Why Didn't the Chinese Colonize America?
Вставка
- Опубліковано 9 лют 2025
- Check out ground.news/si... to stay informed on breaking news as it’s happening around the world, compare coverage, and know where your news is coming from.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
For the vast majority of history, the Chinese civilization was vastly wealthier and more populous than Europe - yet somehow, it was the Europeans that got away with colonizing the Americas, right under the nose of the Chinese. So, why didn't the Chinese Empire colonize the Americas?
-------------------------------------------------------------------
If you'd like to see more of these videos, consider supporting me on Patreon: / sidequest_channel
Have a fancy historical idea you'd like me to cover? Drop a comment and let me know!
-------------------------------------------------------------------
A big THANK YOU to the selfless supporters of SideQuest for their limitless generosity:
Michael Casolary, dancingvulture, Nick Wen, Adrien Maillet, FauxFowks, Ethan McCosby, semchapeu, Alex Newman, Titus Proctor, Clark Teeple, Joseph Bouqdib, Stoeoef, Roy Orbach, Dominic Tarro, D Meredith, Troy Humpherston, Mark Mills, Xian, Petru Cotarcea, Quan Van, Tony Drake, Leo Bond, SerialConvert, Ryfael, Ivrenis, Gary M Trentman, Ryan Smock, Jamesie112, Santos, l'Empereur de Disco, Klaus, Oliver McKowen, Jonathan Horn, Kirk Lance, William DeLoach, Esbjörn Rundberg, Philip G., Alex, Jackie, Efertone, JT96, Timothy Gaensler-Debs, Matthew Moody, Alex Schwyn, Diogo Freitas, Viddax, Lukas Schmidt, Dr D, Q 1, C. Briant Stringham, Randy Butler, Jonathan Ahrens, Jordan Camilletti
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Further Reading:
“Admiral Zheng He and Southeast Asia” by Leo Suryadinata - books.google.c...
"The Making of the Chinese State: Ethnicity and Expansion on the Ming Borderlands" by Leo K. Shin - books.google.c...
Big thanks to our friends over at Ground News for supporting our humble little channel! Check out ground.news/sidequest to stay informed on breaking news as it’s happening around the world, compare coverage, and know where your news is coming from.
Uwu
Your voice acting is phenomenal
Yeaaa he's back 😊
China did land in America in the 14th century, guess you’re badly informed…
bad
Short answer: The Chinese Emperor thought that China didn't need anything from the Barbarians, and isolated the country from the rest of the world, sealing their fate during the age of colonization.
Japanese: "I've seen this one it's a classic !"
The emperors used the same principle later against Europeans who were trying to trade with them
I'd say this philosophy guides China to this day
It was during the Qing dynasty that they isolated themselves, and it was because of pirates. Though the Portuguese were allowed somewhat. Didn't help that the majority han were pissed at the rulling manchus and that there were multiple rebellions popping up.
Chinese thought like romans
@@vladtheimpaler5454 the Romans had a habit of absorbing useful stuff from whoever they came into contact with.
As a sailor, a factor that I believe is underestimated is the trade winds. While Europe had the steady trade winds blowing them towards America, China would have to row against them or navigate the unpredictable and treacherous north Pacific.
All for a land that may or may not be there.
It took Spain a while to find the northern winds to get back to Mexico from the Philippines...
@@mdj.6179 Still tho, without the land they could stop by. And even worse is they tried to go by Russia to Canada, it's freezing cold and Jurchen raids might be too troublesome
they just can’t master deepwater navigation to the fullest, unlike the european.
@catnip deepwater navigation?
China went all the way to the ivory coast.
The Europeans were still navigating inlands and the only voyage beyond that was Columbus by sheer accident sailing west trying to find way to China by sailing west.
China had at that time been sailing all the way to Russia and all the way to Africa.
@@zlonewolf When? I know Zheng He visited East Africa but I have never heard of China trading with Western Africa or the Ivory Coast. Sounds like a load of bullocks to me.
Thanks!
Would have been VERY interesting to see an America that had not only a stable Viking colony but also Chinese and even Japanese making it over on the west coast. Columbus's voyage wouldn't be to find the west indies but to confirm the existence of this rich untapped continent on the other side of the world.
Would be interesting to see how America's manifest Destiny reacted to Chinese colony on the west coast.
The Civilization series would then be fairly historically correct with Japanese, Chinese, Spanish, English, Aztecs, and Mayans all interacting.
I imagine it would have been roughly the same, except with a few more kung-fu scenes in the westerns that were later made (among other innumerable Chinese cultural influences that would have likely occurred). China doesn't strike me as a nation that would have sent many millions of settlers to their new world colonies, like the British did. They would have been overrun by the hordes of American settlers, same as everyone else.
A John Wayne kung-fu flick sounds pretty amazing, though.
That’s just Age of Empires 3 with DLCs
Well, the Europeans came to India decades *before* 1492 (re)discovery of America. Portuguese explorers soon waged wars against the Indians, the Turks, the Malays, and even the Chinese (altho in the end they help the Chinese to suppress piracy and gain Macau).
If the Asian powers had such difficulties dealing with the Europeans in their own homeland (i.e. India, Malaya, Spice Islands, etc), I don't think Asian colonies in the Americas could survive European onslaught.
A Bloodier Premise that is the World of the Divergence of Darkness
But China would never have colonised the Americas even if it was first to discover it. China already sailed all the way to Mozambique in the early 15th century. China never settled colonists there. They just traded along the entire Indian Ocean coast. In alternative history, it'd be much better for the Americas had China reached them first. China would just open up trade, and they'd keep their sovereignty instead of being completely annihilated, plundered and colonised.
