This timeline is easy to follow. I went to the Ming Dynasty and followed the link to Zheng He’s Sea Voyages discussed today by Prof. Ye. According to this link, the Ming government sponsored a series of seven naval expeditions and Zheng He was placed as the admiral in control. It was interesting to read that in addition to establishing a Chinese presence and gain control over trade; these expeditions were also a manhunt to find Zhu Yunwen the previous emperor who was believed to have fled into exile. There are twists and turns to this story which would interest students and reliable links for them to go to for primary sources.
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