Regarding the Chinese stopping their ocean voyages this was definitely a huge blunder but I’m going to argue it was inevitable for European nations to colonise the world instead of the Chinese.
Europe is a fragmented continent made of multiple nations in direct competition with each other. At the start of the age of exploration they were all hungry for resources and looking for any competitive advantage possible. Once one nation found something the other European nations were quick to copy. Trade with the East Indies and eventual colonisation spread through Europe as a necessity of a Nation’s survival.
China on the other hand is a large unitary nation self sufficient in resources and controlled by one ruler. They just didn’t have the need to explore. Also, there is no competition to test ideas and keep the best ones, instead decisions are left up to the whims of one person. Even if the 1430 ban doesn’t go into place another leader later on may have made the same decision.
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The masses of humanity have always had to surf.
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