Considering many old world diseases originate in China I am not convinced it would have been any better
@JackSmith-mk1rusource: I am white supremacist
It’s mostly because they abandoned naval ships they could’ve discovered America
@@CcpCcp-sk6dtno the treasure fleet sailed along known routes
I mean portugal too opened up only trade with the old world like India/Asia, then went on to plunder the new world. We can't say what would've happened, fantasy basically
It’s also important to note that voyages across the Pacific were not very common in the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries because of how taxing a journey it was. It was done a few times in the name of exploration for different European nations, but after initial voyages charted out the Pacific, most sailors stuck with the easier and safer route (albeit longer) around Africa and India.
they could have taken the equatorian route throught the plethora of island chains and then jump to the Americas as the Polynesian could have also done!
@@TeutonicEmperor1198 but the probably didn't know about that route, and China is over thousand miles from the equator
@@LeakyTrees yeah, they probably didn't know! But they could have if they were trying hard enough to take information by the people around them about what they did know! After all, it wasn't that impossible to start the island hoping! The huge island chains begin next to the Philippines which are quite close to south China!
It took Spain a while to find an easy way back to Mexico from the Philippines. And they knew it was there...
@@TeutonicEmperor1198 the Polynesians were the exception, and there still isn’t concrete evidence that even they reached the Americas. What evidence did the Chinese have ti believe that there was anything east of the last island? What reason did China have to even venture east of the Philippines or through Indonesia? They had almost everything they wanted as far as trade goods were concerned and what they wanted came from Africa.
Mad respect for the Winnie the Pooh joke.
And the canadian media bias joke; amiright?
@@MarzMonkey I couldn't tell it was Canadian, though it was just overall media bias joke. Wasn't any maple leaf, maple syrup, hockey sticks, Canadian funny talk like saying aboot and so-ey or anything Canadian about it to make it Canadian.
Oops guess we won’t be seeing this video in China.
@@ninjiango9126 that's how Southpark draws Canadians.
With the jaw and skull in two parts like a puppet.
@@thespaceageparty9577 Forgot about that, haven't seen South Park in ages.
Fun fact: archeological evidence shows that Chinese and Japanese shipwrecks ended up on the west coast of North America in pre-Columbian times, which some native tribes scavenged for iron.
I kind of imagine some Japanese and Chinese crews survived and integrated with the tribes
@@saber2802 no, they didn't. The ships traveled across the ocean like their trash does now. The chinese never landed on the Americas
@@Ryfael working with jade is a direct consequence of contact with China in the middle america’s, down to the depicted asiatic features represented. Inform yourself more properly
@@saber2802 sadly the crew probably all died before they even got near america, they probably drifted empty to the shores with nothing but skeletons
@@CreatorOfTheKoladi
cause the pacific was just so darn big?
The Hawaiians must have had contact with the Inka, they must have gotten their Taro from somewhere.
Couldn't the Chinese just reach Hawaii somehow... and get their maps? Adunno
I think it is pretty obvious why the Europeans colonized the Americas and the Chinese didn't. It was a combination of factors, one major one is as you displayed China was the wealthiest civilization the world had ever known at that point. People came to them for goods, the Chinese had no reason to go to other for goods: they already had the best stuff. (Though of course the Chinese liked European glass products, among other things). Also a major deciding factor is geography and oceanic currents. The Pacific is huge, much larger than the Atlantic, and the voyages across the Atlantic in the early 16th century were pushing the very limits of sailing technology at that time. The Chinese were no doubt good shipbuilders and sailors, but I don't believe substantially better to make this journey easier. And even if they had what would they get out of it? The first peoples Chinese Christopher Columbus analog would have encountered would have mostly been the North American Pacific coast peoples who were mostly hunters, gatherers, and fishing people. Didn't really have any resources that the Chinese couldn't get at home. If you wanted to make money in the new world in the early days you needed to sail down towards Mexico and South America where the larger, more developed civilizations were. That is where the money was at and where the Spanish and Portuguese were super successful in the early days of colonization. It took the rest of Europe a hundred+ years to make their colonies further north to become super profitable, and that was greatly aided by the import of slaves to help develop the area.
Ultimately the Europeans were perfectly situated to colonize and conquer the new world. They always were. The only thing they needed was the motivation to sail across the Atlantic and find it, and once Constantinople fell to the Muslims, thereby cutting them off from the Silk Road and the treasures from China, they had the motivation they needed to make that attempt. That and also Columbus' terrible calculations about the circumference of the Earth. And of course due to the old world's superior animal bio-diversity and the millennia of closely living with livestock, whichever civilization found the New World first was going to introduce plagues and devastate the native peoples and humans are going to human and take advantage of the situation for personal benefit.
Arguably the Old World plagues wouldn't have been quite as bad for the Indigenous Americans if the Viking settlements had lasted, or at least, they would have been hit with them on roughly equal terms as Europeans. A lot of the plagues they eventually got hit with were latecomers to Europe as well (e.g. bubonic plague came from Central Asia during the Mongol Empire, after the Viking Age). Imagine if the Black Death happened in the Old and New World at roughly the same time. It would have been just as devastating to the Americans as the post-Columbian plagues were, but Europeans would not have been in any position to take advantage of them either.
Granted, smallpox was already in Europe before the Viking Age, but it still would have been slightly more equal to be exposed to it 500 years earlier, especially since it had only really been in Europe for about 500 years by the time of the Viking Age (brought to Rome by an emperor after a war with the Parthians, IIRC).
