the political conflicts and institutional changes of early
modern Europe. In China, while private merchants were
commonly involved in trade within the country, the state
monopolized overseas trade. When the Ming dynasty came
to power in 1368, it was Emperor Hongwu who first ruled,
for thirty years. Hongwu was concerned that overseas trade
would be politically and socially destabilizing and he
allowed international trade to take place only if it were
organized by the government and only if it involved tribute
giving, and not commercial activity. Hongwu even executed
hundreds of people accused of trying to turn tribute
missions into commercial ventures. Between 1377 and
1397, no oceangoing tribute missions were allowed. He
banned private individuals from trading with foreigners and
would not allow Chinese to sail overseas.
In 1402 Emperor Yongle came to the throne and initiated
one of the most famous periods of Chinese history by
restarting government-sponsored foreign trade on a big
scale. Yongle sponsored Admiral Zheng He to undertake
six huge missions to Southeast and South Asia, Arabia,
and Africa. The Chinese knew about these places from a
long history of trading relations, but nothing had ever
happened on this scale before. The first fleet included
27,800 men and 62 large treasure ships, accompanied by
190 smaller ships, including ones specifically for carrying
freshwater, others for supplies, and others for troops. Yet
Emperor Yongle put a temporary stop on the missions after
the sixth one in 1422. This was made permanent by his
successor, Hongxi, who ruled from 1424 to 1425. Hongxi’s
premature death brought to the throne Emperor Xuande,
who at first allowed Zheng He a final mission, in 1433. But
after this, all overseas trade was banned. By 1436 the
construction of seagoing ships was even made illegal. The
ban on overseas trade was not lifted until 1567.
These events, though only the tip of the extractive iceberg
that prevented many economic activities deemed to be
potentially destabilizing, were to have a fundamental impact
on Chinese economic development. Just at the time when
international trade and the discovery of the Americas were
fundamentally transforming the institutions of England,
China was cutting itself off from this critical juncture and
turning inward. This inward turn did not end in 1567. The