Q: Explain the role of China in the history of seafarers and explorers. What can we conclude from their example?
A: Almost a century before the voyage of Christopher Columbus a Chinese explorer named Zheng He made seven ambitious ventures into Southeast Asia. His fleet was much grander than Columbus’s, the smallest Chinese ship being twice the size of the famous Santa Maria. These voyages brought an increase in trade to the region, but Chinese exploration came to an end in the 15th century. Fearing the Mongols threatening the border, the Chinese emperor placed a ban on exploration. The policy was taken quite seriously for some time, and builders of multimast ships were to be executed. Zakaria concludes that this isolationist shift was not the result of one poor decision, but the inevitable result of non-Western stagnation.
Unfortunately, this came at a critical juncture, as the post-Renaissance Western Europewas just beginning its rapid expansion. Trade relations with Europe could have helped bridge the widening gap between Western and non-Western nations, but Chinese resistance to the new technology proved to be a hindrance. In fact, fro 1736-1795, the Chinese emperor refused trade with Britain, stating that the country had no use for Britains manufactured goods. Thus, the non-west remained largely rural while Europe quickly became the economic and social center of the world.
I believe that this can serve as an example of how isolationist policies can be a detriment to a nation’s success. Access to trade and new technologies is of utmost importance to a country. And to go without increases the risk of stagnation.
Q: What is Zacharia referring to when he says “while it may be politically correct, it is historically incorrect?” (65) Do you agree?
A: Zacharia is referring to the idea that China and India’s economies were as strong as Europe’s until the 18th century, and that Western advantages are a result of luck and good timing, namely the discovery of a coal and colonies (cheap energy and massive influx of resources and capital). Zakaria points out that even though China and India possessed economies comparable to Western Europe before the 19th century, they also had populations four times larger. Zakaria prefers to look at growth and GDP per capita as a means of determining a nation’s wealth. From 1350-1950, GDP per capita in China and India remained static. European GDP per capita, however, increased almost 600% during this period.
This rapid growth finds its roots in the Renaissance movement, which birthed modern science, and propelled Europeans into global prominence. During the Middle Ages, Asia, India, and the Middle East, were all more technologically advanced, but Europe began to pull ahead after the advent of the Renaissance in the 15th century. From this point on, the gap only grew, and the Eastern nations began falling farther and farther behind in most technology and wealth. Asian countries, lacking strong agricultural technologies, could not produce enough food for their populations, leaving many of the areas of the continent poor and hungry. Zacharia’s claim makes sense to me, and my own research on GDP vs. GDP per capita and growth back it up. Unless we are to believe that those of Western European are inherently superior to all others (a belief set that I do not subscribe to) then there must be some reason for the shift in global power that has taken form since the Renaissance. Additionally, Western Europeans lived in a culture of constant warfare, on both the small and large scale. Once gunpowder made its way to Europe, various lords and nobles were continuously innovating and trying to one up on another, spending 40-80% of their budget on military disputes. This is not to say that nations like China and India never participated in war, but many of the enemies they fought were mounted nomads. Since artillery is largely ineffective against this type of opponent, the Asian regions did not spend nearly as much time mastering the use of gunpowder or creating new technologies to enhance its effectiveness (https://economics.yale.edu/sites/default/files/files/Workshops-Seminars/Economic-History/hoffman-120409.pdf).
Globalization: Asia 