04-24-2004, 05:11 PM
Oh yeah, one more thing: Europe was a competitive environment, where numerous moderately powerful nations struggled for all sorts of things, usually territory, trade, or religion. Gaining an advantage in seafaring commerce, or a profitable colony (*coughspaininperucough*) could give them an immediate advantage over their neigbours.
China's neighbours, on the other hand, were a whole lot smaller than China. They were the big fish in the pond, ruled by one enormous imperial bureaucracy. Europe had hundreds of noble families, all closely related enough to hate each other bitterly. The motivation to get ahead of their rivals just wasn't present in China like it was in Europe.
Jester
China's neighbours, on the other hand, were a whole lot smaller than China. They were the big fish in the pond, ruled by one enormous imperial bureaucracy. Europe had hundreds of noble families, all closely related enough to hate each other bitterly. The motivation to get ahead of their rivals just wasn't present in China like it was in Europe.
Jester