1421: The Year China Discovered America (P.S.)

On March 8, 1421, the largest fleet the world had ever seen set sail from China to "proceed all the way to the ends of the earth to collect tribute from the barbarians beyond the seas." When the fleet returned home in October 1423, the emperor had fallen, leaving China in political and economic chaos. The great ships were left to rot at their moorings and the records of their journeys were destroyed. Lost in the long, self-imposed isolation that followed was the knowledge that Chinese ships had reached America seventy years before Columbus and had circumnavigated the globe a century before Magellan. And they colonized America before the Europeans, transplanting the principal economic crops that have since fed and clothed the world.

15 years of devoted research has produced a hefty book, which is nevertheless very readable, split into manageable chapters and sprinkled with illustrations, with some fine colour plates. The political intrigue and the maneouvring that went on within the complex Chinese court reads like a novel at times. Then it becomes a detective story; piecing together the evidence of ancient maps and standing stones, a realistic and very plausible theory of the track of the 1421 voyage emerges. However, as others have noted, he does convert some tenuous relationships into apparent fact, but admittedly without the tunnel-vision of von Daniken.

Much of his findings are surmise, backed by a healthy dose of extrapolation and hunch, but the circumstantial evidence is very convincing. This is Mr.Menzies forte, as we see apparently useless maps converted into the real thing by appropriate adjustments for currents; then we smack our foreheads and, with 20/20 hindsight, say 'Of course, how silly not to have seen that before!'.

As we have virtually no records from China - the Ming ruler having expunged most of the records of ship construction, voyages made, lands discovered and tributes collected - it is very difficult to establish the facts in the voyages of Zheng He. But some evidence is hard to refute; for example, Chinese porcelain found in South Africa and Australia, wrecks of junks (which could only come from that dynasty) discovered in far-away places...

... BR>A very satisfying read. *****


A fascinating thesis - let the debate begin!   July 7, 2003
Blue Man (Novi, Michigan)
26 out of 33 found this review helpful

I approached this book with the curiousity of an amateur historian and, admittedly, with a good deal of skepticism. After all, how could such a monumental journey that led to the discovery of not only North and South America, but also Antarctica and Australia, and the full circumnavigation of the globe along multiple tracks have escaped from the annals of history? I expected a great deal of circumstantial evidence, and of this there is plenty, but to my astonishment, Menzies presents multiple incidents of physical evidence -- shipwrecks and construction dotted across the globe. Couple this with well-documented references from the writings of the European explorers, who apparently made no effort to hide their knowledge that they were travelling in the wake of others.

Menzies presents multiple lines of evidence -- pre-Columbian maps, displaced plant and animal populations, native folklore, clusters of Asian DNA in the Americas, shipwrecks, monuments, and writings, among others -- that when viewed as a whole provide a strong case of Chinese exploration and colonization prior to the Europeans. By the author's own admission, quite a bit of this evidence is still rudimentary, but the outpouring of scholarship this book has seemed to trigger promises to flesh out this thesis and refine the debate.

Menzies' thesis is not without criticism -- the lack of contact with Europe despite the fleet's charge to bring the entire world into the Chinese tribute system is a most prominent omission and not addressed in the book. Other claims seem terribly far-fetched (hints of Chinese copper mining as far inland as Michigan's Upper Peninsula), but I'm optimistic that over time the core thesis of the Chinese discovery of the Americas will be validated.

Almost overshadowed at the end of the book is an assertion by Menzies that the Portugese, using Chinese knowledge, established thriving colonies in the Caribbean as early as the 1440's. While the Chinese records may have indeed been destroyed, some record of this Portugese settlement must have been preserved. This is a curious claim supported by underwhelming evidence that deserves comment as it stands to harm the credibility of the more convincing case of Chinese discovery if it proves false. Perhaps this is a readily-available lead that needs to be taken up in the near-term in order to clarify the debate?

