Although the expanding European forces were far inferior to those of Chinese societies, technological advances helped negate the disadvantage imposed by the pure population of the Asian China Sea; however, both cultures were very skilled and advanced in terms of naval warfare and exploration, making the seas and oceans a battlefield for both cultures. At the time, Europeans were short of land and room for expansion due to numerous empires in a relatively small area. This led to the search for land. Political powers sought wealth and hoped to obtain it by conquering Asian markets as had been done in the West. Much like the political powers, the Christian church avidly sought mass expansion and conversion, pushing for missions in foreign lands. In contrast to the motivations of Europeans, the reasons for Chinese commercial expansion were the desires and curiosity of a single Ming Dynasty emperor who was not driven by aristocrats, the church, or the literate nobility. While the general consensus of Europe pushed for expansion for economic, political and religious reasons, the expansion was the work of an emperor who sought wealth to defend himself from the threat of the Mongols from