There were many differences to Zheng He and Christopher Columbus including ship size, area travelled among others. one of most notable being the difference in their size of expedition. Zheng He had no shortage of men or ships “28,000 men embarked on 62 ships” (486) this quote showing the huge amount of people that were part of the expedition also they had the food, water, and other resources to keep the expedition going. Additionally Zheng He’s flagship was much larger than any ship that Columbus had is his expedition “the largest ship was over 440 feet long (Columbus’s Santa Maria was only 75 feet long) “ (486). This showing the huge difference in the size of ships involved in the expedition. Also another difference is Columbus went to monarchs …show more content…
Columbus a catholic Italian spread Catholicism to South and Central America during his voyages as Spain the county he was sailing for was primarily catholic it further the reach of the Spanish empire according to Britannica. On the same not Zheng He spread Islam, Buddhism and Confucian thinking to the people of Southern Asia also according to Britannica. The importance to this is that both explorers were able to expand the influence of their empires via the religions that they were spreading, strengthening their nations hold over that area. Additionally both explorers brought great wealth to their nation. Columbus did this indirectly as he did not bring back the wealth himself but his discoveries would pay off in the form of Aztec gold and other goods that the Spanish were able to export from The Caribbean and Central America according to Enchantedlearning.com. Zheng He was able to bring back his goods directly like the animal he had brought back from Africa for example according to Britannica. The reason these are important is because of the monetary value that these expeditions brought to their nation, the only difference is that one nation continued exploring and another didn't. Though the explorers come from very different backgrounds and had very different journeys they also had key similarities that made them seem not o