The knee-jerk criticism of this work is Menzies non-academic background. However, I'm convinced on reading the book that this is actually his greatest strength. Menzies approaches his thesis with his knowledge as a navigator and seaman and without the peer pressure of convential wisdom, and this seems to allow him to 'connect the dots' in ways a traditional book-bound academic could never realize. I caution that one reviews the motives of the sharpest-tongued critics before passing judgement on such criticism.

This book is clearly the starting point of a debate that promises to rage for decades. I'm eager to observe the response as the case now goes before peer review. This promises to begin a significant awakening that American history has a much richer heritage than just its European roots. If nothing else, the valuable surge in pre-Columbian scholarship will enrich our American culture. Now, let the debate begin!


Impressive body of research, exciting visit to the 15th Cent   October 27, 2003
Atheen M. Wilson (Mpls, MN United States)
111 out of 158 found this review helpful

Impressive body of research and exciting visit to the world of the 15th Century.

I have read one other book on this topic, namely about pre-European global discovery, and that was Maps of the Ancient Sea Kings by Professor Hapgood. Since I was rather disappointed by that author's conclusions, I almost anticipated an equally disappointing experience with Mr. Menzies' book. Hapgood discussed the Piri Reis map, a portalan map of the known world rediscovered in a collection in Turkey. He and his students subjected the work to a thorough study by applying modern mapping techniques and non-Euclidean geometry. While I had no complaints about their scientific research on the map-I'd taken some cartography in conjunction with my degree in geology-I was somewhat taken aback by their conclusion that the map proved the existence of the "lost continent of Atlantis!" It is a fair jump from deciding that a pre-Columbian map portrays an accurate visual image of the coasts of the world to proving the existence of a fabled civilization. There should be other more reasonable explanations of the phenomenon tested before we resort to the Sherlock Holmes theorem (when all probable explanations are disproved, then the only remaining explanation is the improbable.)

Menzies' work, 1421: The Year China Discovered America, while it also challenges accepted doctrine regarding the European initiation of world discovery, is a far more satisfying work. Like Hapgood and his students, Gavin Menzies subjects old maps to a thorough examination by modern techniques and approaches the project with a better personal vita. While not himself a professor of history, he is a well read and well traveled individual. Furthermore his life experiences qualify him far better to undertake this project than Dr. Hapgood's did. He served in the Royal Navy from 1953 to 1970, commanding a submarine, the HMS Ronqual, from 1968 to 1970. During this time he experienced the same natural phenomenon of the world's oceans and became familiar with the idiosyncracies of maps and cartography in practice. He also lived in China for two years before WWII and has returned many times since then. He displays an obvious bias in favor of Chinese culture and its potental, but not unjustly if his data are to be trusted.

Probably the most impressive thing about the book is the author's very methodical approach to his subject. He begins by giving a history of the Chinese state at the time he proposes produced the maps, discussing the social background that provided the impetus to world discovery and the reason the great voyages were not followed by extensive colonization as they were later by similar European ventures. He also notes why the documentation of these voyages is so scant in China and uses what information there is as a starting point for his own pursuit of external evidence. Describing the careers of commanders like Zheng He, Yang Qing, Zhou Man, Hong Bao and Zhou Wen, he sets the stage for his own research into their adventures. Following each of the ancient commanders in their proposed missions and capitalizing on his own experience as a captain of an ocean going vessel, he charts the nature-driven course these ancient pilots would have been encouraged or forced to take. At each probable landing point, he searched for and occasionally found indications of ancient contact: in material remains like porcelains, votives, and inscriptions, in the mythology of aboriginals, in wreck sites of non-European vessels, and so on.

The most impressive piece of this type of assessment is that of the Bimini "road." This underwater formation has had many attempted explanations, most of them total fantasy. They have been described as "temples" of a lost civilization, as "roads" from the lost continent of Atlantis, as odd geological formations, as concretions remaining from some former sea life, etc. That they might have been laid down by sailors for the very practical purpose of beaching their ships for repair is the most logical explanation I've heard yet! Menzies is even able to describe how the beaching procedure would have been done and why that dictated that the "road" be designed just as it is.

