Why Ming China Ended the Treasure Fleet Voyages

Why Ming China Ended the Treasure Fleet Voyages Between 1405 and 1433, Ming China sent out seven gigantic naval expeditions under the command of Zheng He the great eunuch admiral. These expeditions traveled along the Indian Ocean trade routes as far as Arabia and the coast of East Africa, but in 1433, the government suddenly called them off. What Prompted the End of the Treasure Fleet? In part, the sense of surprise and even bewilderment that the Ming governments decision elicits in western observers arises from a misunderstanding about the original purpose of Zheng Hes voyages. Less than a century later, in 1497, the Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama traveled to some of the same places from the west; he also called in at the ports of East Africa, and then headed to India, the reverse of the Chinese itinerary. Da Gama went in search of adventure and trade, so many westerners assume that the same motives inspired Zheng Hes trips. However, the Ming admiral and his treasure fleet were not engaged in a voyage of exploration, for one simple reason: the Chinese already knew about the ports and countries around the Indian Ocean. Indeed, both Zheng Hes father and grandfather used the honorific hajji, an indication that they had performed their ritual pilgrimage to Mecca, on the Arabian Peninsula. Zheng He was not sailing off into the unknown. Likewise, the Ming admiral was not sailing out in search of trade. For one thing, in the fifteenth century, all the world coveted Chinese silks and porcelain; China had no need to seek out customers - Chinas customers came to them. For another, in the Confucian world order, merchants were considered to be among the lowliest members of society. Confucius saw merchants and other middlemen as parasites, profiting on the work of the farmers and artisans who actually produced trade goods. An imperial fleet would not sully itself with such a lowly matter as trade. If not trade or new horizons, then, what was Zheng He seeking? The seven voyages of the Treasure Fleet were meant to display Chinese might to all the kingdoms and trade ports of the Indian Ocean world and to bring back exotic toys and novelties for the emperor. In other words, Zheng Hes enormous junks were intended to shock and awe other Asian principalities into offering tribute to the Ming. So then, why did the Ming halt these voyages in 1433, and either burn the great fleet in its moorings or allow it to rot (depending upon the source)? Ming Reasoning There were three principal reasons for this decision. First, the Yongle Emperor who sponsored Zheng Hes first six voyages died in 1424. His son, the Hongxi Emperor, was much more conservative and Confucianist in his thought, so he ordered the voyages stopped. (There was one last voyage under Yongles grandson, Xuande, in 1430-33.) In addition to political motivation, the new emperor had financial motivation. The treasure fleet voyages cost Ming China enormous amounts of money; since they were not trade excursions, the government recovered little of the cost. The Hongxi Emperor inherited a treasury that was much emptier than it might have been, if not for his fathers Indian Ocean adventures. China was self-sufficient; it didnt need anything from the Indian Ocean world, so why send out these huge fleets? Finally, during the reigns of the Hongxi and Xuande Emperors, Ming China faced a growing threat to its land borders in the west. The Mongols and other Central Asian peoples made increasingly bold raids on western China, forcing the Ming rulers to concentrate their attention and their resources on securing the countrys inland borders. For all of these reasons, Ming China stopped sending out the magnificent Treasure Fleet. However, it is still tempting to muse on the what if questions. What if the Chinese had continued to patrol the Indian Ocean? What if Vasco da Gamas four little Portuguese caravels had run into a stupendous fleet of more than 250 Chinese junks of various sizes, but all of them larger than the Portuguese flagship? How would world history have been different, if Ming China had ruled the waves in 1497-98?

