Thanks. It was a bunny hole I went down in 2019 for reasons that I cannot recall, but it was probably in response to a post at the time, a needed distraction from the drama (Russia collusion).
I am aware of Spanish exploits. That’s a bunny hole for another day ;-)
Speaking of Bunny Holes, I am about to dive down a giant Badger Hole, I have just acquired a book by Gavin Menzies, 1421 The Year China Discovered America, 2004. I don’t know how I missed this book, but it appears an Emperor of China decided to send at least 800 ships throughout the world to find new lands to trade with and collect tribute from. Apparently both sides of the American continents were discovered, evidence is there, as well as other far flung spaces. After 3 years some of the ships returned to China with records and evidence, but the great Emperor had died, and the collected material was destroyed.
I don’t know if I missed this because 2004 was the final year of my huspand’s slow death from Alzheimers, or because the idea of what China might do with this “evidence” was so scary that officials have decided to not mention the subject. We have Covid as a more recent example of something coming from China being hidden, destroyed, and falsified by various political and economic interests. Anyone here know about this book, or why, I as a reasonably alert history buff never heard of it? Also, since I have only skimmed through the book to get an idea of it’s contentest, if you read it what is your opinion?