Marco Polo : The Greatest Explorer Of Marco Polo

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

Zheng He was one of the greatest explorers in the Age of Exploration however, his fame is not widely celebrated today. Zheng He was the powerful and wealthy adviser for Emperor Yongle of the Ming Dynasty. The Emperor sent Zheng He on a mission to travel to foreign lands ranging from the tip of India to the eastern parts of Africa to give them gifts to show China’s power and dominance. He started these voyages in 1405 and eventually captained seven of them before retiring. The Chinese felt that the cost of the expeditions outweighed the benefits.

In Documents 2 and 4, traveling to unfamiliar areas shows its importance. Although Ibn Battuta and Marco Polo were not traveling for the same

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

The introduction of the spanish discoverers revealed how the native americans’ lives would be changed due to enslavement, forced religion, and the destruction of their homes. If it wasn’t for the story of Marco Polo “visiting” the Indies describing the place as a heaven on earth, the place were incredible riches are stored, where there are villages of gold, then there would never have been an interest in finding a new trade route. Which never would have brought about the discovery of the Americas by Christopher Columbus, it also would have never brought the hardships, tragedy, and utter genocide of the native americans.

It is thought by many that Christopher Columbus was a skilled sailor on a mission of greed. Many think that he in fact did it all for the money, honor and the status that comes with an explorer, but this is not the case entirely. Columbus was an adventurer and was enthused by the thrill of the quest of the unknown. “Columbus had a firm religious faith and a scientific curiosity, a zest for life, the felling for beauty and the striving for novelty that we associate with the advancement of learning”. He had heard of the legendary Atlantic voyages and sailors reports of land to the west of Madeira and the Azores. He believed that Japan was about 4,800 km to the west of Portugal. In 1484, Columbus wanted support for an exploratory

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

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.

In high school we learned the basis of what Christopher Columbus did, which was discover America. Imagine telling the controversial issues to kids in elementary school? It would confuse them. I think that he became a hero because over time he had to. We had to sell something until more research was conducted and discoveries were found. Do I personally think he is a hero? Not particularly. I think he had a mission and would not stand for distractions. His actions were that of someone with no empathy for others. He used people to get what he wanted and that is still common today. A hero by definition is "a person, typically a man, who is admired or idealized for courage, outstanding achievements, or noble qualities" none of three sources of controversy

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.