Marco Polo
is one of the most well-known heroic travelers and traders around the world. In my paper I will discuss with you 's life, his travels, and his visit to China to see the great Khan.
was born in c.1254 in Venice. He was a Venetian explorer and merchant whose account of his travels in Asia was the primary source for the European image of the Far East until the late 19th century. Marco's father, Niccolò, and his uncle Maffeo had traveled to China (1260-69) as merchants. When they left (1271) Venice to return to China, they were accompanied by 17-year-old Marco and two priests.
Early Life
Despite his enduring fame, very little was known about the personal life of . It is known that he was ...
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brought a measure of stability to the lands they controlled, opening up trade routes such as the famous Silk Road. Eventually ,the Mongols discovered that it was more profitable to collect tribute from people than to kill them outright, and this policy too stimulated trade(Hull 23).
Into this favorable atmosphere a number of European traders ventured, including the family of . The Polos had long-established ties in the Levant and around the Black Sea: for example, they owned property in Constantinople, and Marco's uncle, for whom he was named, had a home in Sudak in the Crimea(Rugoff 8). From Sudak, around 1260, another uncle, Maffeo, and Marco's father, Niccolò, made a trading visit into Mongol territory, the land of the Golden Horde(Russia), ruled by Berke Khan. While they were there, a war broke out between Berke and the Cowan of Levant , blocking their return home. Thus Niccolò and Maffeo traveled deeper into mongol territory, moving southeast to Bukhara, which was ruled by ...
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and a desire to please or impress(Li Man Kin 10).
Life's Work
In 1268, Pope Clement IV died, and a two- or three-year delay while another pope was being elected gave young Marco time to mature and to absorb the tales of his father and uncle. Marco was seventeen years old when he, his father and uncle finally set out for the court of Kublai Khan(Stefoff 13). They were accompanied not by one hundred wise men but by two Dominican friars, and the two good friars turned back at the first sign of adversity, another local war in the Levant. Aside from the pope's messages, the only spiritual gift Europe was able to furnish the great Kublai Khan was oil from the lamp burning at Jesus ...
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"Marco Polo." Essayworld.com. Essayworld.com, 22 Oct. 2005. Web. 23 Dec. 2024. <http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Marco-Polo/35280>
"Marco Polo." Essayworld.com. October 22, 2005. Accessed December 23, 2024. http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Marco-Polo/35280.
"Marco Polo." Essayworld.com. October 22, 2005. Accessed December 23, 2024. http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Marco-Polo/35280.
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