@@erraticonteuse the Viking settled modern day Newfoundland, a very isolated region in the Americas, with huge sparsely populated land, not only that but the numbers of colonies set up were near where near as much as Columbus expedition had made. If they did we would've known about the new world way sooner.
"Old world's superior biodiversity" !? ....
Rainforests says hello
China could have sailed north and get to America from Russia to Alaska. Dont think that would have been too farfetched. But I think another reason was that the Chinese didn't have much freedoms, so there were very little people who want and can make the journey, since people weren't allowed to leave the country. I think it is more a cultural reason than geography.
FYI, the first people the Spanish found in the Americas, well, in the Caribbean, were the savages (and cannibal) Caribs people. That didn't deter them.
Now I want to see an alternate history about Chinese colonization of Americas
ua-cam.com/video/Ii8YY_2Fltw/v-deo.html
Your welcome.
See a Paradox game Victoria II mod called the Divergence of Darkness
Read the book, "The Years of Rice and Salt" by Kim Stanley Robinson.
You don't need to look far. Just look at the history of Taiwan to contemplate how the Chinese would realistically colonize the Americas
@@mr.notsonice lol what crap.
Just go for USA history and see how many coups, manipulations, wars and shi they orchestrated and exported to the world.
Hundreds of them VS taiwan.
Literally the most oppressor nation of the last decades.
China is a sissy lady next to the USA.
It could be said that China was recovering at the beginning of the Age of Discovery and more concerned about reasserting their dominance on other regions. In addition to this their economic status was mostly self sufficient and with a limited population controlling their own lands and maintaining food over exploring others. Their main differences were ideology on how they interacted with others and colonization was not one of their methods due to limited reason and limited people to do so.
Age of Discovery really started going around 1490--which means Chinese Ming Dynasty was at its most peaceful state. Recovery period was already over by then.
@@ElBandito long and short of it is this: Europeans, after being cut of from the silk road by the ottomans, had a reason to seek new routs to Asia to continue the trade while China didn't.
@@ElBandito Not really, the Ming is on it's way at decline. It's a slowly dying empire.
Holy shit the bots are evolving
@@thewingedserpent5823 not really cut, but been charging fee too high so the iberian invented deepwater navigation to bypass ottoman.
The Polynesians are usually ignored when it comes to the discussion of superior seafaring skills. the fact they were able to navigate and travel from south east Asia to micronesia, Samoa, new Zealand, Hawaii and many smaller islands through out the pacific ocean. Being able to navigate through a vast ocean and finding the Hawaiian islands, and many of the small islands. I mean if Japan is only now discovering new islands (doubling well over the amount they thought they had) in its territory. Polynesians were extremely lucky or way more advanced seafarers than we credit them to be. I read somewhere South American tribes had some contact with Easter Island natives.
As indonesian I agree
They didn't navigate, they just went where the winds and tides took them, and there was never any contact back with the places which they'd 'sailed'/drifted from.
@@Scotty-P nah, that's an old myth now. It's been proven by sailors in similar craft with similar knowledge that ancient peoples could navigate the pacific. Just because some people only wore grass skirts didn't make them stupid.
@@Eldemaer They 'sort of', 'barely', "navigated" thousands of miles across the Pacific Ocean.
They were never, ever, able to make return trips.
Nothing at all, like White navigation across the oceans.
So, yes indeed, it is a "myth" that the Polynesians were these wonderful 'navigators'.
Not the Polynesian but the Austronesians. Polynesian were just the subgroup of the Austronesian, they were not Polynesian yet when they left Southeast Asia, that's like saying how Americans colonized america, No because it's the British that Colonized America . Also Another group of Austronesian also cross from Southeast Asia to Madagascar in Africa and cross the Indian Ocean to reach Africa. That's equally impressive. Polynesian sailing technology and skills is not exclusive to them.
Imagine if the Japanese didn't isolate themselves and a Meiji-like era happened 150 years earlier.
Wasn't the Meji era heavily dependent on Japan being able to look to the west and see their technology, thus copying it?
I don't think it was possible for it to happen earlier
It is very likely to happen if nobunaga is the one who succeed in uniting Japan.
If the strategic objective is to expand to gain more resources,
you're at a big disadvantage if you have all the resources you need in the first place.
Before the Industrial Revolution, Europe only could offer grain, fish and linen to nations on the outside.
When the British were allowed to trade with China, nothing they could offer in goods impressed the Chinese (who had porcelain, ivory, jade, silk, etc. etc.) so the British could only trade by paying in gold or silver.
So for the Chinese, no motivation to venture outside whatsoever.
For the British and other Europeans however, seeing all the wealth and fine goods of the Orient, they were doubly, or tenfold motivated to overcome their backwards position and gain China's resources and wealth by other means than honest trade.
@@AudieHolland By the time British had direct trade with China, they where already a Global Empire, they wanted access to the Chinese economy for its silk, and tea. They also saw quite rightfully that the Chinese Empire was weak, extremely weak considering its vast size. Yet China was used to conducting diplomacy on their terms and Did not see the British as a Threat until it was too late.
Also its the Chinese Empire/ Government that was unimpressed, not so much China as a whole (as the merchant class in china was looked down on). their in laid the problem. The British saw the Chinese Emperor as an obstacle to a lucrative market they could exploit.
Not some sort of admiration for China. or wanting to replace China, or something. like what you are implying. (Europe of the 18th and even the 20th century would never admire a civilization outside of Europe, they where far to racist for that x) )
@@strategystuff5080 Note, I never mentioned that Europeans admired China's splendour.
