The Sun Sets on the West



For most of our history, the East hasn't had very much relevance in the history of the overall world, with Europe and the Americas being the dominant areas of civilization. But what if this all changed? What if the East truly did reach its maximum potential? It is very hard to imagine what the world would be like with Asian and African dominance in a world where most of the world's powers are located in the West, with a few exceptions. This timeline explores a world where the Eastern continents are the major powers.

Major PoDs

 * Marco Polo dies before he can make his epic journey to Asia, leaving Europe and Asia more isolated from each other. The Silk Road would still have relevance, but trade between the two continents would be much less common, especially after the Great Plague occurred. Trade between the two continents wouldn't really start to start back up until the 16th century, leaving both more poor.
 * The Great Plague, also known as the Black Plague in OTL, has much more of an effect on Europe. The continent dives into political unrest during the massive death. Non-infected Scandinavians and Danes escaped to Iceland and later Greenland, greatly reducing the populations of Norway, Sweden, and Denmark, estimated more than the plague would have.
 * Zheng He, a Ming sailor, lands on the western coast of South America on an expedition to find an easier trade route to the Mediterranean civilizations in Italy and Africa in 1415, starting trade relations with the Incas and Aymaran Empire Zheng He would make a few more expeditions to the Americas, and would later note in a letter to be given to the Yongle Emperor, "These people are nothing like anyone else I've seen during my many journeys across the world. Perhaps we have found an unknown land?". Two years later, Zheng He and various Chinese geographers would be sent to South America. Zheng He and his fleet would later figure out that South America is its own continent.
 * The Crusade, or TTL First Crusade, was largely an European failure. Iberia would remain Muslim, helping spread it further into the Western world. The Seljuq and Rum Sultanate would remain in power in the Middle East, up until the Mongol invasions.