This is a timeline exploring what if the Chinese discovered America. The first part or prologue will not have Chinese discovering America yet, but will cover what happened to make it possible.
Discovery of the Polynesians - 1286
Wokuo(Japanese pirates) discover the island of Chichi-Jima and the surrounding islands, along with Iwo Jima. It becomes a haven for Japanese piracy, as it is unknown by anyone else and was far away. Soon the islands are well known by Chinese, Japanese and Korean sailors after numerous raids . Those who are not pirates try to avoid it. Eventually, a fleet of around 100 ships under Chinese control sailed to the islands, carrying around 300 soldiers. The Wokou were defeated and those who could escape fled south-east, hoping to escape to the Moluccas. The larger ships of the Chinese were unable to catch up with the Wokou, and soon the Wokou were able to escape. They sailed South and instead of the Moluccas, they landed at the island of Managaha. It was a tiny isle, but the survivors were few in number. The Chinese fleet was in search of the Wokou, and began scanning the surrounding waters, attempting to find isles where they were hiding. They are responsible for being the first non-Polynesians to set foot on what is OTl the North Mariana Isles. They eventually saw small huts on the island they just passed and set foot on the Island. However these were no Wokou. They had landed on the island of Pagan. The native Polynesians gave the Chinese some supplies. After some basic sign language, the Chinese were able to tell the Polynesian natives about how they were searching the nearby islands for a group of pirates. After restocking, they set off again with a few of the Polynesians with them. With their aid, they scoured the islands for the pirates and found them near the island of Saipan a few months later. The Wokou had resorted to pillaging the Polynesian villages for survival, as their island was too poor. The Wokou were crushed after the Chinese army landed on Saipan. They made contact with the local chief of the village and discovered that the natives they had brought from Pagan were able to talk to the inhabitants. They became useful as translators, as they had picked up rudimentary Cantonese along the way. The Chinese were given gifts including coconuts, breadfruit and mangoes. The Chinese fleet returned to China, first passing Palau, then the Eastern Coast of the Phillipines and Taiwan and arrived back in Fuzhou. The coconuts and breadfruit were sold, becoming a kind of delicacy among the rich. More ships would go back to Saipan, and soon the surrounding isles such as Guam would also be contacted. Trading between the Chinese and the Polynesians intensified, bringing white rice, farm animals and metal tools to the islands, while coconuts and breadfruit were given to the Chinese. However the population of the islands were small and thus there was only so much they could trade. Thus traders from all over East Asia would sail even further east.
Polynesian society was greatly changed as well. The population declined due to diseases brought over, but their culture changed as well. The advent of new foods changed cuisine and lifestyle. It was fashionable for the Chamori and the Matua to adopt the lifestyle of the Chinese. The chinese would come to the islands as advisors under the ruling Matua class of the tribes. However in secret a chieftain of Guam made a deal with the Yuan court, offering to join the tributary system in exchange for Chinese weapons, armour and ships. He was able to conquer all of Guam and then quickly conquered the other Mariana Islands. He proclaimed the first Kingdom of Guam. It was heavily influenced by East Asia in an effort to legitimise itself as a proper kingdom and not merely the holdings of a tribal chieftain. By 1290, Micronesia, Marshall islands, Kiribati, Tuvalu, Nauru and Tokelau were all visited by traders from China, Korea, Vietnam, Indonesia and Japan. In 1304, the Hawaiian islands were also discovered by Chinese sailors. However, the interaction between the Polynesians and the Chinese led to another major change. The population of the Polynesians was much higher. Though initially population declined due to disease, the population eventually started increasing steadily at an incredibly quick rate due to new technology, crops, animals and trade. So as the islands got overpopulated, more were sent out to colonise new uninhabited islands. By 1330, the Galapagos islands along with many islands among the Pacific were inhabited by Polynesians. Some of the chieftains and kings of the islands were independent, some gave tribute to the Emperor and some even chose to join the Yuan in exchange for wealth. By some historians, 1344 is considered the date of the discovery of the Americas. According to them, the inhabitants of the Galapagos islands had landed on what is now Colombia to settle it, but fled after they were attacked. However there is conclusive proof that the discovery of America occurred on the 4th July of 1352 when a novice Chinese Trader hoping to travel to the Galapagos islands from Easter Island sailed a bit too far east.