They just wanted to get it. Some, more, or most of it.
One thing we have to know is isolation policy was still ongoing even during the emperor yongle's reign. While government was sending fleets to other parts of the world civilians were still ban to go outside the china
The reason for the isolation policy was stability of the nation.
Throughout the pre-modern east-asian history, the time when foreign trade was promoted were time of chaos when central authority collapsed. And the time nation was united one rule. Central government ban the foreign trade and monopolied it.
If central government doesn't ban the foreign trade, local power can be wealthy and challenge to the central government thus potentially destabilize the nation
So china and korea did isolation policy for long time while japan couldn't do that because japan was politically unstable so had the civil war for long time(ex. Sengoku period) and after japan was unified by Tokugawa they started isolation policy
Any thoughts upon the Ming Chinese reacting to the Turkic Conquest of Constantinople?
@@shinsenshogun900 probably they have nothing impressed about it. Because until 18th century the impact on one side of continent doesn't affect much on the other side.(except for very few exceptions)
So they probably react
'OK, so.... what's the matter with me?'
What a great day for a new video
To the voice behind Sidequest, keep doing what you do!! Top notch voice-acting. It's a great part of the channel!
As D. S. Landes wrote in the paper "What room for accident in history", the pirate attacks on Chinese ships also played an important role on the emperor's decision to forbid sending ships abroad since the 1430s. In the beginning of the 15th century, China was pretty strong when it comes to expeditions and conquering certain lands, or at least making them pay tribute to China. One of the most famous explorers was Zheng He, who led Chinese forces all the way to Africa on their ships called junks. He brought a giraffe back to China. Afterwards, when the pirates started looting Chinese ships, the decision about isolation came to force.
Anyway, interesting article, makes you think about the alternative history "what if"
Another SideQuest video! What a wonderful appearance!
The only reason the Chinese didn't discover America, is the Chinese knew how to get to India.
Also made bank getting to Africa(Swahili coast) by trading gold from zbabawe.
Many forget how perilous these journeys were. Columbus's attempt over the Atlantic saw his crew almost dying of starvation and thirst. And they didn't even reach the continent. Reaching American continent from mainland China would be about over TWICE of that journey and would require pretty immense resources to pull off, not to mention foresight.
dont people say columbus was trying to reach india. are europeans just braver?
@@mithos789Europeans lived in less comfort, so I guess they were simply built different back then.
"Columbus's attempt over the Atlantic saw his crew almost dying"
How can an attempt see?
Major pet peeve. Reading that is like nails on a chalkboard.
Brits were cowards afraid of crossing the Atlantic.
Hitler praised the Spanish for our bravery. @@mithos789
China was WAY more advanced than europe their ships and crews were also bigger than anywhere else in the world
China: *invents printing press*
China: *invents gunpowder*
China: *invents ships*
China: *invents compass*
China: doesn't colonize the world
Britian: ??? Fine I'll do it myself
I'm not too sure about the ship part.
As we brazilians use to say: they were with the knife and the cheese on the hands
They had all the tools to conquer the world
don't forget the tea
INVENTS SHIPS????!!!! YOU WANT TO BACK THAT UP WITH A SOURCE???!!!!!!
@@alexwieland-ducher8792 *ships able to cross oceans
Since were are talking about Chinese naval exploration/voyages, big shoutout to our boy, Admiral Zheng He.
I discovered your channel today. Instantly hooked with the brit pronunciation and enunciation. It's really good, and the pacing is well done too. Instant sub
I just found this channel and binge watched all the videos. Loving the content and wondering will there be more?
That would've made a very interesting Disney Pocahontas movie ...
Glad to see how this Chanel grew I subscribed when it was just a couple hundred and knew it was only a matter of time for your deserves recognition. Great content!
Translation: China didn't need to risk going the wrong way around to India or Polynesia.
"It accounted for a tiny fraction of the worlds GDP compared to the ancient civilizations of India and China, Who would remain the top dogs until the industrial revolution".
I think it's more to do with colonization, subjugation and slavery than the industrial revolution.
They were the stepping stones to the industrial revolution, without it I doubt there would have even been a industrial revolution
That's what I was wondering 😂 The EIC started looting well before industrial revolution
The thumbnail for this video says, “how we almost got a Chinese America.” The video itself is entirely about why we never even came remotely close to having a Chinese America. I sat through this whole thing in anticipation of being able to make fun of this kind of “1421: the year China discovered America” nonsense, and if you’re both disappointed and click baited. Granted my intentions were entirely evil, but I still don’t feel like that justifies deliberately misleading your audience.
The fact that Alaska is only 50 miles away from Russia makes it really baffling that we had no Asian colonization into the America's. Just follow the coast lines of Asia north, go along the bering straight and boom you're in Alaska and at that point nothing is stopping you from following the coast lines south towards California and South America
You are ignoring the small fact that any asiatic army would have needed to traverse the unexplored freezing hellscape known as Siberia first.
And let's not talk about the logistical nightmare that such an operation would have needed, even today it would be a suicidal mission
Native Siberian already did that thousands of years ago. They settled and became Native Americans.
Nice. You could also mention the internal politics in China. Limiting the Chinese merchants by the emperor, long may he reign, was also to prevent the development of a wealthy class of merchants that could challenge the old aristocracy and the crown.
