Traditional Culture Encyclopedia - Weather forecast - Similarity analysis of Zheng He's voyage to the West and Columbus' voyage to the West
Similarity analysis of Zheng He's voyage to the West and Columbus' voyage to the West
Columbus admired Kyle Poirot, who had been in prison in Genoa. He has read Kyle Poirot's travels and wants to go to India and China very much. At that time, the theory of the earth circle was very popular, and Columbus also believed it. He successively asked the kings of Portugal, Spain, Britain, France and other countries for financial aid to realize his plan of sailing westward to the eastern countries, but all of them were rejected. On the one hand, the theory of "Earth Circle" is not perfect, so many people don't believe it and regard Columbus as a charlatan. On one occasion, at a special review committee on the Columbus Plan in Spain, a member asked Columbus: Even if the earth is round, sailing to the west can reach the east and return to the port of departure, then a voyage must climb from below the earth. How does a sailboat climb up? On this issue, the eloquent Columbus was speechless. On the other hand, at that time, besides traditional silk, porcelain and tea, the main demand of western countries for oriental material wealth was spices and gold. Among them, spices are essential materials for daily life and cooking in Europe, which are in great demand and are not produced locally. At that time, these commodities were mainly transported by traditional land-sea combined transport routes. The vested interests of these commodities also strongly opposed Columbus's plan to open up new routes. Columbus lobbied for his plan for more than ten years. It was not until 1492 that the Queen of Spain had a vision for heroes. She persuaded the king and even gave her private money to help Columbus, so that Columbus's plan could be implemented.
1on August 3rd, 492, Columbus was sent by the king of Spain, took the credentials of the Indian monarch and emperor China, and led three sailboats with several hundred tons, set out from John Young in Barros, Spain, and left the Atlantic Ocean all the way to the west. After 70 days and nights of hard sailing, land was finally found in the early morning of 1492+00+02. Columbus thought he had arrived in India. Later, I learned that the land Columbus landed on belonged to the Bahamas in the Balebi Sea in Central America, and he named it San Salvador at that time. On March 1493, Columbus returned to Spain. After that, he sailed west three times and landed on many coasts of America. Until 1506 died, he thought he had arrived in India. Later, an Italian scholar named Amerigo, after more investigations, realized that these places Columbus arrived in were not India, but a new continent that was unknown before. Columbus discovered the new continent. However, this continent is named after the person who proved that it is a new continent: America. Later, there were many whispers about who first discovered America. The conclusion that Columbus discovered the New World is beyond doubt. This is because people in Europe and even the whole old Asia-Africa continent really didn't know there was this continent on the other side of the Atlantic. As for who arrived in America first, that is another question, because Native Americans themselves immigrated from Asia in ancient times. It is also possible for China and Oceania to sail to America, but none of these can change the fact that Columbus discovered the new continent.
Columbus's voyage was the beginning of the era of great navigation. The opening of the new route has changed the course of world history. It shifted the route of overseas trade from the Mediterranean to the Atlantic coast. From then on, the West finally walked out of the darkness of the Middle Ages and began to rise in the world with an irresistible trend, and in the following centuries, it achieved maritime hegemony. A brand-new industrial civilization has become the mainstream of world economic development.
The influence of the times
Columbus was born in Genoa, Italy in 145 1. Columbus had little formal education when he was young. Although his father was a famous weaver, Columbus was interested in sailing and merchant ships sailing in the Mediterranean.
When Columbus was 25 years old, that is, 1476, he was tall with red hair and swam safely to Portugal with the wreck. In the next few years, he lived in Portugal, got married and had children. Unfortunately, his young wife passed away soon. Columbus, who could have continued to be a sailor in a merchant ship off the coast of Portugal, has always dreamed of wealth and honor and looked forward to the mysterious place in the west.
