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The Ming Dynasty of China marked the restoration of native-born rule within Imperial China, as well as a modernization and globalization of east Asia. With the Mongol-led Yuan Empire in decline, Song Dynasty loyalists sparked the Red Turban Rebellions . Various competing rebel factions rose up, vying for control of the country. One prominent rebel leader was Zhu Yuanzhang, who first defeated Han rebel leader Chen Youliang in the 1363 Battle of Lake Poyang . The use of fire ships allowed Zhu to defeat a force three times the size of his own, leaving him in uncontested control of the bountiful Yangtze River valley. When the leader of the Red Turbans died suspiciously after having visited Zhu in 1367, Zhu had no other rivals in his invasion of Dadu (present-day Beijing). With the last Yuan Emperor having fled north, Zhu Yuanzhang proclaimed the founding of the Ming Dynasty, taking the era name Hongwu.

Unlike in previous dynasties, emperors of the Ming and Qing were more commonly known by their era names, hence the first Ming Emperor being styled the Hongwu Emperor.

The expansion of European trade brought the newly established Colombian Exchange's reach as far as China. The resulting introduction of new crops, plants, and animals helped diminish famines significantly. Growing European trade helped remonetize the Chinese economy with an influx of Japanese and American silver to counter hyperinflation. A century later, however, economic hardships brought on by the Little Ice Age coincided with a cutting off the silver supply. These economic hardships eventually resulted in the fall of the Ming Dynasty and rise of the Qing Dynasty in 1644.

Description
The Ming Dynasty of China marked the restoration of native-born rule within Imperial China, as well as a modernization and globalization of east Asia. With the Mongol-led Yuan Empire in decline, Song Dynasty loyalists sparked the Red Turban Rebellions . Various competing rebel factions rose up, vying for control of the country. One prominent rebel leader was Zhu Yuanzhang, who first defeated Han rebel leader Chen Youliang in the 1363 Battle of Lake Poyang . The use of fire ships allowed Zhu to defeat a force three times the size of his own, leaving him in uncontested control of the bountiful Yangtze River valley. When the leader of the Red Turbans died suspiciously after having visited Zhu in 1367, Zhu had no other rivals in his invasion of Dadu (present-day Beijing). With the last Yuan Emperor having fled north, Zhu Yuanzhang proclaimed the founding of the Ming Dynasty, taking the era name Hongwu.

Unlike in previous dynasties, emperors of the Ming and Qing were more commonly known by their era names, hence the first Ming Emperor being styled the Hongwu Emperor.

The expansion of European trade brought the newly established Colombian Exchange's reach as far as China. The resulting introduction of new crops, plants, and animals helped diminish famines significantly. Growing European trade helped remonetize the Chinese economy with an influx of Japanese and American silver to counter hyperinflation. A century later, however, economic hardships brought on by the Little Ice Age coincided with a cutting off the silver supply. These economic hardships eventually resulted in the fall of the Ming Dynasty and rise of the Qing Dynasty in 1644.