Zheng He
Who
When
Where
Why
Zheng He was born in 1371 in Yunnan
When Ma He was about 10, the Ming army invaded Yunnan to take it back from the Mongols and bring it under Ming control.
Zheng He was Chinese merchant and explorer
He was also named Ma He
The Seven Voyages
Since he was determined to control trading in the Indian Ocean, one of his first acts was to commission the construction of 3,500 ships, with Zheng He supervising the construction and then commanding the fleet.
Near the end of the voyage Zheng He’s ships encountered pirates in the Sumatran port of Palembang. The pirate leader pretended to submit, with the intention of escaping. However, Zheng He started a battle, easily defeating the pirates — his forces killing more than 5,000 people and taking the leader back to China to be beheaded.
On his seventh and final voyage, from 1431 to 1433, Zheng He apparently died at sea and was likely buried off the coast of India, although some of his descendants believe that he made it back to China and died soon after his return.
The Seven Voyages
1
2&3
5
6
7
Java, Sumatra; Malacca (the Spice Islands
Java, Sumatra; and visited ports on the coast of Siam (today called Thailand) and the Malay Peninsula.
Java, Sumatra, Zheng He sailed into new waters, to the Somali coast and down to Kenya, both in Africa.
Mogadishu region of Somalia
Java, Sumatra and several other Asian ports before arriving in Calicut, India.
The Yongle Emperor wanted to show the rest of the world the glory and power of the Chinese Empire. He also wanted to establish trade and relations with other peoples of the world. He named Zheng He Chief Envoy and instructed him to put together a fleet and explore the world.
When the Ming Dynasty took over, Chinese soldiers captured Ma He and took him as a slave to one of the Emperor's sons, Prince Zhu Di.
Ma He served the prince well and rose in the ranks of the servants. Soon he was one of the prince's closest advisors. He earned honor and the prince awarded him by changing his name to Zheng He. Later the prince became the Emperor of China as the Yongle Emperor.