With support from the University of Richmond

History News Network puts current events into historical perspective. Subscribe to our newsletter for new perspectives on the ways history continues to resonate in the present. Explore our archive of thousands of original op-eds and curated stories from around the web. Join us to learn more about the past, now.

Zheng He Ranks Among the World's Greatest Seafarers [video 22 minutes 22 seconds]

Nearly a century before European explorers started out, he was commanding great fleets of huge ships

The ships groaned with valuable cargo and travelled epic distances, from China to the coast of Africa.

China has been through periods of overlooking Zheng He. But since the 1980s, he has had a revival in the People's Republic.

Nick Baker finds out more about the man who was a eunuch, a Muslim, possibly a giant, and one of the world's most important historic naval figures.
Read entire article at BBC