Did it circumnavigate the world, and did it ignite the European Renaissance?

China’s Ming Dynasty Emperor Zhu Di ended the isolation policies of his predecessors. He built a fleet of hundreds of ships, on which to send his ambassadors to foreign ports to promulgate the many achievements of Chinese civilization and to arrange payment of tribute to the emperor in exchange for Chinese trade agreements. Various ports in the Indian Ocean

were visited first. Then, as some historians claim, Zheng He sent part of his fleet westward around the Cape of Good Hope into the Atlantic Ocean. He sent another part of his fleet eastward into the Pacific Ocean. A resultant map of the world was then prepared and provided to the Pope in Rome in 1434, which is claimed to have ignited the European Renaissance.