Unlike Hapgood and his students, this author examines not just the Piri Reis of 1513 but several of the other anomalous early maps in pursuing the voyages of these amazing captains: the Kangnido world map of 1402, the Pizzigano chart of 1424, Fra Mauro's planisphere of 1459, the Cantino world chart of 1502, the Waldseemuller map of 1507, and the Jean Rotz world map of 1542. While many of these date to after the European voyages of discovery, this author-and others as well-believe that they are copies of originals that are older. It is believed that the European understanding of map making and of assessing position, particularly longitude, was not adequate enough to have produced such precise descriptions of foreign coasts. The author's explanation of why this is true and why and how the Chinese were so far ahead of their European counterparts is detailed and interesting.

Menzies' style is colorful and descriptive, reading almost like a novel. At times one is as lost in the narrative of the voyages as one is in the history of the events and the logic of the author's arguments. I found it difficult to put down and read it in about two days. The bibliography is quite extensive and includes mostly books in English or in English translation. Some are a little old-Aldridge's "Cairo" for one (1970) though it's a fascinating discussion of the city-but even some of these are germane to the subject. The technical discussions might be beyond the junior high level reader, but the story certainly is not. I think that some of this should be taught in high school world history classes, since it shows that the age of discovery was a global phenomenon, that the world may have been "ready" for discovery, that it was "in the air" so to speak and inevitable. That the Chinese could explore the world without antagonizing the foreign people they met along the way makes one wonder if the violence of the European ventures abroad were truly "inevitable" outcomes of a highly technological society confronting a less advanced culture as sometimes said. An interesting book and worth a space on your shelf.


Just who did sail the oceans blue?   August 15, 2008
BookMan (Rancho Santa Margarita, CA)
5 out of 6 found this review helpful

1421 is a highly intriguing (and certainly controversial) book which postulates a theory that the Chinese were not only the first to "discover" the New World but had; indeed, circumnavigated the globe well before Magellan's expedition. While the author, Gavin Menzies, makes many assumptions and, at times, makes what appear to be rather wild suggestions concerning his theories, many of them do remain quite plausible.

Unlike others who have made outlandish claims as regarding early settlers in the Americas first (including the claims by one of this country's largest cults that continues to assert, in light of overwhelming evidence to the contrary, that a non-existent group of ancient Israelis, the Nephites and the Lamanites are the ancestors of Native Americans), many of Menzies' intriguing ideas are capable of being further tested and examined for their veracity.

I was particularly fascinated with Menzies' (a former commander of a British submarine) use of ancient maps as the impetus for his theory. Granted, there are those that will rush to snub their noses at Menzies' ideas but certainly with further study, which is something that I believe the author would personally encourage, they will eventually be proven or discarded. Regardless, 1421 is a fascinating book and I would recommend it to anyone who might be interested in examining alternative views of history (of course, with both eyes open to test the veracity of this book).


I HOPE it's true!   July 18, 2004
Kathleen M. Larkin (Houston, TX USA)
13 out of 18 found this review helpful

If you read this lively and entertaining book, you'll hope Gavin Menzies is right and will offer further evidence of his notions. This book is certainly a bit fanciful, but just too fun to ignore.

The idea that Europeans were nothing more than "also rans" shakes the bedrock of our historical foundation, but the snippets of miscellaneous 'discoveries' (such as the strange descriptions of kangaroos, the flora and fauna transplants, and the suspicious wreckages located off far-flung coasts) tempt me towards investigating the 'new' frontiers of speculation.

I don't doubt Menzies' sailing expertise, but he needs a battery of other experts to back up some of his tangential theories. I certainly hope he finds them. I look forward to reading the further research that is sure to follow. It would certainly be fun to imagine that the Chinese managed to get an ancient ship lodged in San Francisco, located the North Pole, mined in Australia, and swapped goods with the early Central Americans.

With style and enthusiasm, Gavin Menzies opened up a big 'can-o-worms' that will provide several decades of exciting study and further speculation. This book is a great place to begin that intellectual journey that awaits.

(paperback version)