I will post the second chapter shortly!
Discovery of the Polynesians - 1286
Wokuo(Japanese pirates) discover the island of Chichi-Jima and the surrounding islands, along with Iwo Jima. It becomes a haven for Japanese piracy, as it is unknown by anyone else and was far away. Soon the islands are well known by Chinese, Japanese and Korean sailors after numerous raids . Those who are not pirates try to avoid it. Eventually, a fleet of around 100 ships under Chinese control sailed to the islands, carrying around 300 soldiers. The Wokou were defeated and those who could escape fled south-east, hoping to escape to the Moluccas. The larger ships of the Chinese were unable to catch up with the Wokou, and soon the Wokou were able to escape. They sailed South and instead of the Moluccas, they landed at the island of Managaha. It was a tiny isle, but the survivors were few in number. The Chinese fleet was in search of the Wokou, and began scanning the surrounding waters, attempting to find isles where they were hiding. They are responsible for being the first non-Polynesians to set foot on what is OTl the North Mariana Isles. They eventually saw small huts on the island they just passed and set foot on the Island. However these were no Wokou. They had landed on the island of Pagan. The native Polynesians gave the Chinese some supplies. After some basic sign language, the Chinese were able to tell the Polynesian natives about how they were searching the nearby islands for a group of pirates. After restocking, they set off again with a few of the Polynesians with them. With their aid, they scoured the islands for the pirates and found them near the island of Saipan a few months later. The Wokou had resorted to pillaging the Polynesian villages for survival, as their island was too poor. The Wokou were crushed after the Chinese army landed on Saipan. They made contact with the local chief of the village and discovered that the natives they had brought from Pagan were able to talk to the inhabitants. They became useful as translators, as they had picked up rudimentary Cantonese along the way. The Chinese were given gifts including coconuts, breadfruit and mangoes. The Chinese fleet returned to China, first passing Palau, then the Eastern Coast of the Phillipines and Taiwan and arrived back in Fuzhou. The coconuts and breadfruit were sold, becoming a kind of delicacy among the rich. More ships would go back to Saipan, and soon the surrounding isles such as Guam would also be contacted. Trading between the Chinese and the Polynesians intensified, bringing white rice, farm animals and metal tools to the islands, while coconuts and breadfruit were given to the Chinese. However the population of the islands were small and thus there was only so much they could trade. Thus traders from all over East Asia would sail even further east.
Polynesian society was greatly changed as well. The population declined due to diseases brought over, but their culture changed as well. The advent of new foods changed cuisine and lifestyle. It was fashionable for the Chamori and the Matua to adopt the lifestyle of the Chinese. The chinese would come to the islands as advisors under the ruling Matua class of the tribes. However in secret a chieftain of Guam made a deal with the Yuan court, offering to join the tributary system in exchange for Chinese weapons, armour and ships. He was able to conquer all of Guam and then quickly conquered the other Mariana Islands. He proclaimed the first Kingdom of Guam. It was heavily influenced by East Asia in an effort to legitimise itself as a proper kingdom and not merely the holdings of a tribal chieftain. By 1290, Micronesia, Marshall islands, Kiribati, Tuvalu, Nauru and Tokelau were all visited by traders from China, Korea, Vietnam, Indonesia and Japan. In 1304, the Hawaiian islands were also discovered by Chinese sailors. However, the interaction between the Polynesians and the Chinese led to another major change. The population of the Polynesians was much higher. Though initially population declined due to disease, the population eventually started increasing steadily at an incredibly quick rate due to new technology, crops, animals and trade. So as the islands got overpopulated, more were sent out to colonise new uninhabited islands. By 1330, the Galapagos islands along with many islands among the Pacific were inhabited by Polynesians. Some of the chieftains and kings of the islands were independent, some gave tribute to the Emperor and some even chose to join the Yuan in exchange for wealth. By some historians, 1344 is considered the date of the discovery of the Americas. According to them, the inhabitants of the Galapagos islands had landed on what is now Colombia to settle it, but fled after they were attacked. However there is conclusive proof that the discovery of America occurred on the 4th July of 1352 when a novice Chinese Trader hoping to travel to the Galapagos islands from Easter Island sailed a bit too far east.
I will post the second chapter shortly!
