What Was Marco Polo A Hero?

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

is a Hero because he gave a lot of money to charity and to have libraries and music halls built all

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.

In 1271, Marco Polo’s father and uncle, both merchants from Europe, were requested to return to China for the second time by the Mongol Emperor, Kublai Khan. The purpose of the request made by the Great Khan (Kublai) was to bring back to the Mongol court some holy oil from Jerusalem and “a hundred men of learning, thoroughly acquainted with the principles of the Christian religion” (Polo 7) to convince the Mongols to convert to Christianity. Marco Polo joined his father and uncle for this second journey to the East. As part of this journey, Polo traveled throughout regions of the Middle East and Central Asia before reaching the final destination. Further, while working for Kublai Khan in China, he was sent on many inspection tours which allowed him to explore most of the provinces of China. In all the regions that were visited along the way, and more so in the case of the Mongol Empire, there was a distinct disparity in the culture as compared to Polo’s native land. Moreover, Marco Polo’s religious disposition towards Christianity set him apart from the people of the region –the Tartars—who , according to the Kublai Khan, where worshippers of “evil spirits” (Polo 7). These factors placed Marco Polo in the position of an “outsider” as defined by Hage, i.e. “someone who does not experience either socio-cultural or political belonging. It is someone whose mental and bodily dispositions have evolved somewhere else and thus feels culturally ‘out of place’.

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.

Many times Christopher Columbus was celebrated. But was he truly a hero? Until recent times, no one knew what harm he did. Now he is criticized and people are torn between celebrating him or to forget about him. In “Columbus and the Indians” by Historian Howard Zinn, Zinn writes about Columbus’s expedition and his terrible treatment of the Native Americans. Nevertheless, “Why we should celebrate Columbus day” , by The Order of the Sons of Italy talks about all the wonderful accomplishments Columbus made. Howard Zinn notes all the harm Columbus did, while The Order of the Sons of Italy believes that Columbus was a hero for discovering America.

Chapter One Thesis: Even though it is taught in history books and in schools, Christopher Columbus was not a hero but rather a selfish man who used cruel manners in order to obtain what he wanted, harshly killing thousands of Indians. Additionally, the ethics of these manners are not questioned but rather praised for bringing on economic and social progress.

Do I think Columbus is a hero? I say no he is a hero because of some of the things he did.Well first He was really greedy , Also he brought slaves to other places.He also was lying to his own country that was Spain the sponsors of this voyage.

Most people would agree that Christopher Columbus was a courageous man. He sailed across unknown seas on four different occasions, used extraordinary navigational skills, and opened up the western hemisphere to exploration that created what is known today as the modern world. He was considered the greatest navigator of his time and he trained other navy captains who sailed for Spain. He had a firm belief in god and with that belief enjoyed the beauty of the coastlines that he explored. Many people praised Columbus because he “carried Christian civilization across the ocean.” There was ample evidence to show Columbus’s heroic exploits. However, historians have a more complete story to tell about Christopher Columbus. His explorations caused millions of deaths, destroyed countless cultures, added to the spread of slavery and treated the subjects he conquered with violence and cruelty. As a result the negative outweighs the positive. Columbus was not a hero. He was a villain.

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.

Another idea of a hero was when Gandhi had stood up for his country; India. “Gandhi led nationwide campaigns to ease poverty, expand women's rights, and build religious and ethnic amity” plus he had “spent a number of years in jail in both South Africa and India”. In other words Gandhi never gave up showing everyone how India should be independent. Gandhi had stood out his way by leading marches to declare independence. Gandhi had been admired for his bravery (when he was thrown in jail a few times), his confidence (he never showed any sign of weakness) and perseverance (he had never gave up).

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.

Considering the use of emotive language and descriptive scenario’s presented in the dialogue throughout the text, the author is able to impose the element of imagination onto the viewer when stating the differences in both characters denomination and language that forms a barrier, left open to interpretation. Difficulty in verbal communication meant that the two of them had to communicate through symbolic gestures, movements, pictures and objects to correspond with each other. In the beginning of the book, Marco Polo speaks of the cities, of which he visits, in great detail to Khan. The Emperor continues to listen but questions Polo’s ideas and memories when he begins to notice a pattern in his accounts and queries their authenticity. Rather than recalling the intricacies of the architecture or the economy and culture each city upholds, he reminiscences about the behavior of people within the