The Travels of Marco Polo was a book that Columbus liked to read when he was a teenager. Later, he not only read the book intensively, but also did research. The Columbus Memorial Hall in Seville, Spain, still holds a Latin book "Travels of Marco Polo", and many Columbus' eyebrows are also preserved in the book. Columbus likes reading this book, not only because it is as interesting as Arabian Nights, but also because it conforms to his ideal of being a gold digger. He appreciates the places described in the book. He appreciates the jewels, gold and silver of China and India, but what he appreciates most is the description of Japan.
Kyle Poirot, who hasn't been to Japan, wrote several chapters about Japan according to rumors. According to his account, Japan is located 2400 kilometers off the coast of China, and China has inexhaustible gold. However, because the king is not allowed to export gold, few businessmen go there to do business. In arachis duranensis, Japanese palaces are made of gold. In the palace, roads and rooms are paved with 4 cm thick bricks, and even the window frames are made of gold. Rose pearls can be collected everywhere, and people should put a pearl in the mouth of the dead when burying them. According to the book, Yuan Di started the war against Japan because of listening to rumors.
Columbus deliberately wanted to find a way to reach the East first, and dreamed of achieving the goal that Kublai Khan failed to achieve. In a letter, he said that he prayed day and night to get the land that produced gold from God. He wrote in the letter: "Gold is the most precious of all commodities, and gold is wealth. Whoever owns gold will get everything he needs in the world, and at the same time he will get the means to save his soul from purgatory and make it enjoy the joy of heaven again. "
In addition, Columbus's curiosity was also promoted by his extensive reading and long-term sailing practice. There is a passage in his diary: "I have never left my life at sea since I was young." This profession seems to make everyone in this line feel that they want to know the secrets of the world. "
1476, Columbus joined a French pirate fleet. His ship caught fire and sank in the battle with an Italian ship. He jumped into the sea to escape, swam in the sea for a long time and arrived in Portugal. Columbus thought it was God's plan that he could survive and reach Portugal.
In Portugal, an "explorer" country, Columbus learned a lot about navigation, how to use compasses, charts and various new navigation instruments, how to use the positions of the sun and stars to determine the position of ships, and participated in many ocean voyages with the ship. Once, he got a chance to sail to Iceland. After he arrived in Iceland, he continued to sail 160 km, which greatly affected Columbus's ambition to sail west. But what may attract him more is the story about Viking.
The original meaning of Viking is "people living in the bay". Because Viking's original word is Viking, many books are also translated into Viking. During 800 ~ 1500, due to the rapid population growth and internal political turmoil, some Swedes, Danes and Norwegians who were good at sailing in northern Europe often went out to sea in droves to seek a new life. They wandered around the sea for some time, intercepting merchant ships, attacking other countries' coasts for plunder, and some people engaged in business and exploration. The so-called "pirate era" is what European medieval historians call this period.
Around 900 AD, Norwegian vikings arrived in Greenland and established settlements on the west coast, which was one of their many expeditions. Around the year 1000, a group of Icelandic people led by Leif ericson set out from Greenland and arrived at the North American coast. Because they found a vine that looks like a grape there, they called it "the land of wine" and transliterated it as "Brunei". Now the mouth of the St. Lawrence River may be the "Brunei" area at that time. Due to the attack of the local indigenous people, their plan to build a settlement there failed to come true.
For many people, Eriksson's trip to Brunei is just a story, but Columbus is convinced. He firmly believes that land can be reached across the Atlantic Ocean, and that "Brunei" is a country in East Asia. From some rumors, Columbus strengthened his ideas. Even during the continuous strong westerly winds, there are sometimes some bodies floating on the sea, which are neither European nor African. In this regard, Columbus thought it was the body of an Asian living on the other side of the ocean.
In addition to Columbus's mysterious and arrogant inspiration that he was chosen by God as Shenzhou, the carrier of Christ, to complete the mission of discovering "a new heaven and a new earth", more importantly, Poseidon, an ancient Greek scholar, pointed out the spherical theory of the earth, and Bacon, a medieval thinker, influenced him to take risks.
