June 2025 - 1421 news

Dear Friends and Fellow Explorers,

​Across the globe, tides are turning in the way we understand our shared human story, and the 1421 Foundation is at the heart of that transformation. As guardians of ancient truth and champions of forgotten voyages, we're proud to bring you this special edition of our June 2025 Impact Report.
This is more than a newsletter -it's a celebration of discoveries, a reflection of progress, and a heartfelt call to action.

Zheng He: Reclaiming a Forgotten Legacy
Imagine an admiral who crossed the oceans a century before Columbus. This year, we continue our quest to find compelling evidence - including 15th-century maps, shipwrecks, and genetic markers - that strengthens the case that Admiral Zheng He's fleet reached the New World long before the Europeans.
Your support for the 1421 Foundation allows us to investigate, publish, and educate the world about this monumental rethinking of history. Every contribution helps fund the painstaking research that brings these forgotten voyages to light.
Read Ian Hudson's latest interview with New Asia Currents here.


Chenghua Porcelain: Fragile Proof of Bold Journeys
A pair of Ming Dynasty pumpkin-glazed cups dated to 1466 recently surfaced, offering beautiful, tangible proof of ancient maritime connections between China and the Americas. The craftsmanship is stunning - the implications, even more so.
With your help, we can continue cataloguing and authenticating similar finds around the world. Each piece tells a story of courage, exploration, and cultural exchange that predates everything we thought we knew about global connections. Read more here.


A Historic Breakthrough Beneath the Sea
In the Madura Strait, Indonesia, a landmark discovery has captivated the archaeological world. Homo erectus fossil fragments and the remains of 36 animal species were unearthed beneath the seabed - evidence that early humans thrived on now-submerged plains 140,000 years ago.
This work proves there is still much we don't know about our past, and it's thanks to our community that such research continues. Your donations directly support the technology and expertise needed to make these underwater discoveries possible.
Learn more from Live Science here.


Bronze Age Trade: The Minoans Set Sail
Off Israel's coast, archaeologists have recovered Cypro-Minoan ingots - marking an expansive trade route over 3,000 years ago between Cyprus and Sardinia. Our Foundation's researchers are actively connecting these dots, revealing how the ancient world was more globalized than we've been taught.
These discoveries show us that human ambition, curiosity, and connection stretch back millennia. Your support helps us piece together this remarkable puzzle.
Read more here.

The Commonwealth of World Chinatowns (CWC)
This September 2025, the 1421 Foundation will play a pivotal role in the inaugural Commonwealth of World Chinatowns Conference in Penang, Malaysia. Our president, Ian Hudson, will join key figures from ASEAN government, heritage organizations, and academic institutions across the globe to present new research into early Chinese exploration and diaspora networks.
The Foundation will be helping curate an exhibition about the transfer of knowledge between East and West, from Zheng He to Leonardo da Vinci, alongside producing a TV documentary and a range of archaeological projects centered around the ASEAN Archaeometry Research Center - a world-class research hub for archaeometry in Southeast Asia. This conference represents a unique opportunity to share our findings with decision-makers and scholars who can help amplify the impact of our work.
Learn more about CWC and its work here.


New Asia Currents Newsletter Launch
New Asia Currents, the official media arm of the Commonwealth of World Chinatowns, has launched the first edition of their newsletter - a comprehensive digest featuring stories and interviews published from March to May 2025. Please check it out and share with others who might be interested in these important discoveries.


HMS Victory Survey and Documentary Project
This July, a landmark deep-sea survey will document the wreck of HMS Victory (tragically lost in a violent storm in 1744 with Admiral Sir John Balchin and over 1,100 crew). Rediscovered in 2008, the site faces serious threats from erosion and trawling. Using non-invasive underwater robotics, the mission will create a detailed digital record before more is lost to the tides of time.
Members of the 1421 Foundation are involved in the project, which will also be the subject of a major TV documentary. Though not essentially part of the 1421 story, our work on this project reflects our shared commitment to preserving world maritime history. The clock is ticking - each passing storm and each fishing trawler brings us closer to losing this irreplaceable piece of our past.

Your Support Makes All the Difference
Every discovery you've just read about exists because people like you believe in the importance of uncovering our complete human story. When you support the 1421 Foundation, you're not just funding research - you're helping restore dignity to forgotten civilizations and giving credit where it's long overdue.

What Your Support Achieves:

• Fund expeditions and remote surveys that reach previously unexplored areas
• Enable translation and distribution of research so discoveries reach global audiences
• Support young archaeologists and researchers who represent the future of historical discovery
• Preserve fragile artifacts and data for future generations to study and appreciate

How You Can Help Today
The window for preserving these historical treasures is narrowing. Climate change, development, and time itself threaten archaeological sites around the world. But with your support, we can act while there's still time.


Every donation, large or small
- Helps fund carbon dating analysis of newly discovered artifacts
- Supports translation of ancient documents and maps
- Contributes to underwater survey equipment and technology
- Sponsors field research and expedition supplies


Every contribution, regardless of size, brings us closer to understanding the true scope of human achievement and connection across the ages.

Help Us Reclaim the Human Story
We're not just exploring the past - we're giving humanity back its global heritage, one journey, one discovery, one truth at a time. These aren't just academic exercises: they're acts of historical justice that honor the courage and ingenuity of our ancestors.
When we strive to prove that Chinese explorers reached the Americas decades before Columbus, we're not diminishing anyone's achievements - we're expanding our understanding of human capability and connection. We're showing that the spirit of exploration and discovery has always been a global phenomenon.


Join us. Donate today, and become a part of this extraordinary mission to uncover the complete story of human exploration and achievement.

Donate Now
Visit www.1421foundation.org/donate to make your contribution today.

Your support ensures that these remarkable discoveries continue and that future generations will inherit a more complete understanding of their amazing heritage.

With gratitude and determination,
Ian Hudson
​The 1421 Research, Education & Exploration Foundation