Why did sailors have scurvy in the era of European great navigation, but Zheng He's fleet didn't?

As we all know, if you are at sea, if you don't prepare enough materials, it is very difficult to keep healthy, because if all kinds of nutrients needed by the human body can't be guaranteed, people themselves will have many diseases, which is very obvious in the crew of the European navigation era. They often suffer from scurvy. But this is also a sea trip. What's the difference between Zheng He's fleet and that of Europe? Why doesn't he get scurvy?

1. What is scurvy?

Scurvy is a disease caused by the lack of vitamin C. Long-term insufficient intake or diarrhea, vomiting, etc. It can cause vitamin C deficiency, prevent collagen from being synthesized normally, lead to disorder of cell connection, increase capillary fragility, and cause subcutaneous and submucosal bleeding, which is called scurvy in medicine. Scurvy can also be seen in improperly fed babies. Scurvy is caused by vitamin C deficiency, so it is also called vitamin C deficiency. However, vitamin C deficiency will not only cause scurvy, but also be related to diseases such as inflammation, arteriosclerosis and tumor. Scurvy was once a serious threat to human health in history. In the past few hundred years, it has been widely popular among sailors, explorers and the army, especially among seafarers who are sailing, so it is known as "sailor's fear" and "sea demon".

The clear record of scurvy began in the Crusaders' era in13rd century, and some scholars traced it back to Hippocrates' era in BC. It is also said that the remains of scurvy have been found on human remains in primitive society. As for the prevention and treatment of scurvy, as early as17-18th century, it has been found that fresh vegetables, oranges and lemons can be used for prevention and treatment. Lind's masterpiece, scurvy, asked about the extraction of "hexuronic acid" from Chinese cabbage and adrenal gland in 1753. At the same time, the chemical structure of Reichstein was successfully synthesized in 1933, thus, human finally conquered scurvy. However, the theoretical and applied research of vitamin C is far from over.

The clear description of scurvy in ancient books is in the records of the medieval Crusades. At the end of the fifteenth century, scurvy was also the reason why many seafarers stayed in bed for a long time. 1753, James Linde, a Scottish naval doctor, discovered that the disease was related to diet, and james cook, a British explorer, further cited this discovery. Studies have found that drinking orange juice and lemon juice can treat and prevent scurvy. James Linde (1716-1794 June 13), surgeon of the Royal Navy (1739-1748), physician of Hazra Hospital of the Royal Navy (65433 It influenced the development of preventive medicine and nutrition for soldiers and sailors, and he was also the author of scurvy treatment.

2. Why did Zheng He's fleet seldom see scurvy?

Zheng He's fleet members did not have scurvy in a large area, which may be mainly caused by one-sided records. Because the existing navigation materials of Zheng He are basically leftover bits and pieces, and there is no overall record. So there is no record of how many members the fleet lost in the middle. There are even a few sub-fleets with a terrible half reduction, which is difficult to be noticed by future generations. In addition, if Zheng He's fleet is allowed to retreat to Europe for many times, there will also be a large-scale scurvy epidemic. Moreover, because of the expression problems of traditional Chinese medicine, some intractable diseases may not be directly regarded as scurvy.

If we carefully observe the sailing route of Zheng He's fleet, it is not difficult to understand why they are not prone to scurvy. Because the voyages taken by the fleet are mature routes with a history of nearly 2,000 years. In other words, before them, there have been extraordinary fleets and sailors passing through these places repeatedly. A large number of ports and coastal berthing areas that can provide supplies have been formed.

Zheng He's fleet passed through these places, basically guided by Muslim navigators and locals, and familiar with the road. Although Zheng He himself was a layman who became a monk halfway, the Ming Dynasty accepted the last descendants of moose sailors left by the Yuan Dynasty for his voyage. Therefore, the fleet can easily enter important ports, such as Zhancheng, Malacca, Dagang, Kallikat, Hormuz and Mombasa. In addition to trade, these ports can also be used to buy enough fresh materials. Especially vegetables and fruits rich in vitamins are very helpful to fight scurvy.

Also worthy of reference are European voyages in the Mediterranean Sea, the North Sea, the Baltic Sea and the Black Sea. They also have a sailing history of 1000-2000 in these mature waters. There are many berths and ports along the way, where sailors can rest and replenish various supplies. Therefore, you won't see many records of scurvy on these routes. Otherwise, it will be recorded by vikings, Italians and many cities of Hanseatic League.

3. Why does the European fleet have scurvy?

The routes that are really easy for European seafarers to get scurvy are basically difficult for predecessors to set foot in. That is, what we call the era of great navigation and the period of great geographical discovery today. Europeans have entered many coastal areas where the original ports do not exist, and it is impossible to obtain supplies conveniently. Because of the need to measure the complex hydrological conditions of each coast, they can't use a large number of medium and large ships, but choose small boats with shallow draft. The consequence of this is that the ship cannot carry enough materials. And because it is impossible to accurately judge the length of the voyage cycle, we should try to load fresh water and perishable things. Fresh vegetables and fruits are perishable, so it is obviously impossible to bring more. More often, it is cured meat, fish and baked biscuits. The nutritional structure of these foods was greatly destroyed during processing, and they can only provide basic calories and protein's needs. If you eat such things for a long time, the human body will lack vitamins and then turn into terrible scurvy.

At that time, many European expedition fleets would choose to bring a special supply ship. The ship was full of food and other supplies, and only the minimum crew was sent to operate it. After the materials on the ship are consumed, sailors will burn the ship directly to save labor costs. If you find a port or estuary that can berth, you need to establish a permanent or semi-permanent base. Just like the maritime countries in age of steam later, it is a truth that coal-fired supply stations need to be established in all sea areas. This is also the reason why Europeans hoped to set up commercial stations or small fortresses on all continents in the early days of the Great Navigation Era.

After the early colonists gradually established various base networks, the mortality rate of seafarers decreased. But in some voyages, there will still be a large area of scurvy. This is mainly because European ships have begun to explore farther and less developed sea areas. At the same time, many early voyages around the world or across the ocean were full of variables. Basically, it was on the extreme voyage of seagoing ships in that era. This is why scurvy often occurs.

It was not until the18th century that British people began to effectively curb scurvy during long-distance voyage by supplementing fresh lemon or lemon juice. If it is Zheng He's fleet, it will be worse than the early European sailing fleet if it enters the sea area that has never been developed before, or goes on extreme sailing. Because the latter was set up to explore the task, the former simply does not have such ability. The fleet is too big and needs more people to operate it. This will accelerate the consumption of materials and eventually lead to logistics disaster.

Of course, a few years ago, many people suggested that Zheng He's fleet could alleviate scurvy by cultivating bean sprouts. This is actually a typical assumption. Because the cultivation of bean sprouts itself needs a lot of fresh water. And fresh water is the most precious resource in the voyage, and its importance exceeds all other materials. If there are enough ports to replenish fresh water, why do you need to plant a lot of bean sprouts instead of buying vegetables and fruits?

Therefore, Zheng He's fleet did not suffer from scurvy on a large scale, mainly because they had been sailing in the safest place.