1474, Columbus wrote a letter from his hometown to the famous astronomer and geographer Toth Conneely, asking about the shortest route from the sea to India. The scholar pointed out: "Compared with the road along the west coast of Africa discovered by the Portuguese, it is a shorter road to reach the kingdom of gold and spices through the Atlantic Ocean." The letter also sent him a schematic diagram and calculated the distance. Columbus recorded in the Foreign Book according to the Old Testament: "On the third day, you will gather water in one seventh of the earth, and the other sixth will dry up." Vito and Conneely made a much smaller judgment on the size of the earth. Columbus thought that Europe, Asia and Africa accounted for 6/7 of the total area of the earth, while the ocean was only 1/7. After studying the works of Ptolemy, Kyle Poirot and Da 'ai (1350 ~ 1420), Columbus came to the conclusion that the longitude of the whole earth is 360 degrees, and it takes 280 degrees to reach the vast Asian land from west Africa to the east (according to Ptolemy's idea, the southern tip of Africa is connected with the Asian continent), and the ocean from west Africa to the east coast is less than 80 degrees.
Because the "sea" in Ptolemy's Translation of Geography is the Arabic unit of measurement, Columbus did not convert it into the European "sea" when calculating, so Columbus made another mistake. If we sail west from the Canary Islands, the distance at each longitude will be reduced to 50 nautical miles (80 kilometers) because the longitude there is shorter than the equator. In this way, it sailed 6400 kilometers due west from the Canary Islands, and then China, Japanese and Indian arrived.
Seek support
After the above inference, Columbus thought that it was not worthwhile for Prince Henry and his successor to adopt the plan of sailing south along the African coast. But because Columbus did not have the conditions like Prince Henry to carry out his plan, he had to pin his hopes on Prince Juan, who was in charge of Portuguese navigation at that time. However, Columbus came from a humble background and had no chance to meet the prince. Columbus, with his handsome appearance, often went to the monastery where Lisbon's aristocratic daughters lived to worship, which won the favor of a lady, and soon they got married. It was this marriage that brought Columbus close to the royal family. 1478, when he peddled his plan by Prince Ann of Xiang Qiu, it was probably because he was afraid that his plan would be stolen by others that he concealed the key part. Besides, he is usually boastful, distrusted and overpriced: except for food, three ships and a year's crew, he wants to be made a knight. He should be the governor of the newly discovered place and share all the wealth of this place.
1482, after Prince Juan became king, a scholar review meeting was held to review Columbus's plan, which was finally rejected. Three years later, his wife died, and Columbus left Portugal with his only son and came to the newly established Kingdom of Spain. Fearing that Columbus's plan would be adopted by other countries, he arrived in India first, and Juan II ordered the recall of Columbus, but it was rejected.
After Columbus arrived in Spain, he began his activities, hoping to get the support of Spanish King Ferdinand and Queen Elizabeth. 1486 in may, the king and queen finally summoned him. Because of his loyalty, self-confidence and rich geographical knowledge, Columbus left a good impression on the king and queen. Spain wanted to beat Portugal in the competition to open the East India route, so it supported Columbus' plan and instructed a committee composed of sailors and scholars to study it. Unfortunately, the Committee was too slow to make any decision until 1488. Anxious Columbus returned to Lisbon, trying to get the support of King John. However, Bartolomá n Diaz, a Portuguese navigator at that time, returned triumphantly after bypassing the Cape of Good Hope at the southern tip of Africa. In this way, King John thought that the eastbound route to Asia had been opened, so he lost interest in Columbus' plan.
Although Columbus made suggestions to the kings of England and France, they all failed. He had no choice but to wait for the decision of the Spanish Committee. 1490, the assertion that Columbus's plan was unrealistic was finally announced by Spanish royal advisers, but the queen still had confidence in it. 149 1 year, the newly appointed committee finally passed Columbus's east indies exploration plan.
Years of cold reception did not make him look down on himself, but made him confident to the point of arrogance. He proposed to appoint him as a general at sea and governor of the New Territories after the successful trial, and personally owned 10% of all future colonial income.
