The interesting part of all this is the inclusion of New Zealand on the Chinese map - if it was copied accurately from the original and not added in later. There haveeen reports of the Chinese discovering NZ in the distant past, and there have been greenstone (jade) arrow heads found on the South Island. Point of note, Maori never used bow and arrow so the arrowheads aren't theirs.

ok , here is the translated map , but im not sure if its going to fit the page so please , i need some help here.

now this map is of asia europe and africa , thats when you flip it , i have flipped it and its going to be easy for everyone to see it in the right way.



i have only translated the most important names.

can someone please tell me how to add the scroll bar

Historians have often asked the question why the Chinese didn't colonize Africa and the Americas, since had known about them for centuries and had the means to do it if they chose. That's the same type of question as why there was no industrial, scientific and commerical revolution in China, since there was certainly no lack of skill, scholarship and technical innovation. For whatever reason, it simply didn't happen, although Chinese knowledge of everything from maps to compasses to gunpowder was transmitted to Europe and the Middle East, and all of it proved very useful to the rising colonial powers of the West. China just seemed to turn inward, however, and retreated from overseas trade and colonization or internal "modernization".


For over 100 years after 1492, the Spanish pretty much had the Western Hemisphere to themslves, for Britain, France and Holland didn't start any serious colonization efforts until the 17th Century. Merchants, fishermen and explorers kept plying the coasts as they had before 1492, but colonization was not a great priority for these powers. Part of the reason is that they were preoccupied with internal problems, the Reformation and wars of religion, etc.

Most historians think that Britain never took much interest in its North American colonies before the 1760s, by which time they had already existed for 100 years or more. Indeed, the colonists were quite happy that the Mother Country was not all that attentive to what was going on, unless they happened to be in a war with France and Spain.

There were rebelleions in America long before 1776, and from time to time some corrupt governor would be sent packing, but even that didn't seem to arouse much interest in Britain. Think of Sir William Berkeley, long time governor of Virginia who was overthrown in 1676 but still tried to "govern" the colony from a ship out in the harbor. Not even that produced much of a reaction, except some comments that from Charles II that Berkeley was basically corrupt and unpopular and they were probably better off without him.

So this just goes to show that even though the Americas were known for quite some time in Europe, even before Columbus, for most great powers of the time they were just not the first priority.

Originally posted by 3finjo
The interesting part of all this is the inclusion of New Zealand on the Chinese map - if it was copied accurately from the original and not added in later. There haveeen reports of the Chinese discovering NZ in the distant past, and there have been greenstone (jade) arrow heads found on the South Island. Point of note, Maori never used bow and arrow so the arrowheads aren't theirs.

Unfortunately, the first question that must be answered is whether there was an 'original' atall if it is true, as Phage has said, that this reported source has never been found. The 'copy' was made in 1763. For myself, I'm not sure that there would be much value in looking any further into this one if its provenance really is so questionable.

I don't doubt the possibility that the Chinese may have had contact to a greater or lesser extent with the west coast of America, and that other Europeans before Columbus ventured to that continent. We know that the Vikings went there and it is highly likely that other North Europeans found their way across the Atlantic at various points in history, particularly during the Medieval warm period.

The big question for me is over whether or not there once existed some truly ancient source from which some of these maps drew some of their data, be that Greek, Egyptian, Indian, Chinese, or indeed, deriving from Atlantis.

Still, thanks to the OP for bringing this up, I always find the topic interesting.

Peace
J

We even know how the Chinese and Japanese crossed the Pacific. Not by going straight arcoss, island hopping to the Americas like the Polynesians did, but by taking the Northern route around the Aleutians and then down the coast of what is today Caifornia, Mexico and Peru. That could have been done even with relatively primitive boats that existed thousands of years ago.

Originally posted by Agent_USA_Supporter

No the map is real

The map created in 1763 is evidently real, but is its purported source? That supposed to have been created in 1418?

If you have evidence or further information on this, then please post it - otherwise your assertion is pointless.

peace
J