The core of our culture (Confucian ethics) is: the whole world is not the land of the king. All places where Chinese people live belong to the Chinese emperor, and China can only have one emperor (in addition, this is also the core reason why China cannot allow Taiwan to become independent). Overseas trade and colonization would lead to a rapid expansion of the wealth and power of merchants, and they would demand political reforms that served their interests. These reforms would subvert imperial power and even lead to rebellion in overseas colonies for independence. I can't imagine the scenario where the Chinese in North America declare their independence from the Ming Dynasty and establish a republican federation. I think they will be bloody suppressed by the emperor's army. Moreover, the Chinese at home will definitely regard them as rebellious officials and traitors.
Honestly, the mindset of "we have everything we need right here and don't need to go marching into other countries" is a pretty good one for a nation to have 😊
But they like to paint them as "the big red dragon that will eat the world" booo
@@pagodebregaeforro2803 ever heard of “the man who feeds the croc”?
Agreed, early Muslims should have stayed only on Mecca
@@demo9299 If the Eastren Romans didn't Abuse Arabs Trading in Syria and Humiliate them I am sure the Muslims Wouldn't Attacked them After All Ethiopia and Sudan were much More Closer And accessible but they weren't conquered until centuries Ago when the Whole geopolitical situation changed . it just happens the white man start wars whenever they Go . Good try by the Way
@@demo9299 You don't need to Say such nonsense,Muslims also had many achievements in Science,Astronomy and Medicine when Europe was still killing each other at the same time. Stop insulting history that has happened a long time ago. Some Muslims like *Avicenna* are more useful for this earth than unpolite humans like you.
China thought of itself as the center of the world, perceived everyone else as barbarians, thinking this they did not modernize compared to Japan and paid the price during the age of humiliation, also Pacific is huge.
Every powerful ancient empire on Earth believed they were the center of the universe and perceived others as barbarians. (Greek, Roman, Persian...). But It was just China and the Chinese empires remained as most powerful nation on Earth for 2000 years. So they actually did believe they didn't need to learn and follow others until humiliated...Japan on the other hand, always looked up to and admired China, but when they saw how even China got defeated by the Western colonizer's advanced military, they were quick to change who to look up to and thus quick to modernize.
I went into Lancashire archives once, they had a metal box containing a letter from Elizabeth I to China suggesting they trade. They sent it out via boat but America was in the way so it only got to China in the 1980's.
I know it must be hard to make your videos but please try to post more. I love your content!
Damn that was the best ever sponsor transition i've ever seen. Kudos to you.
(Also awsome videos)
well thats easy. Chlna is on the other end of the map as america
As a native, i believe the world would’ve been a WHOLE LOT better if the asians emigrated to the americas rather than the europeans.
Being that my people are from Scotland and Ireland it is pretty impressive how such a tiny part of the world a little group of islands in the northwest of Europe could have such a massive impact on the world. And although the British empire might not have been the greatest thing for us the Gaels our people are now spread across the globe and have impacted many of the worlds most influential countries.
It is actually mind boggling when I think of it - small island of people destined to traverse the globe in triumph.
You guys are intelligent and strong as hell!
It actually crazy to thin Britain is small
@@goda7137 compared to China, Canada, Russia, Austrailia, or the US it is.
They spread their poverty, both material and spiritual, to other parts of the world.
China didn't colonize anyone because they didn't need to
It's as simple as that
They had everything they needed - food, land, people, resources, etc
For China, it's always been the other way around - it's always other people who went to China because they wanted what China has
China did colonize people though, just that it colonized (and to an extent still does) along it's borders, not to far away lands.
@@孙威-k5z That was not colonization but border expansions, every nation on Earth did and done that. Two different things
Please don't stop this great source of entertainment and keep up the good work.
Chinese wasn’t into genocide
This video: China is indifferent to trade.
Silk and Maritime Silk Roads: Are we a joke to you?
The emperors were uninterested in trade. Different story for the common people
Only the emperor disliked it in theory, but you still need tax.
I just want to say, this video was SUPER helpful hook for my students that are learning about the Maritime Empires in AP World History. The animation and information was simple yet informative for all of them. Keep it up!
You should not teach your students with the Chinese Zheng He's story because it is a novel, not a history. There are many evidences for the novel. First is that the fleet appeared suddenly, and disappeared suddenly. The second evidence is the personnel, who were reported to be 27,670 in number. They appeared suddenly and disappeared suddenly as well. The third evidence is the absence of correspondence; Zheng He never corresponded with all the government he was reported to have been visited, visited 7 times, and without exchanging a word. If your students ask you what had Zheng He said to foreigners, how would you answer them?
@legpol AP curriculum isn't that narrative driven (much to my spite). What they want students to learn is analyze the historical context, audience, purpose and point of view of the sources provided to for Multiple choice questions, the essay sections and short answer questions. So, the sources that AP provided is really not up to me.
@@marcosdelacerda9874 ：What I want to tell you was: the Zheng He story is a novel.
In even shorter: Europeans had a reason to cross the ocean (to find India), while the Chinese had no reason to even leave China except for a little bit of sailing around in familiar waters. And even if they could, they saw no incentive to colonize a far away continent instead of SE Asia
no
I love how the part where he talks the best about China is also the most likely reason why it would be completely forbidden there.
Zheng He's voyage may or may not have had the goal of internal security in mind; the Yongle Emperor was a pretender who marched on the capital in a coup and overthrew the rightful (but useless) Jianwen Emperor, grandson to the founding Hongwu Emperor. The rightful heir, however, was never accounted for in the aftermath of the battle, living or dead leaving the potential of a rebellion in his name always hanging over the Yongle Emperor. While this is not documented nor confirmed, rumors abounded for centuries that Zheng He was sent west along the coast of Asia and Africa to try and find the Jianwen Emperor, if he had escaped the coup, and finish him.