The king and queen flatly refused this request. Fortunately, a minion who manages the personal finance for the Queen explained to her that the cost of the expedition is insignificant compared with the income obtained. 1492, and finally signed an official document agreeing to the conditions proposed by Columbus. After eight years of setbacks, Columbus's plan was finally adopted.
A successful maiden voyage
At the beginning of August, everything is ready to go to sea. The most famous fleet sailing on the ocean is anchored at palos Port, a small seaport in southwest Spain. Including Columbus's flagship Santa Maria and two light sailboats, Pinta and Nina (la Pinta, la Ni? Santa Maria. Three ships of different sizes are equipped with cannons, goods traded with local aborigines, and food such as food for six months. The flagship "Santa Maria" weighs 130 tons, is about 35 meters long and has a deck length of 18 meters. It has three masts and is equipped with angle sails, and its captain is Columbus. The second ship is Pinta, and the captain is Martin Binson. It weighs 90 tons and is very fast. The length of the hull is only half that of the flagship. The third Nina weighs about 60 tons and is the captain of Martin's brother Vincent Binson. The Benson brothers also participated in the expedition as investors, and their success is closely related to their vital interests.
The most difficult job is to recruit sailors, a considerable number of whom are Columbus's friends, servants and curious officials. Under the conditions of this voyage, quite a few prisoners were pardoned. There are 88 people in all, including a linguist who knows Arabic. This is because people thought Arabic was the mother tongue of all languages at that time, so linguists planned to act as translators when meeting with China Khan.
1On August 3, 492, Columbus led the fleet to anchor. There was no wind, the sails hung feebly, and the fleet slowly sailed out along the Tinto River at low tide.
On August 12, the fleet sailed to the Canary Islands off the coast of Africa. After adding firewood and supplies, the fleet left the Canary Islands on September 6, and no one escaped because all the crew members were in a good mood. The fleet sailed due west in the northeast wind that often blows near the Canary Islands. According to Columbus' sailing experience in this area a few years ago, this northeast wind is the best wind direction to cross the ocean to Japan.
The fleet sailed day and night along the east wind, and sometimes it could sail westward 150 miles. But day after day, the empty sea is always displayed in front of people. The crew led a monotonous life at sea. From morning till night, the boatman tells the time according to the hourglass every 30 minutes. The crew changes shifts every four hours. In the late15th century, only the captain and one or two senior officials had the right to enjoy comfortable cabins and berths on board, so the off-duty crew could only lie on the deck and chat lazily or have a good sleep in the shade.
On the first day of his voyage, Columbus had a very happy time. The fresh morning, warm afternoon and quiet sea brought him great happiness. The only thing that made him anxious was the anxiety of the sailors. Columbus prepared two logbooks at the beginning. He estimated that the record of the actual distance of driving every day was secret; The voyage recorded in the other book is much smaller than the actual voyage, and it is open, so that the crew will not feel frightened and lose confidence when the voyage is extended. But because Columbus always overestimated the speed, his fake diary was closer to the actual situation.
Although, two weeks later, due to the change of wind direction, the fleet began to travel against the wind, but this made Columbus breathe a sigh of relief. He wrote in his diary, "I just need this headwind because the crew are worried that there will never be a suitable wind to send them back to Spain."
Soon, they found clusters of green algae floating on the sea. By this time, they had sailed to the sargasso sea, which was covered by a large number of Sargasso floating in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. When they passed smoothly, they realized that it was unnecessary to worry that the ship would hit the rocks or get entangled in the surrounding algae at first. Later, a sailor found a sea crab attached to seaweed. Columbus thought it was a signal that the land was approaching, because in his view, crabs could not be found 80 miles from the land. In fact, this is just a small crab that breeds everywhere in the sargasso sea.
On the evening of September 25, the Pinta shouted that the land had been reached ahead, and the crew on board climbed the mast. An island was faintly visible at the junction of the sea and the sky. Columbus was very excited. He knelt on the ground and thanked God, and ordered the crew to sing a song praising God. But the island they found disappeared the next day. This kind of thing has happened in the past and will happen in the future. They mistook the hanging thunderstorm clouds for land.