10 Fascinating Facts About Cockroaches

10 Fascinating Facts About Cockroaches Nobody wants to see a cockroach scurrying under the fridge when flipping on the light switch. These creatures arent exactly revered. Entomologists know otherwise, though; these insects are actually rather cool. Here are 10 fascinating facts about cockroaches that just might persuade you to think differently about them. 1. Most Species Are Not Pests What image do you conjure up when you hear the word cockroach? For most people, its a dark, dirty city apartment teeming with cockroaches. In truth, very few cockroach species inhabit human dwellings. We know of some 4,000 species of cockroaches on the planet, most of which inhabit forests, caves, burrows, or brush.  Only about 30 species like to live where people do. In the U.S., the two most common species are the German cockroach, known as  Blattella germanica, and the American cockroach,  Periplaneta americana. 2. Cockroaches Are Scavengers Most roaches prefer sugar and other sweets, but they will eat just about anything: glue, grease, soap, wallpaper paste, leather, bookbindings, even hair. And cockroaches can survive a remarkably long time without food. Some species can go as long as six weeks without a meal. In nature, cockroaches provide an important service by consuming organic waste. As with houseflies, when cockroaches take up residence among humans, they can become vehicles for spreading diseases as they scuttle about the home. Feeding on waste, trash, and food, they leave germs and droppings in their wake. 3. Theyve Been Around For a Long Time If you could travel back to the Jurassic period and walk among the dinosaurs, you would easily recognize the cockroaches crawling under logs and stones in prehistoric forests. The modern cockroach first came to be about 200 million years ago. Primitive roaches appeared even earlier, about 350 million years ago, during the Carboniferous period. The fossil record shows that Paleozoic roaches had an external ovipositor, a trait that disappeared during the Mesozoic era. 4. Cockroaches Like to Be Touched Roaches are thigmotropic, meaning they like feeling something solid in contact with their bodies, preferably on all sides. They seek out cracks and crevices, squeezing into spaces that offer them the comfort of a tight fit. The small German cockroach can fit into a crack as thin as a dime, while the larger American cockroach will squeeze into a space no thicker than a quarter. Even a pregnant female can manage a crevice as thin as two stacked nickels. Cockroaches are also social creatures, preferring to live in multigenerational nests that can range from a few bugs to several dozen. In fact, according to research, cockroaches that dont share the company of others can become ill or unable to mate. 5. They Lay Eggs, Lots of Them Mama cockroach protects her eggs by enveloping them in a thick protective case, called an ootheca. German cockroaches may encase as many as 40 eggs in one ootheca, while the larger American roaches average about 14 eggs per capsule. A female cockroach can produce multiple egg cases over her lifetime. In some species, the mother will carry the ootheca with her until the eggs are ready to hatch. In others, the female will drop the ootheca or attach it to a substrate. 6. Roaches Love Bacteria For millions of years, cockroaches have carried on a symbiotic relationship with special bacteria called Bacteroides. These bacteria live within special cells called mycetocytes and are passed down to new generations of cockroaches by their mothers. In exchange for living a life of relative comfort inside the cockroachs fatty tissue, the Bacteroides manufacture all the vitamins and amino acids the cockroach needs to live. 7. Cockroaches Dont Need Heads to Survive Lop the head off a roach, and a week or two later it will still respond to stimuli by wiggling its legs. Why? Surprisingly, its head isnt all that important to how a cockroach functions. Cockroaches have open circulatory systems, so as long as the wound clots normally, they arent prone to bleeding out. Their respiration occurs via spiracles along the sides of the body. Eventually, the headless cockroach will either dehydrate or succumb to mold. 8. Theyre Fast Cockroaches detect approaching threats by sensing changes in air currents. The fastest start time clocked by a cockroach was just 8.2 milliseconds after it sensed a puff of air on its rear end. Once all six legs are in motion, a cockroach can sprint at speeds of 80 centimeters per second, or about 1.7 miles per hour. And theyre elusive, too, with the ability to turn on a dime while in full stride. 9. Tropical Roaches Are Big Most domestic roaches dont come close to the size of their giant, tropical cousins. Megaloblatta longipennis boasts a wingspan of 7 inches. The Australian rhinoceros cockroach,  Macropanesthia rhinoceros,  measures about 3 inches and can weigh 1 ounce or more. The giant cave cricket, Blaberus giganteus, is even larger, reaching 4 inches at maturity.   10. Cockroaches Can Be Trained Makoto Mizunami and Hidehiro Watanabe, two scientists at Japans Tohoku University, found cockroaches could be conditioned much like dogs. They introduced the scent of vanilla or peppermint just before giving the roaches a sugary treat. Eventually, the cockroaches would drool when their antennae detected one of these scents in the air. More Crazy Cockroach Facts Its often been said that cockroaches are so hardy that they can survive a nuclear explosion. Although the bugs can survive levels of radiation that would kill a human being within minutes, higher levels of exposure can be deadly. In one experiment, cockroaches were exposed to 10,000 rads of radiation, about the same amount as the nuclear bombs dropped on Japan during World War II. Only about 10 percent of the test subjects survived. These hardly bugs can also hold their breath for 4 to 7 minutes at a time. Scientists arent sure why cockroaches do this, but researchers in Australia say it may be in order to preserve moisture in dry climates. They can also survive for several minutes under water, though exposure to hot water can kill them. Sources: BBC editors. Cockroaches. BBC.co.uk. October 2014.Sampaolo, Marco, et al. Cockroaches. Brittanica.com. 14 September 2014.Walker, Matt. Why Cockroaches Need Their Friends. BBC.co.uk. 2 May 2012.Willis, Bill. Separating Fact from Fiction: Cockroach Myths and Misconceptions. National Institutes of Health. 1 February 2017.