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Before Europeans even began to sail, emperor Yonglo launched the first of seven voyages of exploration. He hoped the voyages would impress the world with the power and splendor of Ming China. Yonglo also wanted to expand China's tribute system. Zheng He, a Chinese Muslim admiral, led all of the seven voyages. The expeditions were remarkable for their size. The fleet's crews had over 27,000 on some voyages. The fleet was like a floating city, sailing from port to port along the Indian Ocean.
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In 1419, Prince Henry founded a navigation school on the southwestern coast of Portugal. Sea captains, shipbuilders, scientists, mapmakers, and instrument makers gathered at the school to perfect their trade.
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Chinese scholar-officials complained that the voyages wasted valuable resources that could be used to defend against barbarians' attacks on the northern frontier. So after the seventh voyage, China withdrew into isolation. To keep the influence of outsiders down, only the government was to conduct foreign trade, and only through threee coastal ports: Canton, Macao, and Ningbo.
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This voyage would open the way for European colonization of the Americas - a process that would forever change the world. Unfortunately, the immediate impact of Christopher Columbus's voyage increased tensions between Spain and Portugal
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The rivalry between Spain and Portugal soon grew so tense that, in 1493, Pope Alexander VI stepped in to keep peace between the two nations. Pope Alexander suggested an imaginary dividing line, drawn north to south, through the Atlantic Ocean. Known as the Line of Demarcation, all lands to the west of the line would be Spain's, and all lands to the east of the line would belong to Portugal. In 1494, Spain and Portugal signed the Treaty of Tordesillas, in which they agreed to honor the line.
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In 1498, Vasco da Gama reached the port of Calicut, on the southwestern coast of India. Da Gama and his crew were amazed by the spices, rare silks, and precious gems that filled Calicut's shops. The Portugese sailors filled their ships with such spices as pepper and cinnamon and returned to Portugal in 1499. Their cargo was worth 60 times the cost of the voyage. Vasco da Gama's incredible voyage had given Portugal a direct sea route to India.
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Tokugawa Ieyasu completed the unification of Japan. In 1600, Ieyasu defeated his rivals at the Battle of Sekigahara. His victory earned him the loyalty of daimyo throughout Japan. Three years later Ieyasu became the sole ruler, or shogun. He then moved Japan's capital to his power base at Edo, a small fishing village that would later become the city of Tokyo.
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In 1644, the Manchus invaded China and the Ming Dynasty collapsed. The Manchus seized Beijing, and their leader became China's new emperor. The Manchus took a Chinese name for their dynasty, the Qing Dynasty. The Qing Dynasty ruled for over 260 years and expaned China's borders to include Tibet, Taiwan, Mongolia, and Chinese Central Asia.