On June+10, 5438, the fleet had been drifting in the ocean for three weeks, but the shadow of the land was still invisible. Sailors with stubble on their faces and clothes soaked by sweat and seawater began to complain publicly. They said the voyage was a foolish one, and several sailors were going to throw Columbus into the sea before returning.
But the unshakable Columbus will continue to sail west. 10 year 10 7, they saw a bird that was definitely not a seabird flying southwest from their heads. At this time, a large number of migratory birds flew from North America to the Caribbean Islands and South America for the winter. Therefore, Columbus led the whole fleet to sail from west to south, marked by migratory birds.
Columbus's fleet set sail on May 3rd. 1498. After arriving in the Canary Islands, only three ships still docked in Hispanio, and the other ships, led by Columbus, turned southwest to Cape Verde, which was more southerly than all previous voyages.
On July 3 1 day, Columbus discovered land, and three peaks connected at the bottom miraculously appeared. Columbus called this island Trinidad, thanks to the Trinity. The next day, in the south where the sea meets the sky, there was a vague shadow of another island. In fact, the land Columbus saw was South America, and the island he only saw in a vague silhouette was Santa Island.
Columbus explored the Gulf of Paria (now Venezuela) between Trinidad and South America for two weeks. Columbus found that the Indians living in Venezuela were wearing a string of pearls and large gold-copper alloy ornaments, and they were all skillful craftsmen of cotton textile. So in less than 1 year, a very profitable pearl breeding industry was developed.
Worried that the wine and food on board would deteriorate at high temperature, Columbus decided to sail back to Hispaniola on August 15. According to the fact that the water in Parias Bay is a sign of fresh water, Columbus concluded that Santa Claus Island is much bigger than an island. An expedition sent ashore also found four large rivers, which are actually some tributaries of the Orinoco River flowing into the sea. Columbus, who loves dreaming, actually regarded this place as the Garden of Eden, and the rivers he discovered became four rivers in heaven. This was not surprising at that time, when many scholars believed that there was a paradise on earth somewhere in Southeast Asia.
1on August 9, 498, Columbus's fleet returned to Santo Domingo, the capital of Hispaniola, which was founded by his other brother. When we arrived, the situation here was also in chaos. Columbus had to deal with Spanish colonists and local natives who did not obey him. He also hanged some sailors who refused to obey him, and some settlers and sailors who returned to Spain accused him and his brother of improper governance in the areas under the jurisdiction of the governor in Spanish courts. Other Spaniards believe that Hispaniola, as a part of Spain, should not be ruled by Italians. Many people accused him of ruling his territory like a tyrant. At that time, Columbus was extremely exhausted physically and mentally and suffered from arthritis and other diseases. 1499 5438+00 In June, he sent two ships back to Spain and asked the court to appoint a royal commissioner to help him manage the island of Hispaniola.
The court appointed Francisco Byrd Wadia. But his power far exceeded Columbus' requirements, and Bo Wadia was granted full power during his term of office. As soon as he came to Santo Domingo, he heard local people complain about the Columbus brothers. With this evidence, Columbus was handcuffed and shackled, not allowed to defend himself, and put into prison, waiting to return to Spain, at the age of 53.
1 500 65438+1October1,Columbus and his brothers were taken back to Cadiz, Spain. They stayed in prison for six weeks before the busy King Fernando released them. Soon after, the king and queen summoned them at the Alhambra Palace in Granada and restored their freedom, reputation and wealth. And under the persuasion of Columbus, he agreed to his fourth voyage plan, but Columbus could no longer serve as the governor of the West Indies territory. Nicholas Obando was appointed as the new governor.
The fourth time came in vain.
A few months later, Columbus regained his dignity as an old man in his fifties with poor eyesight and arthritis. Even so, at the beginning of 1502, he once again asked the king to let him explore and got the king's promise.
On May 1 day, a fleet of four light sailboats led by Columbus set off from the port of Cadiz again. This time, Columbus plans to go through the southern coast of China (actually Cuba) and the paradise on earth he discovered (actually South America), and then return to Spain from the other side of the world.