Clearly they didn't have enough baloons
I think the whole idea boils down to why Europeans started colonizing other places.
Asia, where China is located, rely on its own advancement and resources unlike the prehistoric European states.
since social consistance
amazing work mi amigo
I feel like a lot of people forget just how massive the Pacific ocean was. Not only that but I think it should be clear that the Chinese did set up mini colonies in Borneo and there's still a Chinese minority in Malaysia that was here since the fifteen century
So what?. It's not a colony. It's a kind of settlement for Chinese in there. What is wrong with Chinese in Malaysia?. They are not there to conquer malay unlike in america.
@@danganrompa2626 English colonisation of America began with people fleeing England to escape religious persecutions. And no I'm not trying to say that the Chinese in Malaysia are wrong especially since plenty of them were here because of the British. I'm talking about the Lanfang specifically in the 18th century, but I'm just trying to say that the Chinese absolutely would colonise the shit out of America if they could, but the Pacific ocean was too big so they have to settle with more hostile lands (Indonesia)
@@yeeyee5057 I think you actually don't know the history of lanfang in Borneo. It's not an attempt to something like colonize Borneo. It wants to create a tributary state joined with local king/sultan so they will get the protection from dutch east indies at that time.
Lanfang and other Kongsi republics. Tho they were treaty states, not colonized
I’ve been working on the main quest too long… I need another side quest
Naw bro, it never wasn't biased. We just have enough competition now for it to be a selling point instead of something they didn't think about. Multiple places reporting on the same thing also makes it more obvious when there are differences as unlike before its more common for the same person to hear about the same topic from multiple sources.
When’s the next side quest coming out. I’m hungry for knowledge!!!
This video was a wonderful summary of the Chinese style of imperialism.
Good stuff as always lads 🧐
Chinese Style of Retelling stories with EXTRA SPICES. which is LIES.
@@marjhuncantago9476 Saying something is a lie without proper evidence is called wilful ignorance. And your usage of all caps is an indication of a lower iq.
I love watching your videos, and so does my cat so you’re becoming my favorite channel to bond with her lol. My sweet girl Potato always gets engrossed
Please keep making these. It's the best part of my day while I do paperwork
Me at 3:00 am: *sees title* nevermind im going to sleep
Me at 3:01 am: ah for fucks sake i have to know why
Rest of the world: making huge advances to technology
China: no thanks ill stay where i am
Rest of the world: shows up with extremely advanced technology
China: *No thanks ill stay here*
Rest of the World: Invades country and steals territory
China: No, tha-oh hello Japan that are you doing with that army?
Poor attempt at funny
@@nuclearbug5797 oh im sorry should i also change my name to fit your needs?
@@nuclearbug5797 sorry bro but who asked? Fr last time I checked this ain't Twitter.
Sounds funny, but that's more or less what happened. Emperess Dowager Ci Xi shutdown any improvement movement (which Japanese carried out themselves as Meiji Restoration) is what caused the troubles at the end of Qing. Even Sun Yet-San sees it.
In fact, the 3 Principles of People can also be read as an analysis of Late Qing, which includes Boxer Rebellion etc. And many of the solutions he had is pretty much "implement the western technology"
My teacher shamed me and made the class laughed at me for asking this exact question. Thank you side quest, now I can rest
in peace？
I honestly believe it was simply down to the emperor wanting to be able to keep his power centralized.
After all, look at what happened to nearly all the brattish holdings in the Americas. When you have something so far away that your authority means little to nothing in the grander scheme of things then it's quite a big risk to invest in a future empire that may very well become hostile to you unless you give them absolute autonomy, at which point they might as well be a different empire anyways.
This can't be compared to modern times as the advent of flight and mechanized warfare made the world a smaller place. Even more so when ICBM's were built.
These days, globally centralized power is a distinct possibility. 1984 isn't that far off really.
Why did you mention 1984? There was no globally centralized power in the book 1984. There were 3 separate powers fighting each other in disputed equatorial countries. Oceania, Eurasia, and East Asia fought solely to keep their peoples in a constant state of fear about the war and in a constant state of patriotic support for the war. The fear and patriotism were used to keep the citizens of the various dystopias subjugated and compliant.
Globally centralized power might be possible today, but that would not be an example of 1984.
@@Meatshield108 Cool, i was referring to the dystopia that it created.
3 alliances would be the same.
@@RealCadde Those are completely different dystopias in both form and function and so that analogy doesn't make any sense as a result. The only thing global centralization and 1984 have in common are that they are both being referred to in this sense as a "dystopia". That's like saying a Direct Democracy and a Monarchy are 100% the same thing because they are both "governments". That analogy just doesn't work.
What you are looking for in this situation is to compare global centralization to a dystopia that is at least somewhat similar. I would recommend the "World Government" in the book "Brave New World". In that book, there is only 1 government in control of the world. And rather than by using fear and patriotism like in 1984, the people of "Brave New World" are kept under control by being entertained with endless amounts of vapid experiences and hedonistic consumerism. The people are so comfortable, the government can get away with doing whatever it wants.
Sounds a bit more like the global centralization comparison you were looking for right?
@@Meatshield108 Yeah cool story but i see it as three kings all related creating a virtual conflict to maintain fear.
If you have a problem with that take it up with someone that has a chance of agreeing with you.
Lost America
Still had Canada, the Caribbean,Africa,India and various trade ports like Hong Kong
Fantastic video. Thank you.
