Cheng Ho’s early fifteenth-century fleets dwarfed European expeditions.

Evidence

In the third year of [Yung Lo’s] reign (1405) began that remarkable series of seven maritime expeditions which rank among the great feats of seamanship of all time. They were commanded by a Chinese Muslim, a court eunuch called Cheng Ho. On the first voyage his fleet consisted of sixty-three ships, constructed with watertight compartments, the largest of which are said to have been over 400 feet long and 180 feet wide, with four decks. The total complement was 27,560, including troops, officials, and officers, and 180 doctors. This expedition reached India. In subsequent voyages Cheng Ho’s ships visited more than thirty countries in the Indian Ocean and archipelago, the Persian Gulf, Aden, and the east coast of Africa. — Cedric J. Robinson, Black Marxism_ The Making of the Black…, 1818

Categorization

• CANDY: A Chinese Muslim eunuch commanding 27,000 sailors in 400-foot ships a century before da Gama is a striking, easily-shared historical contrast.