Why Did China Fall Behind Europe in the 15th Century

Why did China fall behind Europe in the 15th century? In my opinion, the main reason that China fell behind Europe in the 15th century is the closing down of itself with other civilizations and the banned international trades strategies which severed the communication and connection of the Chinese people with the outside world. And in the same time the rapid growth of the European countries had boosted those civilizations in the other direction thanks to the newly discovered resources on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean. I would like to explain these ideas from the following aspects: The early developments of China: China has gone through a period of rapid technological advances in the first centuries of human history thanks to†¦show more content†¦The stationary bandit had gradually shut itself up and coiled back from engagement with the contemporary world. Most symbolically, international trades and communications were banned, the maps and navigation information were burnt down 1 2 Please refer to Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zheng_He#cite_note-77. Please refer to lecture notes. 3/7 and nobody, ever since, had recommended for a second trip towards the outside. Developments in Europe in the same à ©poque In the meantime, the countries in Europe were fighting against each other for limited territory resources. They had had enough of it and decided to go farther to explore the new world. Unlike the aim of the Chinese emperor, the main purpose of their voyages was to find the affluent India, and the gold-covered-Road China described by Marco Polo. But they accidentally ran into America. When Columbus discovered the new world in 1492, his purpose was to find a competitive edge over the other European powers for the Spanish queen Isabel La Catholica. He thought that he reached Japan and named some of the islands he discovered in honor of the Spanish queen.3 During his four voyages between 1492 and 1504, he claimed some of the islands for the Spanish Empire. 4 This historical event is considered to be a milestone in the late 15 th century which ushered in a new phase of European immigration to theShow MoreRelatedHow Truth Was Defined By Medieval Europeans1696 Words   |  7 Pagesthey are currently being described in. Even within these cultures these questions have different answers because of the various regions; for example medieval Europe had multiple cultures that traversed throughout everywhere and caused truth to be defined by the beliefs of that region. 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