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Zheng He, a Chinese explorer, made seven voyages in his career to Southeast Asia, India, and Africa to explore and trade. Unlike many other countries, he explored to gain respect and nobility for his country rather than control the trade. However with his large fleet of "treaure ships", he soon gained respect and fame for gathering so many goods for China and exploring the world.
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Prince Henry the Navigator, the esteemed prince of Portugal, opened his first navigation school in 1419. He wanted to gain fame and fortune for his country, along with collecting "god, glory, and gold", so he opened schools to teach sailor about the world and map them out. Although Henry never voyaged himself, his sailors dscovered sea routes all over the Indian Ocean, and Portugal soon took over the trade in the Indian Ocean.
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In this year, the Ming China dynasty adopted a policy that isolated themselves from the rest of the world until the 19th century. At this time, the Chinese considered their country "the center of the universe". They were self-sufficient, and had everything they needed inside their country, and did not need to trade with any other countries. To protect themslves from the European "iniative", and to establish Confucia beliefs, they shut themselves out.
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Christopher Columbus, an Italian explorer who sailed for Spain, set sail for the East Indies. He was trying to discover new trade route for the Spaniards. However, he ended up in Hispaniola, a chain of islands south of North America. His discovery altered life forever.
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In 1494, tensions were high between Portugal and Spain. They were in competition to discover and settle new land and dominate trade. To settle their dispute, the Pope drew a "Line of Demarcation" to designate certain lands to Spain, and others to Portugal. The two countries debated and ultimately, Spain controlled the land to the west of the line: most of South America and all of North America, whilst Portugal got the Indian Ocean and Brazil. This agreement was called the Treaty of Tordesillas.
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Portugal's Vasco de Gama became the first explorer to round the Cape of Good Hope, and continue on through the Indian Ocean to India. His voyage opened up eras of trade on the Indian Ocean and contact between countries.
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Tokugawa Ieyasu began the Tokugawa Shogunate. He moved the capital to Edo. He created a system of superiority much like the caste system. The emperor was the figurehead of power, but really the shogun (the military commander) controlled the people. In this period, Japan was controlled by the government and was in isolation.
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In China, the people in the Ming Dynasty had been warring with the Manchus for many years. With struggles inside of their community, the Manchus from the north saw a period of weakness, and took advantage. The Qing upheld many traditions like Confucianism, while adopting some Manchurian culture. Emperor Kangxi, a great warrior, expanded China's borders to rule the largest area at the time. He conquered Tibet, Korea, and Mongolia.
