printed by Bang Printing, Brainerd, MN
Book printed and bound by Bang Printing, Brainerd, MN
Date printed: December 2009
Printed in the United States of America
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
is book is printed on acid-free paper.
All links and Web addresses were checked and verified to be correct at the time of
publication. Because of the dynamic nature of the Web, some addresses and links may
have changed since publication and may no longer be valid.
e author would like to acknowledge
the contributions of Harry Anderson and Tom Smith—
for Chapter 9 and Chapter 5, respectively.
1 THE GRAND FLEET OF TREASURE SHIPS 7
2 THE DARK AGES OR THE MIDDLE AGES? 16
3 PILGRIMS AND MISSIONARIES OF THE EARLY
MIDDLE AGES 30
4 THE VIKINGS 41
5 MUSLIM TRAVELERS OF THE MIDDLE AGES 54
6 EUROPEANS SEEKING ASIA 64
7 MARCO POLO AND HIS TRAVELS 75
8 MYSTERIES, LEGENDS, AND LIES 85
9 PORTUGAL’S MASTER SAILORS 96
10 THE DAWNING OF THE AGE OF DISCOVERY 108
Chronology and Timeline 116
Glossary 120
Bibliography 123
Further Resources 125
Picture Credits 127
Index 128
About the Contributors 133
C ontents
DE MiddleAges-FNL.indd 5 10/30/09 12:06:51 PM
7
On June 29, 1430, the emperor of China, Xuande (Hsüan-te),
sent an order to his admiral Zheng He (Cheng Ho):
I have received Heaven’s mandate and I have inherited a great
empi
re. . . . [But] distant lands beyond the seas have not yet been
informed. I send . . . Zheng He . . . to instruct these countries to
follow the way of Heaven with reverence and to watch over their
people so that all might enjoy the good fortune of lasting peace.
Zheng had been assigned as a boy to the service of Zhu Di, a north-
ern Chinese prince. Zheng had risen over the years to become a trusted
general. When Zhu Di was enthroned as the emperor Yongle (Yung-lo)
in 1402, he gave Zheng an important job. He ordered Zheng to “take
general command of the treasure ships and go to the various foreign
countries in the Western Ocean to read out the imperial commands
and to bestow rewards.” Zheng led six expeditions to kingdoms from
the East Indies to Africa. His fleets were the largest and most powerful
the world had ever seen.
In 1430, eight years after his sixth expedition, the veteran admiral
received his final commission from Yongle’s grandson, Xuande. Once
again Zheng assembled his fleet. It was made up of 100 enormous ships
bearing names such as Pure Harmony and Lasting Tranquility. e
27,500 officers and crew included seamen, soldiers, scholars, scientists,
secretaries, interpreters, artisans, astrologers, and meteorologists.
1
e Grand Fleet
of Treasure Ships
8
Exploration in thE World of thE MiddlE agEs
e plan was, even for Zheng, ambitious. His ships sailed from Nan-
jing on January 19, 1431. By the time they returned in the summer of
1433 they had visited Champa (present-day Vietnam), Java, Sumatra,
Malacca, Ceylon (Sri Lanka), and the Indian seaport of Calicut. Part of
the fleet had sailed to the great Persian Gulf port of Hormuz and the
Arabian ports of Dhofar, Aden, and Jidda. e other part of the fleet had
crossed the Indian Ocean to East Africa. ese ships visited the trad-
ing stations of Mogadishu and Brava (both in present-day Somalia) and
of Malindi (Kenya). Zheng’s fleet had sailed an amazing 12,600 miles
(
2
0,277 kilometers), sometimes covering more than 100 miles (160.9 km)
a day. Although no definite evidence exists, recent scholarship suggests
that Zheng probably died in India on the return voyage. Nevertheless, he
became a national hero in China and the subject of novels and plays.
china’s imperial policies
Chinese navigators and traders had worked in the South China Sea and
the Indian Ocean for 1,000 years. e policy of Zheng’s original patron,
the Yongle emperor, was one of close control. Yongle fine-tuned China’s
unique system of tributary trade, under which the goods brought to
China by foreign merchants and ambassadors were given to the emperor
as gifts. e foreigners were rewarded with Chinese luxury goods of at
least equal value, chiefly silks, porcelain, and horses. e emperor also
sent officials to foreign rulers with gifts. In return, the rulers sent more
tribute back to China. Carrying these ambassadors and luxury goods to
and from China was central to Zheng He’s mission.
Already centuries ahead of its rivals technologically, Zheng’s expe-
dition was an achievement that made China the dominant power in the
kingdoms bordering the China Sea and Indian Ocean. Still, after the
triumphant conclusion of the voyage, Emperor Xuande suddenly turned
his back on the outside world. He broke up the imperial fleet, destroying
some vessels and reassigning others to river service. In about 1480, a
(opposite page) About half a century before the explorations of Christopher
Columbus and Ferdinand Magellan, China’s Zheng He made seven
historical voyages to promote his country’s wealth and power. The seventh
voyage of the Treasure Fleet would travel 12,600 miles (20,277 km),
sometimes covering more than 100 miles (160.9 km) a day.
the grand fleet of treasure ships
9