Marco Polo Research Paper

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In 1254 AD an inspiration was born. Marco Polo, was born into a very wealthy merchant family. Marco was raised by his extended family because of the death of his mother during childbirth. Polo’s father and uncle were on a voyage at the time of his early years. These two men were very consumed in work other than the joy of a young new child in the family. Marco did not have an extravagant upbringing, he was very much like all of the other children. What everyone did not that this little boy would grow up to be one of the most looked up to explorers in history. Marco Polo had a great impact on the area of what is now modern day China. Polo opened the eyes of the Europeans and convinced that they could trade more things with the far east, and…show more content…
He immersed himself in the culture very rapidly and learned chinese without a problem. The Europeans were introduced to citrus fruits, spices, and other newly seen goods. With them seeing these things for the first time, the Europeans started to buy these things from the Chinese. The Europeans also had goods of their own that the Chinese would buy. This was the relation the two had with each other. The trade between the two would improve both economies, as it would also open up many jobs in both lands as well. Soon Marco became the special envoy to Kublai Khan while his father and uncle also worked in the court. They were very busy in business. Young Marco would make a very strong bond with Kublai Khan, who later sent him off to China and Southeast Asia as a tax collector and special messenger. While Marco was the envoy it allowed him to visit so many interesting places such as Vietnam, Burma and Sumatra. Marco was astonished at the wealth of China and luxurious imperial palace he carefully investigated the customs, geography, people and the culture of all places he visited. He then reported to Kublai Khan in detail what he had noticed. This was a great advantage for Kublai Khan to make his court more powerful and its was very useful for Marco. Marco was taking so much information from what he was finding, this would help later in life in Venice, and in his own personal choices. After 17 years in the Chinese empire, Marco surely felt that it was home. The time went by quickly, they noticed that Kublai Khan was getting old and the Polo’s got worried that they might not be able to leave with their wealth. The Polos were only allowed to leave Kublai Khan’s realm in 1292, when they agreed to take a Mongol princess to Persia by sea. While they succeeded, the mission was said to be one of the hardest parts of Polo's’ journey. Marco wrote in his book that very few members of his voyage were the only survivors of a deadly

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