East Africa Questions

1. From what you can tell from the account, what were the purposes of Zheng He’s voyages?  

 I think the purpose of Zheng He’s voyages were mainly for military purposes. At the very beginning of the text he wrote that he was one of a few who headed many ships.  They also described that they traveled to lands further away to teach and convert barbarian peoples into being led under imperialism by the emperor at the time. 

2. What is tribute and how did it function in the Chinese world order?

            Tribute I understood to be gifts, and also maybe honor.  Because every time tributes was mentioned previously, it is accompanied by a listing of the material things that they were given based on where they were.  For example in they describe the ruler bringing ‘articles of tribute’, which could be anything from gold to animals.

3. Where is the account of the voyage written down?

            The account of the voyage was carved into something called a stele at a temple.  At the very end of Zheng He’s account of the travels, he says that this has been inscripted into stone. 

4. From what sorts of records do we find accounts of East Africa from other perspectives?

            You find accounts of East Africa from other perspectives come from oral accounts originally in Swahili, but these had been written down in other languages before they were written down in their native tongue.  Antoher kind of record is the first one which was carved into stone at a temple.   

5. If you follow all the links, you will discover that two of them mention the city of Mecca. Which two, and is it just a coincidence?

             The two accounts that mention the city of Mecca are in

6. What information about political authority can you glean from each of the four different perspectives on East Africa (15th-century Chinese, 14th-century North African, 16th-century Portuguese and Swahili oral traditions)?

             As far as political authority in East Africa, I have gathered that the towns and cities are goverened by a group of elders.  These elders of the towns are to be treated with respect and brought gifts.  While in Barbosas account they are referred to as elders, in the other accounts they are reffered to as Kings or as rulers.  I think that these names mean the same thing, just in different words.  They aren’t absolute leaders but take the advice of the elders of the community.  

   7. What can you infer from Fei Xin, Duarte Barbosa, Ibn Battuta and the Swahili oral histories about what goods were traded to and from the East Coast of Africa?

            The goods that were being traded to and from the East Coast of Africa are cloth and beads from Persia and were given as gifts.  Fei Xin describes the Chinese trade gold, silver, satins, rice, beans and china-ware.  Also vermillion, light silks, pepper rice, colored satin, sandal-wood, leopards, and frankincense.  There are not many crops grown in Africa, at least not detailed by this account.  It is described that they have garlic and onions but nothing else.  Ibn Battutah describes that the Africans slaughter camels for food, and mentions that they also have sheep and woven fabric.  Finally, Barbosa only mentions the trade of precious metals like gold and silver.