On March 8, 1421, the largest fleet the world had ever seen set sail from China to "proceed all the way to the ends of the earth to collect tribute from the barbarians beyond the seas." When the fleet returned home in October 1423, the emperor had fallen, leaving China in political and economic chaos. The great ships were left to rot at their moorings and the records of their journeys were destroyed. Lost in the long, self-imposed isolation that followed was the knowledge that Chinese ship... (show more)
On March 8, 1421, the largest fleet the world had ever seen set sail from China to "proceed all the way to the ends of the earth to collect tribute from the barbarians beyond the seas." When the fleet returned home in October 1423, the emperor had fallen, leaving China in political and economic chaos. The great ships were left to rot at their moorings and the records of their journeys were destroyed. Lost in the long, self-imposed isolation that followed was the knowledge that Chinese ships had reached America seventy years before Columbus and had circumnavigated the globe a century before Magellan. And they colonized America before the Europeans, transplanting the principal economic crops that have since fed and clothed the world.
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Magnificent work by a non-academic historian. Well researched and ground-breaking, his ideas inspirational. Menzies's work is worth as much as a Ph... (show more)
Magnificent work by a non-academic historian. Well researched and ground-breaking, his ideas inspirational. Menzies's work is worth as much as a PhD thesis, if not more. Considering his naval background as a retired submariner, Menzies kept working to the very last of his belief -- and he stood by it -- over his pension to give credit to ancient Chinese mariners where credit is due.
Sometime I wonder, had Menzies not been raised by an Chinese nanny in his early childhood, would he have been so objective in his approach in evaluating the historical facts? He might have been blinded by the 'orthodox' views that Europeans were the first ones to discover America! (show less)
Interesting but very repetitious. The book would have been more effective if it were pared down to about half its length.
Useful for details of accepted history, and an interesting scenario, but IMO the evidence is slim and the author's conclusions somewhat iffy. I'd like to see some genetic studies, particularly X and Y-chromosome studies, of the areas the Chinese voyagers are said to have colonized. I would expect to find evidence of intermarriage. Also, the absence of Asian crops and agricultural methods is troubling, as is the absence of western crops in Asia.
Those considerations aside, the book makes for ... (show more)
Useful for details of accepted history, and an interesting scenario, but IMO the evidence is slim and the author's conclusions somewhat iffy. I'd like to see some genetic studies, particularly X and Y-chromosome studies, of the areas the Chinese voyagers are said to have colonized. I would expect to find evidence of intermarriage. Also, the absence of Asian crops and agricultural methods is troubling, as is the absence of western crops in Asia.
Those considerations aside, the book makes for fascinating reading. (show less)
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1421 is an excellent, compelling read. The Newport lighthouse story was particularly fascinating if accurate. It's a daring, new approach toward filling in the cracks of the Age of Exploration. Although Mrt. Menzies's arguments are not flawless, they likely have some semblance of truth to them. However, I can not recommend its addendum book 1434.
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