AHC/WI: China discovers the Americas?

What would the impact of say, China 'discovering' the "New World" before the Europeans (Columbus)?

Nil unless they exploit the discovery. But it is very hard to come up with a reason for China to do so for either reasons of trade or colonization in a pre-Colombian framework. A singular voyage or two, perhaps.
 

ThePest179

Banned
Nil unless they exploit the discovery. But it is very hard to come up with a reason for China to do so for either reasons of trade or colonization in a pre-Colombian framework. A singular voyage or two, perhaps.

Would anything come of a few small voyages? In what situation would China exploit the discovery?
 
Assuming they spread old world diseases, the natives will build up a resistance and be able to beat off the Europeans.

Can't see China caring that much, though. Look at their reaction to the rest of Zheng He's discoveries: "Yeah, we're better than these barbarians, we know."
 
Would anything come of a few small voyages? In what situation would China exploit the discovery?

I think B&C answered most of your question re. Isolated voyages. Unless China would have engaged in massive overseas imperialism (the Yuan dynasty was the only time in Chinese history which was analogous to European efforts -- and they were a Mongol dynasty) I don't see a viable Chinese effort to create the overseas infrastructure to allow a continual trans-pacific presence.
 
Spreading horses and disease would be the major one. Sadly traders were not high on the totem pole so their wont be too much of a rush. That being said the silver will be very interesting and of course it will cause economic troubles like Mexican silver did in OTL.

There is a real possibility though that the Chinese arrive, get some silver, spread some disease, pick up a couple tributary states then leave and when they come back they find everyone dead and bail never to return
 

SpamBotSam

Banned
America would be homogeneous today rather than a melting pot, because China (similar to Japan) allows very little immigration.
 
It probably wouldn't change much. It's hard to get a situation where China discovers the New World (cultural/economic reasons aside, the Pacific is HUGE compared to the Atlantic), so they would probably discover it only slightly before the Europeans do.

Even if the Chinese do introduce horses/diseases (questionable, it takes more than having a few people walk around on land to spread smallpox; note that Vinland doesn't seem to have done so), that only accelerates the timetable by a few decades; epidemics continued to ravage the Native Americans for centuries OTL, so it won't hinder the conquest notably. There's nothing in California to attract significant Chinese colonization, and much closer areas for them to settle instead, so the Spanish probably don't even have to fight a Chinese colony (a fight the Spanish might quite possibly win if it did happen; the Chinese logistics would be even worse than the Spanish ones, Mexican native auxiliaries would provide the Spanish with enough numbers to have a quantitative edge, and it's not like the Ming exactly covered themselves with glory in the Imjin War even with superior numbers).
 
So how would this effect the later conquests of the Europeans?

If they come before the end of the diseases I am sure it will be even easier. If they come after the population recovered colonization would be a lot smaller and some states instead of being destroyed will just come under foreign rule
 

SinghKing

Banned
It probably wouldn't change much. It's hard to get a situation where China discovers the New World (cultural/economic reasons aside, the Pacific is HUGE compared to the Atlantic), so they would probably discover it only slightly before the Europeans do.

Even if the Chinese do introduce horses/diseases (questionable, it takes more than having a few people walk around on land to spread smallpox; note that Vinland doesn't seem to have done so), that only accelerates the timetable by a few decades; epidemics continued to ravage the Native Americans for centuries OTL, so it won't hinder the conquest notably. There's nothing in California to attract significant Chinese colonization, and much closer areas for them to settle instead, so the Spanish probably don't even have to fight a Chinese colony (a fight the Spanish might quite possibly win if it did happen; the Chinese logistics would be even worse than the Spanish ones, Mexican native auxiliaries would provide the Spanish with enough numbers to have a quantitative edge, and it's not like the Ming exactly covered themselves with glory in the Imjin War even with superior numbers).

There's plenty to interest the Chinese further south though, especially down in what would later become Guatemala, in the Motagua Valley. And closer to home, up north in British Columbia. Could we see Jade Rushes ITTL?
 
The people who walked across the land bridge over what is today the Bering Strait were sort of Chinese in that they kind of came from that part of the world. :p
 
China getting early access to the American crop package might actually be the most significant thing here.
 
Nope. They would only accept gold and silver.

Maybe 'Fusang' becomes a refuge for religious/ethnic/dynastic failures? Like some Warlords flee there on e the next warring states era ends, and pulls a Filibuster?

It was a rhetorical question:p.

I can't see China really caring about the new world, barring something crazy like a gold rush. But assuming they just run into OTL's California or so, they'll just note how many more uncivilized people's there are and leave.
 
Well, the Spanish had plenty of sources of gold and silver closer to home as well. Didn't stop them from getting interested...

Actually not so much. Supply was circumscribed by geopolitical factors. The Europeans only had to cross the Atlantic,as well. A relative puddle in comparison to the Pacific.
 

SinghKing

Banned
It was a rhetorical question:p.

I can't see China really caring about the new world, barring something crazy like a gold rush. But assuming they just run into OTL's California or so, they'll just note how many more uncivilized people's there are and leave.

There were actually significant jadeite deposits in California as well. And unlike the gold in California, the Californian natives along the coast actually used it. So any Chinese who encounter the uncivilised natives of California, and indeed the natives along most of the American Pacific coastline, are still going to catch a glimpse of the jade trinkets in their possession. This would be especially true in British Columbia, the closest region which they're likely to visit- here, virtually all of the jade is of the nephrite variety, just like Chinese jade. In fact, British Columbia possesses jade reserves which are even greater than those of all of China. And for the Chinese, jade was far more valuable than either gold or silver ever were to the Europeans...
 
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