Curtis Zhang
6/4/20
Marco Polo
Marco Polo was a very famous explorer born in the mid 13th century into a wealthy Venetian family. When he was born, his father and his uncle were off on a journey to china and mongolia. His mother died while his father and his uncle were away, but he was still well educated and learned to speak many different languages. When his father and his uncle came back from their expedition, they told Marco about many tales of the mongolian empire and how rich it was, and they allowed him to come with them after staying in Italy for 2 years. They went and prepared to go, but it turns out that their family ship had broken down and would not work. Then they decided to go by land. I think that is very dumb, why can’t you just get the ship repaired and sail on it? Apparently not, because they decided to go on land and face very harsh conditions that lay for them on their path to china.
On their way there, they walked through deserts and climbed over some mountains to get to their destination. They even had bandits that would attack them and try to rob them. Fortunately, the Dad and the uncle had met the ruler of the mongolian empire, Kublai Khan before, and the Kublai was interested in learning more about other cultures, so he gave them a golden pass that said if you harm these people, then the full force of the Mongolian army will fight you. The climate alone was so harsh that the two priests that had accompanied them there decided to turn back to Italy. Marco, his dad, and his uncle continued, and finally reached the place where the Kublai lived. They were treated as royal guests and were given very great privileges. There were also many riches in the places and magnificent buildings that even though his father and his uncle had told him about the many wonders of the place, he could still barely believe his eyes. After living in Mongolia for a while, they started to get afraid about what would happen if the Khan died. The next Khan might not be as willing to let them live in peace and have such power, and might have them killed. They claimed that they were homesick, and so Kublai sent them home on a ship carrying someone called “The Blue Princess” which was known for her beauty to get married to her new husband in persia. During the voyage met some disaster and only 18 of them survived, including The Polos and the princess. They made it to Persia, but when he landed in Italy, the government arrested him and illegally seized most of his money he had acquired during his time away. He was put in jail with a famous author whom he told his stories. The author wrote down his stories and it became a bestseller.
The Majority of the people who read his stories thought of them as too fantastical to be true, and he was called a liar for the rest of his life. He died telling everyone that his stories were true, and they were proven true, but that would take them hundreds of years before they would.
Marco was a famous explorer who did not really get the reward he deserved. He was called a liar for his perilous journey east, and he was robbed of his money on his way back. Marco Polo may of not been able to live out his well deserved reward for his travels, but he is still one of the greatest explorers of all time.