The Ming Dynasty

[Rameses the Great]

As the Ming Dynasty became a power, they decided to take their supremacy to the seas.

 

In 1405, Zheng He, a Chinese admiral, ordered the constuction of 317 ships. Consider this, at that time all European ships only equaled less than half the amount of Zheng He's fleet and England's navy at its hegiht only reached 125.

 

The 9 main ships were 63.25-meter-long and 13.8-meter-wide ship, with a tonnage of 1,300 tons carried across 30 African and Asian countries reaching as far west as the Red Sea and maybe even north into Egypt. It may have even reached the Americas at a time when no one in the East knew it existed.

 

It carried horses, soldiers, and bronze cannons to secure its supremacy at sea. The ships consited of 4 levels:

 

Base Level: carried storage like gun powder, food, and horses.

Second Level: Troops quarters including the general's quarters.

Third Level: Contained the kitchen and dining area.

Forth Level: The deck included the nine giant masts.

 

It ventured the seas as China controlled it. When Zheng He died in Ceylon in 1433, the ships were recalled and burn by the next emperor. Although the reasons are not known, China turned inward and Europe started its industrial age and supremacy.

 

Imagine what if the Chinese used these ships to conquer not only the seas, but the world.

 

Amazing.