On June 29th, after passing through Martinique, the fleet temporarily docked in Santo Domingo. And Columbus took the place in front of the road as the Indian zhina. In the following months, Columbus has been trying to break through this obstacle. The fleet set out from Honduran, passed through Nicaraguan, Costa Rica and now barnabas, and encountered strong headwinds and huge waves. On February 6, 65438, there was a big storm at sea that lasted for one month. Much thunder and little rain, and heavy rain poured down. The sea churned wildly, which was the biggest storm Columbus had never experienced in his life. The fleet is at the mercy of nature, and there is nothing we can do. The fleet can't move forward, can't find a safe haven, and is in danger of being wiped out at any time. The hot and humid weather encourages the growth of maggots, and the cakes on the ship are full of maggots, so people have to wait until dark to eat together; Some people are too lazy to remove maggots when they are used to it. In this case, if you are picky about food, you are likely to starve to death, as everyone knows.
Columbus remained optimistic even in this difficult adversity. In order to find a passage to another ocean, he explored a bay and a river, but without success. Perhaps because he learned from the Indians near Panama that there was no waterway or strait connecting the two oceans, Columbus gave up his search for the passage and began to look for gold again.
However, the situation of the fleet is getting worse and worse. At first, in mid-April, a light sailboat ran aground on the sandbar. Then, another ship was eaten by maggots. In this tropical heat, the other two ships are also in danger of being eaten by worms. In this case of necessity, Columbus ordered the ship to dock on a sheltered beach, and the crew barely lived, because it was completely impossible to return to Hispaniola by such a ship. Later, Columbus sent two men back to Santo Domingo by canoe for help, but they never came back. Columbus was bedridden with arthritis, and about half of the crew who couldn't bear to wait got up and made trouble. /kloc-at the beginning of 0/0, they left without Columbus' permission and wanted to return to Hispaniola. However, how could their canoes stand the rough sea? Soon they were all blown back to Jamaica by strong winds.
1 On June 29th, 504, the ship that had been waiting for1years finally arrived here, and Columbus and his crew returned to the island of Hispaniola. Columbus, his son, brother and 22 other members returned to Spain on a chartered ship. The date of arrival in Spain is1504165438+1October.
1506 On May 20th, Columbus died. Until his death, he always thought that he had been to Asia. Later, another explorer, Amelia, an Italian, confirmed that Columbus had been to the New World, not Asia. Therefore, this continent is named America. The island first discovered by Columbus is called the West Indies, which is used to distinguish India from the East. And Columbus's goal of going west to Asia has to be left to others to complete.
American city Columbus
Columbus
The capital of Ohio, the second largest city in the state. Located in the central part of the state, at the intersection of Saioto River and Orentangi River. The urban area is 469 square kilometers. The population is about 570,000, of which blacks account for 20%; The metropolitan area includes Franklin and other five counties, with an area of 1430 square kilometers and a population of about 165438+ million. 1797 white people began to settle down. 18 12 is named after Columbus who discovered the new world. 18 1 6 has become the state capital, and 1834 was officially established. After 1830, with the opening of the Ohio River-Lake Erie Canal and the access of the railway, it developed into a transportation and commercial center. After World War II, industry developed rapidly. Now it is an important industrial city in the state, and the aircraft manufacturing industry is the forerunner of industrial development. There are also auto parts, building materials, mining equipment, glass and so on. Agriculture and animal husbandry are developed in the surrounding areas. It is the hub of expressway, railway, river transportation and aviation. In downtown area, there are the tallest buildings in the city-Leifker Lincoln Tower, Veterans Memorial Hall, McKinley Memorial Hall, Science and Industry Center, State Capitol and 6.096-meter-high bronze statue of Columbus. Cultural and educational undertakings are developed, including Ohio State University, Franklin University and several state schools for the deaf. There are Bater Memorial Society, alton Ceramic Products Foundation, Chemical Refining Company and other research institutions.
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