Cathay known China under names similar to "Cathay", that country was known to the peoples of South-East Asia and India under names similar to "China" (cf. e.g. "Cina" in modern Malay). Meanwhile, in China itself, people usually referred to their nation state based on the name of the ruling dynasty, e.g. "Da Ming Guo" ("the kingdom of the Great Ming"), or as the "Middle Kingdom" ("Zhongguo" 中國); see also Names of China for details. When the Portuguese reached South-East Asia (Afonso de Albuquerque conquering Malacca in 1511) and the southern coast of China (Jorge Álvares reaching the Pearl River estuary in
Cathay Williams Cathay Williams Cathay Williams (September 1844 – 1893) was an American soldier who enlisted in the United States Army under the pseudonym William Cathay. She was the first African-American woman to enlist, and the only documented to serve in the United States Army posing as a man. Williams was born in Independence, Missouri, to a free man and a woman in slavery, making her legal status also that of a slave. During her adolescence, Williams worked as a house slave on the Johnson plantation on the outskirts of Jefferson City, Missouri. In 1861 Union forces occupied Jefferson City in the