Did the Chinese Visit America in 1421?

Does one man’s theory prove that the Chinese visited the New World decades before Columbus?

Illustrated on a piece of bamboo paper, the map is entitled “general chart of the integrated world”. (Source: http://www.gavinmenzies.net)

In 2008 Gavin Menzies wrote an exciting book titled 1421: The Year China Discovered America. I remember reading the book when it came out. Was it possible that a treasure fleet from China reached the Pacific Coast of North and South America seventy years before Columbus? Such a discovery would change our understanding of early America.

So why is this theory not taught in schools all over the world?

Menzies is a British retired naval officer and amateur historian. While his book presents some interesting theories, it is only circumstantial evidence with no actual proof. Most historians consider his work unprovable, and the map he used to develop his ideas may be a forgery.

Given all of this, there is some real history behind his theory. There was a great treasure fleet that the Chinese emperor commissioned to visit much of the areas known to China. Before being rediscovered in recent centuries, this grand voyage would be lost to history for hundreds of years.

The Great Chinese Treasure Fleet

In the early 15th century, the Ming Dynasty was at its pinnacle. In fact, the Ming period…