Marco Polo

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Marco Polo

1254-1324

Explorer, merchant, and author

Childhood. Marco Polo was born into a noble family and grew up in Venice (although his place of birth is uncertain). He was reared with the traditional education for Italian boys—trained in the classics and theology. He knew French as well as Italian and was interested in “the ways of people and interesting plants and animals.”When Marco was six years old, Niccolo and Maffeo, his father and uncle, respectively, traveled to Cathay (China) and met Kublai Khan. They left China with good relations and the intention to return. When the Polo brothers returned to Venice, Marco was fifteen years old, and his mother had passed away. Two years later, when he was seventeen, Marco left home with his father and uncle and accompanied them on their return trip to China.

Explorer. With his father and uncle, Marco traveled along the Silk Road into western Asia. The three men made it through to China across a route farther north than had previously been taken by the brothers. All along the way Marco recorded what he observed in each place that they visited. Three and a half years after leaving Venice, and 5,600 miles later, the small party finally reached the original capital of Kublai Khan at Shandu (then the summer residence). For twenty-four years Marco traveled and explored the vast regions of Central Asia, China, and South Asia.

Service in the Khan’s Court. Marco met and later became a confidant to Kublai Khan. He served on the Khan’s court for the remainder of the time he was in China. In 1277 the Khan appointed him as an official of the Privy Council. He was also named as a tax inspector for three years in Yangzhou, a city on the Grand Canal, northeast of Nanjing. Marco’s service to the Khan gave him the ability to travel to Burma, India, and other places throughout China, which also allowed him to become “a gifted linguist and master of four languages.”In his book Marco described Kublai Khan’s capital, ceremonies, hunting practices, and public assistance in great detail. He also included a description of the rise of the Yuan dynasty (1279-1368). Compared to the grandeur of Chinese civilization, Marco felt that everything in Europe was on a much smaller scale. He discovered that China had been using paper currency and coal for years, both new concepts to him. He wrote of a communication system that was established throughout the khan’s territory. He was impressed by the extreme wealth of the dynasty, including its strong economy, iron production that well exceeded that of Europe, and the abundance of salt produced from the land. Overall, he concluded that China was a land of prosperity that could not be compared with any European country at the time. In 1295, after living seventeen years in China, the Polos returned home.

The Book. Three years after his return, Venice was engaged in a war against its rival city of Genoa. Marco Polo was captured during the fighting and was incarcerated in a Genoese prison for a year. While in prison he met a writer of romances and told him about his travels to China, which became known as Description of the World or The Travels of Marco Polo. Though his stones were met with disbelief, the book inspired generations of adventurers, including Christopher Columbus. Marco Polo died at the age of seventy at his home in Venice.