India extended into the Indus Valley Civilisation, current State of Pakistan, Singh & Balochistan, but no no, that might hurt the sentiments of current day dispute so might as well cut it all off. Would love to see Independent Scotland, Ireland and Wales, soon enough.
It also doesn't help that, if you're an emperor in China, there's a pretty high chance that someone is gonna try to overthrow you. You'd probably want to concentrate your power at home in an attempt to prevent this, rather than splitting it with an overseas colony.
Wasnt that the case for European Monarchs too? Emperors fearing about longivity of tgeir rule?
@@wecare838 Well, sure. But for Chinese emperors, it's like they were being overthrown every other Tuesday.
@@fireaza gotcha.
@@wecare838 Also, most European nations were much smaller and often much more homogeneous; China, in contrast, was absolutely enormous, and composed of a bunch of different regions, each of which is culturally destinct, and different parts of the empire had different religions. If you are the king of say, Spain, your entire kingdom is small enough that if any given province rebels, you can have an army come in to crush it very quickly. And unlike the Chinese, the primary religion had a lot more direct power and influence, and had a vested interest in maintaining the status quo (There is no Mandate of Heaven for Christian nations). Finally, remember that with the possible exception of the Holy Roman Empire (which spent most of its extremely long history in a state of civil war, succession crisis, etc.), for most major European nations, all the nations bordering you would be roughly equivalent in size and strength (as opposed to China, which was a large, wealthy empire surrounded by much smaller and/or poorer ones). This meant that for Late Medieval, Renaissance or Early Modern China, it had much more to fear from internal conflicts, rebellions, and other such issues.
@@fireaza Chinese emperor's weren't being overthrown that often
I appreciate your English tone
Hope more vids are coming
It's a very simple answer. All outside of Chinese land under the rule Chinese emperor were defined as barbarians(說話) on Sinocentrism. That's the core Ideology to understanding Chinese thought until today. Why ask the ridiculous question of colonizing the America continent to whose Chinese thought living in the center of the world(中華)?
Hello there, I love SideQuest! I am very happy for this new video uploaded. I've been watching other videos of SideQuest for free! Love it! Hope for more interesting topics history shows❤️❤️❤️
Let us remember: The renaissance led to a culture with a desire to explore, to expand their horizons, and to be bold. This was the sort of foundation required to begin world exploration and pushing boundaries either in order to seek fortune and power, scientific progress, or personal freedom from oppressive old world governments.
A new Side Quest is always exciting to me. Well done
Good Point...and subscribed your channel for good content.
Europe wasn't a backwater anymore by the late 15th century, maybe their economy wasn't great as it had low population compared to India and China, but they were very powerful militarily and weren't behind in technology anymore as they had been in the medieval age. They never would have managed to achieve such power if they were behind technologically. Hell, by the early 16th century, they were able to fight those two Empires... from across half the globe despite extreme numerical disadvantages.
You don't forge Empires and conquer continents being weak.
Lol your so uninformed Europe in the 16th century is still a backwater and our nonsense at that time need to do research more
@@JMB_focus Again, if they were a backwater in the 16th century, the Ottomans would just have eaten them like the lethargic Byzantines who, by the way, had been obliterated by a fraction of a Crusader army coming from the supposed backwater. And guess what happened when the Ottomans tried fighting invading Italy and Austria in the 16th century? They got absolutely humiliated by smaller European armies. Portugal managed to blockade the Ottomans from the Red Sea, not Europe combined, just Portugal. Portugal then conquered a chunk of India, because that's what backwaters do. I dunno about you, but that backwater seems powerful to me.
@@MichaelDavis-mk4me I'm not talking about military I'm taking about economy but in terms of military they are still far weaker and the ottomans are just weak so the Europeans survive but European military in the world in the time is a backwater
@@MichaelDavis-mk4me dont mind it, its literally a c CP - b OT with a mission. Check his other comments and you'd realise.
@@MichaelDavis-mk4me Being militarily powerful doesn't mean you're not a backwater lol, the Mongols conquered half of the known world and reached as far as Egypt and Germany, yet Mongolia at that time, and still is, a backwater.
The jury is still out on this….
In short, only the westerners thought of themselves superior enough to conquer and spread their ideology. Sure, other empires were like that, but only we were really fuelling for war. I remember my teacher said: “the Chinese had gunpowder for over 2000 years before we in the west got it. They had been using it for celebrations, while we saw the perfect possibility to use it in war”. I think this sentence sums why the whole imperialism era originated from the west.
China didn’t colonize because they had no reason to. They had all the resources they ever need and had little external threats. Europe on the other hand had little resources and many internal and external threats. Also China made the first guns while Europeans were still using bows and arrows.
The West!
@@silverhawkscape2677
What about the west?
@@GodEmperorEnjoyer China made the first guns but the Europeans made the Superior Version.
It's weird how so many people think colonization is good, as if it's some sort of problem that a country wasn't colonizing.
Technically they did. Native Americans are genetically closer related to asians than anyone else in the world.
Spain had a hard time finding an easy way to sail back to Mexico from the Philippines. And the main reason they went that way was to avoid the established trade routes dominated by Portugal.
es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tornaviaje D. Andrés de Urdaneta got it at the very first attempt
We want more videos man!
Another great video
That Winnie the Pooh cracked me up
i would love to see your version of an answer to what would the world have been like if the dinosaurs didn't go extinct (and possibly establish the british empire) or how did sir arthur conan-doyle write the lost world
When a muslim Chinese sailor sails around with a bunch of African diplomats to India.
