- published: 02 Oct 2013
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The Age of Discovery is an informal and loosely defined European historical period from the 15th century to the 18th century, marking the time in which extensive overseas exploration emerged as a powerful factor in European culture. Many lands previously unknown to Europeans were "discovered" during this period, though most were already inhabited and from the perspective of many non-Europeans it was marked the arrival of settlers and invaders from a previously unknown continent. Global exploration started with the Portuguese discovery of the Atlantic archipelago of the Azores, the western coast of Africa, and discovery of the ocean route to the East in 1498, and the trans-atlantic ocean discovery of the Americas on behalf of the Crown of Castile (Spain) in 1492. These expeditions led to numerous naval expeditions across the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific oceans, and land expeditions in the Americas, Asia, Africa, and Australia that continued into the late 19th century, and ended with the exploration of the polar regions in the 20th century.
Zheng He (1371–1433 or 1435), originally named Ma He, was a Hui court eunuch, mariner, explorer, diplomat, and fleet admiral during China's early Ming dynasty. Zheng commanded expeditionary voyages to Southeast Asia, South Asia, Western Asia, and East Africa from 1405 to 1433. His larger ships stretched 400 feet in length (Columbus's Santa Maria, for comparison, was 85 feet). These carried hundreds of sailors on four tiers of decks.
As a favorite of the Yongle Emperor, whose usurpation he assisted, he rose to the top of the imperial hierarchy and served as commander of the southern capital Nanjing (the capital was later moved to Beijing by the Yongle Emperor). These voyages were long neglected in official Chinese histories but have become well known in China and abroad since the publication of Liang Qichao's Biography of Our Homeland's Great Navigator, Zheng He in 1904. A trilingual stele left by the navigator was discovered on the island of Sri Lanka shortly thereafter.
Zheng He was the second son of a family from Kunyang,Yunnan. He was originally born with the name Ma He. His family were Hui people. He had four sisters and one older brother.