Biography of “the man with a million stories”—Marco Polo
They called
him “the man with a million stories.” People flocked to Marco Polo’s home to
hear him tell exciting tales about his travels in distant lands.
Marco Polo won
fame for his journeys across Asia. He wrote a book about his travels that
became one of the most famous travel guides in history.
Early Life
Marco Polo was
born in 1254 to a family of merchants. His home was Venice, Italy. Venetian
merchants bought and sold valuable Chinese goods, including precious silk
cloth. Such goods were brought to Europe along an ancient route known as the
Silk Road. The merchants also used the route to travel east on trading
missions.
Marco’s mother
died when he was a young boy. His family taught him to be a merchant. He
learned how to read, write, calculate, and use foreign money.
In 1269,
Marco’s father and uncle, Niccolò and Maffeo, returned to Venice after visiting
China. In China, they had met the Mongol conqueror Kublai Khan. The khan
invited the Polos to return. He asked them to bring Christian scholars to
explain the Christian religion to him.
Trip to China
In 1271,
Niccolò and Maffeo set out for China again. Marco, then 17 years old, joined
his father and uncle for the trip. Two priests also traveled with the Polos.
But the route was dangerous, and the priests soon turned back.
It took the
Polos four difficult years to reach China. The journey led across deserts and
high mountains. They passed through wild countryside where bandits lurked,
ready to rob and kill. They braved heat and cold, floods, deep snowdrifts, and
blinding sandstorms. At last they reached the summer palace of Kublai Khan at
Shangdu.
The khan
welcomed the Polos warmly. He offered Marco a job. Marco accepted, and the
Polos lived in China for the next 17 years. Marco traveled on many special
missions across the khan’s kingdom and to distant lands. When Marco returned
from his missions, he told the khan vivid stories about the people and lands he
visited.
Over time, the
Polos worried that Kublai Khan would not allow them to leave. Several times
they had asked the khan for permission to return to Europe. But the khan
enjoyed his visitors so much that he would not grant their wish. Finally, the
khan changed his mind.
Return to
Venice
In 1292,
Kublai Khan asked Marco to escort a Mongol princess to Persia. The Polos
traveled by ship from China to the Persian Gulf. Then the Polos headed for
Venice, finally reaching home in 1295. Marco had been away so long that nobody
recognized him!
We know about
Marco’s travels because, in 1298, he became a prisoner of war. He shared his
cell with a writer named Rustichello, who helped Marco turn his stories into a
book. Rustichello added some details of his own. But much of Marco’s book seems
to be true!
Marco Polo
returned to Venice after his release from prison. He died in 1324. But his book
remained popular for centuries. Merchants, mapmakers, and explorers all looked
to the book for information about Asian lands. Even the navigator Christopher
Columbus owned a copy!
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