The World Affairs Council CA Central Coast Presents:
When China Ruled the Seas, the Treasure Fleets of the Ming Dynasty 1405-1433.
September 11, 2008 at the Ventura County Maritime Museum
2731 S. Victoria Avenue
Oxnard, CA 93035
5:30 p.m. -7:30 p.m.
(Reception with appetizers and no-host bar 5:30-6:30, presentation 6:30-7:30)
Cost: $15 members, $20 non-members
During the Opening Ceremonies for the Olympics, China celebrated the achievements of the great navel fleets of the Ming Dynasty, events hardly known or recounted in the West.
By 1405 China had been a powerful empire for nearly two thousand years. The crown jewels of Emperor Zhu Di’s navy were his Treasure boats. These behemoths, nearly half the size of World War II aircraft carriers, were largest wooden sailing ships ever built. And although the wealth they carried back to China was staggering, it created conflict between the two factions that served the emperor; the Military and the Mandarin bureaucrats.
After the emperor’s death, the chief Mandarin sought to undermine the power of his foes by decreeing that the fleets be grounded, the records destroyed and overseas trade forbidden. The result crippled China for the next 600 years – a decline that is only being reversed today as witnessed during the Olympics.

And although the greatest navy in the world disappeared overnight, not all the records vanished. Copies of Zheng He’s charts made their way to Portugal and Spain, paving the way for the European Age of Discovery and the subsequent colonization of the world.

(replica under construction in Nanjing, China)
But those of us who study history can only speculate what would have happened had the great fleets of the Ming Dynasty continued to rule the seas.
The fleets represent perhaps the single greatest accomplishment in naval history up until the 20th century. The decision to ground the fleet in 1433 and destroy most official records of its existence was perhaps the single greatest blunder in all modern history. This act, whose repercussions shaped the modern world order within which we all now live, plunged China into 600 years of decline and represents the ultimate triumph of partisan politics over common sense and the national welfare.

(Scale Comparison of a Chinese Treasure Ship to Columbus’ Santa Maria)
In 2005, our speaker, Howard Smith was the curator for an exhibits on the Fleets of the Ming Dynasty at the Ventura County Maritime Museum. Smith has been honored three times as one of the top Business Leaders in the Central Coast by the Pacific Coast Business Times. He served for three years as Chairman of the Board of VCEDA, the Ventura County Economic Development Association, for which he has been recognized as Business Executive of the Year by the Ventura County Leadership Academy and as Small Business Advocate of the Year by the SBA.
Smith graduated Phi Beta Kappa, Magna Cum Laude from the University of Buffalo and Nanyang University of Singapore with an Ed.M. in Administration and a B.A. in Asian Studies and was a Graduate Fellow at the American Film Institute. He taught for five years at UCLA Extension and has lectured nationally. A frequent Op Ed contributor to the Ventura County Star and the Ojai Valley News, his articles have also appeared in the Washington Post, Horizon Magazine, and numerous trade publications. His book “Opening the Doors to Hollywood,” was published by Random House.

(Completed 1/2 scale replica on display in Nanjing, China)
For more information, please contact us at any time:
WACA-CCC
300 E. Esplanade, #1800
Oxnard, CA 93036
Lin Graf, Executive Director
805-299-2390
lin@paladinprinciple.com
Ashley Bautista, Asst. Executive Director
805-299-2394
Ashley@paladinprinciple.com