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 Wagantall Cathay Wagantall Cathay Wagantall, (née Cathay Caswell; born July 3, 1956) in Regina, Saskatchewan is a Canadian parliamentarian, businesswoman, and administrator who was elected to be the Member of Parliament for Yorkton-Melville in the House of Commons of Canada during the 2015 Canadian federal election. She is the Deputy Official Opposition Shadow Minister for Veterans Affairs. She is also, the Chairman of the Canadian National Prayer Breakfast. Born on July 3, 1956 in the Queen City – Regina, Saskatchewan – Cathay Wagantall was raised there until her parents and their six children moved to the small town of Esterhazy in