 One of the migrations dates back to the Ming dynasty when Zheng He (1371–1435) became the envoy of Ming.He sent people – many of them Cantonese and Hokkien – to explore and trade in the South China Sea and in the Indian Ocean.Different waves of immigration led to subgroups among overseas Chinese such as the new and old immigrants in Southeast Asia, North America, Oceania, the Caribbean, South America, South Africa, and Europe.