*"Mr Worldwide"*
China, both historically and in contemporary times, has demonstrated a commitment to cultural richness and education that contrasts with the perceptions of Western societies. Chinese civilization boasts a profound cultural heritage and has been well-educated for centuries, often prioritizing collective well-being over individualism. In contrast, Western cultures have sometimes been characterized by a focus on personal gain and individualistic values.
While it is essential to recognize the complexities of both cultures, many argue that Chinese society emphasizes harmony, respect for tradition, and community values. This perspective highlights the importance of understanding cultural differences rather than making broad generalizations about selfishness or cruelty. Appreciating these distinctions fosters a more nuanced view of global interactions and encourages dialogue between diverse cultures
5:12 Now THAT depiction og China is something I can get behind.
Great video, great humor.
Having rice field on american continent would be wild
Arkansas finna blow ur mind
Where do they get rice for Jambalaya?
All kings were murdering people during conquest. But it won't be characterized as "Genocide". It is exclusively reserved for rulers who are not of European origin with the only exception of Germany and Russia.
There’s a theory that Europe was a lot more conquest oriented than Asia because wheat is seasonal and rice requires constant maintenance.
In Europe, you could have your peons plant your crops, go fight a war, then come back to harvest them. In China, you needed to have a majority of the population farming all year long.
That theory does not seem to account for sections of society not involved in food production.
If your army needs to be home in time for the harvest you are not going to be going too far away. If, however, you have a specialised warrior caste (Kshatriyas) or a professional army, they can be campaigning year-round.
North india?
oh ed ova here thinking he’s lee iacocca
Theres also sizeable chunks of esp northern china that dont mainly farm rice or at all. They farm wheat too but couldve been a different kind and later after the columbian exchange corn
Overlooked is the trauma of the Mongol Conquest. Trips across the pacific were proposed but the Emperors all said no. They were isolationist and fearful post-Mongol.
This is a dump question. Why u see China has colony ? This is not an idea for Chinese.
Right..... Western ideals are good in some areas, but in other areas not so much. "Colonizing people" is one of those ideas
I mean you can kinda argue that they did and gave rise to the very first peoples of the Americas which have ancestry from both eurasian and east asian peoples. ofc this predates the formal nation state of china itself.
Why haven't you posted in 3 months?
great video, gives a new silver perspective of the east
Haven’t watched the video, but right off the bat I’m going to guess that it came down to two factors:
1. China is massive, and made up a bunch of different ethnic, cultural, and religious groups, who very often didn’t get along. And because China is so massive and diverse, trying to keep the empire from splintering was a full-time job. A Chinese emperor already had to contend with the threat of one of their supposedly loyal generals or advisors making a bid to seize power for themselves, and the size of the empire only made the threat of rebellion harder to deal with. Trying to create colonies an entire ocean away would just make the job of keeping the empire in one piece more difficult, and ensuring whoever you placed in charge of said colonies remained loyal would be nearly impossible.
2. If a Chinese emperor wanted more land, there were a bunch of much closer lands to invade, which wouldn’t spread the empire as thinly, or require expensive expeditions to actually get too.
valid guesses
First one the ccp/chinese gov still has that attitude to this day
@@landofthehazymistthought that was fixed with the one party system.
The silk road supplied all the inventions needed for the Europeans and the when it was cut off provided the motivation to recreate it
on the point of the ming empire, the tumu crisis was completely ignored. The ming could no longer afford sea expeditions because new rivals to the north, the oirat mongols, won a string of complete victories and captured the ming emperor. this constant threat to the north meant that the ming couldn't look elsewhere even if they had the interest in doing so.
Gavin Menzies in his book 1421-The year China discovered America, theorized that China landed in what is now Roanoke.
That book has been widely discredited though...
Who did all the european want to trade with? China
Because China was the industrial leader of the world with the best craftsmen and science.
Why leave when you have every luxury and food right at home?
And India and Mali, the richest nations of their time
@@saratmodugu2721 india perhaps, mali no LOL
@@Dekuzan ok, so you clearly never heard about the gold donated by Mansa Musa that caused an economic crash of the gold market for over a decade in the Mediterranean. Ibn battuta visited mali severals years after Musa died and he said it was not only thriving but it had exanded to as far as modern day nigeria. Mansa Musa had had been immortalized in the feudal European world as Charles V, holy roman & Spanish emperor of parts of Europe, the Americas, & several North African cities, had immortalized Musa on his map holding a golden sphere, symbolizing what that country possessed. This wealth was also said about the Ghana emperor & historians have noted this with the Almoravid emirate that was attached the capital of Ghana with their introduction of currency with more expensive metals. Songhai also had access to the vast reserves of gold after their conquests including making Mali into a poor tributary, demonstrated by askia muhammad’s hajj. I can send you all the sources to back up all my claims.
@saratmodugu2721, thanks to him, gold became worthless
@@saratmodugu2721 any sorta relevant leader of a country can have that much influence. wow, they had a golden sphere on mali on a map for mansa musa.... 🤷♂
the strong Mali under mansa musa lasted for a blip in time, it doesnt deserve to go right next to india in european trade throughout history, thats inflating it. mansa musa wasn't even that relevant or the first to have "immeasurable wealth" or crash markets but he's brought up often for obvious reasons
So weird to hear the voice in a video like this again after hearing it so often in this advertisement for that card game.
Great timing lol, someone just asked this question yesterday in my history class at university
Liar
@@phantasma9391 My brother why would I lie about that
@@WalkerKinsler lol just messing with you man, it's all good 👍🏼.
I kinda want an alt history scenario for a Chinese conquest of the Americas now