In his first book, 1421, Gavin Menzies argues that a huge Chinese fleet circumnavigated and charted the world years before the first great European voyages of discovery. The evidence for this comes in many different forms: from shipwrecks and ancient maps, to local peoples accounts and their DNA.
Explore Gavin’s website to find out more on this fascinating subject.
Enjoyed the book.
‘to local peoples accounts and their DNA’
I’d like to see the DNA results.
‘In Siyu village they conducted DNA tests on a Swahili family whose oral history and hints of Chinese facial features led them to believe they were descendants of Zheng’s shipwrecked sailors. The tests reportedly showed evidence of Chinese ancestry and a 19-year-old woman called Mwamaka Shirafu was given a full scholarship to study traditional medicine in China, where she remains.’
Most of the evidence comes from Menzies hyperactive imagination. It’s a nice yarn, but holes start sprouting up the instant you start looking for them.