Cathay Path

When Columbus sailed west in 1492 he was seeking a faster sea route to the far east, to Cathay. There had been five overland expeditions to Cathay and all had positive receptions and results. These ranged from Giovanni de Pian del Carpine in 1245 through Giovanni de’ Marignolli in 1338. Niccolò de’ Conti led a mixed land and sea expedition in 1419 but it’s uncertain if he reached Cathay.

All five overland expeditions happened during the Mongol Yuan dynasty when foreigners were welcomed. Christian missionaries were even allowed to enter and preach openly. When Odoric of Pordenone arrived he even found Christian communities thriving.

If Columbus landed in Cathay he would have done so in the middle of the Ming dynasty, specifically during the reign of the Hongzhi Emperor. He was a Confucian reformer who emphasized frugality, moral governance, and, critically, minimized foreign engagement. They allowed very limited foreign trade under a tribute system which first required foreigners to acknowledge the Han Emperor was superior to all and give tributes–distinct from gifts as they are defined to be from a subservient to their superior.

We know that the Portuguese landed in Cathay during the following reigns of the Zhengde Emperor and Jiajing Emperor. Their reception was not hospitable. Some of the Portuguese were executed, the rest expelled, and Portugal was banned from Cathay for decades.

So if Columbus had not run into another landmass in his way and landed at Cathay, would his reception have been like those voyages before him⸺hospitable, and allowing trade and missionaries⸺or would it have been like the missions after him⸺death, expulsion, banishment. Or somewhere in between?