Marco Polo
~ Aaron
In the 13th century and before, people knew very little about the world outside their own countries. The little that they did know of, they had heard from the occasional traveler that passed through. Although Europe and Asia had been neighbors for a long time, their people were not aware of how others looked, what clothes they wore, what language they spoke, or even what their land was like. Europeans had seen the beautiful ceramics, jewels, and silk that made their way to them from the Far East, and they had heard about the fabled Silk Road, but no one had actually attempted to go there. It would require someone with a lot of courage to cross the high mountains and treacherous seas that separated them.
Let’s turn the focus to my famous person, Marco Polo. Marco Polo was born around 1254 into a rich merchant family, although the exact facts about his birth are unknown. Marco grew up never seeing his father or uncle, as they were on a trip to Asia. At age 15, his father and uncle finally came back from their voyage and saw Marco for the first time. In 1271, young Marco Polo, at age 17, traveled with his father and uncle on another one of their Asian journeys.
At the time, the Mongol Emperor, Kublai Khan, whose empire stretched from the Pacific Ocean to the Middle East, ruled China. This empire was considered to be enormous beyond belief. The Great Khan appointed Marco the position of special envoy. This position allowed Marco to travel to the far corners of Asia, many of them places that Europeans had never seen before. Over the years, Marco was promoted to many different important positions. Marco Polo marveled at China’s customs, wealth and social structure. He was impressed with the empire’s many innovations, especially a great palace called Xanadu (nowadays Beijing).
In the 1290s Venice and Genoa fought. Three years after returning to Venice, Marco Polo became commander of a Venetian ship in a war against Genoa. He was captured and was put in a jail. One of his cellmates was a romance writer called Rustichello. He told his adventures to Rustichello, and was later freed in 1299. Marco Polo went back to Venice after the war ended. The book was written by Rustichello after being released from prison. It was titled "Description of the World", but is better known as "The Travels of Marco Polo". Many readers questioned Marco Polo’s truth, possibly leading to the book’s popular Italian title, "Il Milione”, short for "The Million Lies". People told him to admit the book was fiction, but he said, “I have not told half of what I saw.” Marco Polo died on January 8, 1324 in Venice, Italy.
Interview
I will pick 1 interview question as an example.
7. What words of advice do you have for children in 5th grade to achieve their dreams?
I’d tell them to achieve their dreams by believing in themselves. Their dream may come true, depending on how much effort they put in to reach it. The future is in their hands.
Marco Polo Book
- Is one of the most influential books of the Middle Ages
- Called The Travels of Marco Polo - Plenty of information about the Asian civilization that recorded all the things he had seen. It included information on the many different aspects of Asia.
- Most people did not believe the stories to be true.
- True or not, the book was viewed as an important account of the world outside of Europe
Interesting facts
- The famous book about Marco Polo’s journey, The Travels of Marco Polo, was penned in prison, and was only published afterwards.
- Marco Polo was not the first European to travel to Asia.
- Many people believed Marco Polo’s stories were lies — and some modern historians still do.
- Marco Polo was a major influence on other explorers, including Christopher Columbus.
I think that Marco Polo was a wonderful choice for my famous person report. The Travels of Marco Polo was the first book that described to Europeans the wealth and great size of China, its capital Peking, and other Asian cities and countries. He had many adventures, traveled through the Ancient Silk Road, and won the favor of the ruler of China at the time, Kublai Khan. I admire him so much that I followed his route on the Silk Road. There’s just 1 difference, I rode on an airplane.
