Marco Polo: The Description Of The World

Marco Polo was a renowned explorer in the medieval era and he wrote the work in which most of our past understanding of the regions is remembered today. He was born in 1252 in Venice and later deceased in Venice at the age of 70 in 1352. The reason he so is so famous and remembered today is because he reached the farthest on his 24 year journey down the silk road reaching extents of China and Mongolian empire. To begin with Marco Polo was born into a wealthy family who was known for their travels and spread of merchantability already and a young Marco Polo would begin his journey as early as 14-16 Years old. Though his date of birth is unknown and the exact location his family was a big name in the Venice community making it only seem fitting. This paper is going to correlate to the book found in the franciscan library at Saint Bonaventure, “Did Marco Polo Really Go to China” by Dr. Wood; she does a scholarly review questioning whether or not Mr. Polo really carried out the things he said to have done and has he actually visited the regions in which he said he's went too. Before we begin though we cannot fully disprove the veracity of the journey in which Mr. polo took because other explorers have also left out important historical happenings when discovering new regions and cultures. Born in 1254 in Venetian Republic, Marco Polo headed to Asia with his merchant father (weapons trader supposedly as we will later touch on) . He would spend the next 24 years exploring

He traveled along the Silk Road which led him to China. The Mongol ruler, Khubilai Khan, then took Polo into his court. Khubilai assigned one last task to Marco Polo before he could be free from his services at court, Marco was to escort a princess safely to her potential husband the Persian ruler Arghun. With the task at hand, they had to travel from Zaitun to Sumatra to Persia. When they arrived in Persia, they found out that Arghun was dead; so the princess was now appointed to marry Arghun’s son. Marco continued on his travels which led him to Greece, Constantinople, and Venice. Soon after arriving back in Venice, he was captured by the Genoans. During his imprisonment, Marco Polo met Rustichello and together they wrote “The Travels of Marco

Marco Polo- A sailor who told his tales of success in Asia, finding gold, silks, and spices which encouraged people to sail overseas in search for wealth.

Nowadays the wide array of transportation means and infrastructures at our disposal has made it relatively easy for us to travel from one country to another; even when those countries are thousands of miles away from each other. However, during the 13th and 14th centuries, travelling was not that easy. Yet, two men, the Italian tradesman Marco Polo and the Moroccan Jurist Ibn Battuta became famous for having managed to perform extremely long distance journeys away from their home country. At the end of their long travels, both men shared their experiences with the world via the books, The Travels of Marco Polo and The Travels of Ibn Battuta. An analysis of those two texts reveals two things. On one hand, Marco Polo remained a cultural

proven if Marco Polo himself ever traveled as far East as China) to travel freely to the Far

1. Marco Polo- A Venetian merchant and adventurer who traveled from Europe to Asia from 1271 to 1295. He traveled from Europe to Asia from 1271 to 1295 and remained in China for 17 years until he left to guide a Mongol princess to Persia. These travels are recorded in Il Milione, known in English as The Travels of Marco Polo that has influenced later merchants and travelers.

Marco Polo's Travels formulated in Europe of the fourteenth and fifteenth century a new perception of the Eastern world, a world just as advanced and sophisticated as that of the West. Yet, another two centuries were needed for a significant change to take place; this was Christopher Columbus' voyage. For Christopher Columbus, Marco Polo's travelogue was a valuable and solid resource that contained the necessary details of the East. The geographical descriptions in his writing generated a basis for Columbus' scientific calculations for his expedition and the explicit depictions of the luxury of Cipangu and Cathay, flawed though they were, created a strong motivation for Columbus. In the 12th of May 1492, Christopher Columbus, accompanied

Source: Marco Polo, The Travels of Marco Polo, a Venetian merchant who may have worked for the Yuan dynasty, the Mongol rulers of China, late 13th century. This excerpt is a description of Hangzhou, a southern city that was part of the Yuan empire.

Although Marco Polo started out as a humble merchant from Venice, he eventually developed a reputation as one of the world’s greatest explorers (“Marco Polo”). He was much more than just a trader however, providing the Western world with detailed accounts of the foreign society that was Medieval China under the Mongol conquest. These accounts would later become invaluable to historians for centuries to come.

a) Marco Polo (Italian adventurer) returned to Europe in 1295, telling of his journey in China. His book with descriptions of goods made him an indirect discoverer of the New World.

During the Crusades, Europeans brought luxury good from Italian merchants, who got them from Arab traders; Europeans taste for luxury items greatly increased. During the 13th and 14th explorers like Marco Polo claimed that Asia had the luxury goods the Europeans desired. This began the race towards finding a trade route to Asia. Christopher Columbus and many other explorer seek funds from Kings,Queens, and wealthy businessman to fund their explorations. After gaining funds from the King and Queen of Spain .Columbus set sail off on August 3, 1492 from Spain to investigate this a all-water route to Asia. This letter written by Columbus foreshadows the clash of two completely different cultures.

The name Christopher Columbus is recognized by many as that of the discoverer of the New World. Variations of this famous name change according to nation, being referred to by the Spaniards as “Cristóbal Colón” and, by those of his own Italian heritage, as “Cristoforo Colombo”. Aside from these insignificant contrasts, his narrative remains unfaltering in its global recognition as a tale of hardships faced and victories won, all met with indubitable passion and determination embodied by Columbus himself to achieve his goals. In August of 1492, he, along with his 87 men, set off in search of a western route to Asia aboard three renowned ships: the Niña, the Pinta, and the Santa María. This expedition and the four that would follow began with ambitious visions of monetary gain, religious propagation, and glory, the entirety of these with the overarching theme of competing in the imminent race for continental, and perhaps world, power between civilizations. Before executing this tremendous voyage, however, it was required of Columbus to embark on a search for a willing sponsor with access to resources he otherwise would not be able to obtain. The Genoese explorer at last persuaded rulers of Spain Isabella of Castile and Ferdinand of Aragon to finance his trip due to a combination of characteristics taking place during his final request of them, specifically the unification of religion during this time, the economic advantages the quest would bring, and the impeccable timing of

Many children, including myself, have once played the game Marco Polo. Although, I have always been curious, who exactly is Marco Polo? My fascination of Marco Polo warped into a fixation of his travels. Marco Polo was born in Venice in the year 1254. His father, Nicolo, and his uncle, Maffeo, were merchants who had seats in the great nobleman council of Venice (Polo IV). According to his records, he had traveled thousands of miles with his father and uncle.

People inhabited towns and cities along the Silk Road because of the trade and steady resources. The soil was ideal for their agriculture products, cotton being a popular product. The inhabitants would sell their products to travelers. People also sold temporary housing for

“I have not told half of what I saw” were the final words of the great Venetian explorer Marco Polo; however, in recent times, Marco Polo’s exploits have been doubted more and more. (Pedriali, 161) Most often cited as evidence that Marco Polo’s travels may not have been as truthful as reported is the 1998 book Did Marco Polo go to china? by Dr. Frances Wood. Through new research done by Dr. Hans Ulrich Vogel of University of Tübingen in Germany, it has been shown that Marco Polo was mostly truthful in his memoirs, but it has also proven that some things were exaggerated thanks to his ghostwriter Rustichello da Pisa, Marco Polo himself, or later copyists.