The Travels Of Marco Polo

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The Travels of Marco Polo Describe the time in which the person lived and how it affected the life and helped make the person a historical figure. Marco Polo was born in 1254 and grew up in Venice. Marco lived during the 13th century, which was a time when people were interested in travel and the Mongols were taking over most of Asia. During this Midevil time period, knights jousted and criminals were displayed in cages suspended from towers. Both his father, Niccolo, and his uncle, Maffao, were merchants. Marco was destined to be a merchant like his Uncle and Father. He was schooled in business. When he was six years old, his father and uncle left on a trip to trade goods with the rulers of Russia. Maffao and Niccolo were gone for nine years. While his father and uncle were away, his mother died. Relatives raised Marco. On their return trip, his father and uncle were stopped by a war and were rescued by a Mongol envoy passing by. They were taken to Kublai Kahn’s court. Kublai Kahn asks them to go back home and return with holy oil from Jesus’s tomb and holy men to teach him about Christianity. (Russell Freedman, pp. 9-11) After returning home, the Polo’s take two years to prepare for their return to Kublai Kahn’s court as promised. This time, they bring the now 17 year old Marco with them. They began their journey with two friars. The friars turn back at the first sign of trouble in Turkey. However, the Polo’s continue on with the holy oil. It took three years for them to get to Kublai’s court. They traveled along the path that today is known as the Silk Road. When they got to Hermuz, they decided to take the land route because the boats didn’t look as if they were very seaworthy. They were put together with coconut strings. In 1275, they arrive in Peking and Marco and his father and
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