Who were the most powerful countries in the world at different points in history?
100 AD – Han China or Rome, since the two didn’t collide it is difficult to compare relative power. 1000 AD – Song China by a long shot. Europe and the Mediterranean were in relative disarray. 1500 AD – Ming China. Some might argue that the dominant European power at the time, Spain, was the most powerful country. However, it is notable that the primary use of the currency that Spain extracted from its American colonies was buying spices and luxuries from the East. Additionally, contrasting the relative power of the Chinese fleet under Zheng He and the ships that sailed under Columbus demonstrates the disparity in power between the East and the West. One of Columbus’ ships could have been deck cargo on Zheng He’s flagship. Also, the fact that the Ming at one point had a standing army of 1 million troops shows how powerful an empire they were. 1700 AD – France. An argument could be made for the Qing since at this point they had just crushed the Ming dynasty’s remnants and had a truly ma
