Evidence of trade between China and Africa 600 years ago!

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Re: Evidence of trade between China and Africa 600 years ago

Postby Monsoon » Thu Mar 14, 2013 3:48 am

Although I don't want to come across as Mr Sceptical,but... one old coin found on an obscure island is 'proof' of a trade link? Seriously? I can only suppose that there is either a lot more evidence that is not reported in the news story or, more likely, this just sensationalist journalism again.

No decent scientist would take such flimsy 'evidence' and make any pronouncements on it. Unless they wanted to commit professional suicide.

Three other scenarios are:

1. The coin ended up there 100s of years later, dropped by a more recent traveller.
2. There is a trade route that includes China and parts of Africa - although no direct trade between the two.
3. The coin was washed up from a shipwreck - some surprisingly heavy objects get moved around quite a lot by the sea.

Point is, the story isn't telling us much and it is relatively easy to think of reasons for it being there.

Interesting though! Will have to keep an eye on this (my bet is the story will disappear pretty quick)
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Re: Evidence of trade between China and Africa 600 years ago

Postby brer_momonga » Thu Mar 14, 2013 6:55 am

Nope. Some bedouin won a bag of these in North Africa in a game of lots between a greenlander and a chinese trader.
He then decorated his camel with them instead of melting them down to make some other jewelry because the hole in the middle made it easy to embellish wallets and hairstyles. He traveled through the sahara and these once shiny coins passed from hand to hand over rounds of tea. When wearing chinese coins dropped out of fashion - the fad only lasted a couple of hundred years - the shiny ones were melted down and the rusted ones were picked up at market by Kenyan fisherman who used them to weight their hooks.
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Re: Evidence of trade between China and Africa 600 years ago

Postby John the Monkey mind » Thu Mar 14, 2013 9:17 am

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BMUmKJDS0UE

Its known Islamic traders were sailing to China in the 9thc and would have been sailing from East Africa and trading through out North Africa. If goods were moving by sea from China and they were it is not surprising some ended in Kenya. Probably nice shiny trinkets swapped with a Ajuurann Chef for slaves.

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Re: Evidence of trade between China and Africa 600 years ago

Postby Monsoon » Thu Mar 14, 2013 2:30 pm

Good point! The Silk Road, for instance, has been in operation since some 1500 years ago. However, the article is titled "Evidence of trade between China and Africa 600 years ago!" I doubt there was direct trade.
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Re: Evidence of trade between China and Africa 600 years ago

Postby John the Monkey mind » Thu Mar 14, 2013 2:35 pm

Monsoon wrote:Good point! The Silk Road, for instance, has been in operation since some 1500 years ago. However, the article is titled "Evidence of trade between China and Africa 600 years ago!" I doubt there was direct trade.


Well the video I posted was about Islamic traders sailing to China directly, It would surprise me if the did not do trading on the way. Quick run to Africa to get slaves, then to India to sell them and pick up goods to run to China and then back to the Middle East and Africa with the money and then once again repeat.
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Re: Evidence of trade between China and Africa 600 years ago

Postby Monsoon » Thu Mar 14, 2013 2:42 pm

Ah, so sorry, I thought the original article was suggesting that China and Africa (Kenya specifically) were trade partners rather than simply commodity markets. My bad!
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Re: Evidence of trade between China and Africa 600 years ago

Postby John the Monkey mind » Thu Mar 14, 2013 3:02 pm

Monsoon wrote:Ah, so sorry, I thought the original article was suggesting that China and Africa (Kenya specifically) were trade partners rather than simply commodity markets. My bad!

:)
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Re: Evidence of trade between China and Africa 600 years ago

Postby Sanfung » Mon Sep 23, 2013 4:08 pm

I was wondering if anyone here has heard of Admiral Cheng Ho (sometimes romanized instead as Zheng He) who sailed to Africa and the Arabian peninsula between 1405 and 1433. Unlike connections between China and North America, which are often controversial, the voyages of Cheng Ho are well documented and were known even to 17th century historians.

You may be interested in the story of Hasekura Rokuemon Tsunenaga, who was also known as Rocuyemon or by his confirmation name of Francisco. He was a Japanese samurai who sailed the world, visiting sites in Acapulco as well as the Vatican between 1613 and 1620.

Let me know if anyone were interested in hearing a little more about these sailors. I actually studied archaeology when I went to college.
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Re: Evidence of trade between China and Africa 600 years ago

Postby yeniseri » Tue Oct 28, 2014 5:04 pm

There is evidence that East Africa/China communication prior to what is "documented" by Western scholars. There is a tendency of the latter to downplay commercial interaction between groups and whenever there are architectual/social and prolific structures in non European land areas, the tendency is to attribute these marvesl to Spacemen, Aliens and Martians. :mrgreen:
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