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Marco Polo Research Paper

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Marco Polo: Merchant to Explorer I felt the blood pump through my heart, I saw many knights and noblemen plunge off their horses and collapse to their death. I heard the arrows soaring passed me. But then, I no longer felt the blood pump. All I saw was the dirt below me, and I tasted the blood that was once inside my body. I felt a sack clasp over my head, and everything went dark. Marco Polo was a merchant from Venice, Italy. When he was only 17 years old, his father and his uncle took him along the Silk Road for trading. Later on in his life, he was captured in a battle and put in prison. In the Genoa prison, he and Rustichello de Pisa made a book called “The Travels of Marco Polo.” Marco died at age 70, leaving a legacy that inspired many …show more content…

“[Marco] set out at age 17” (“Marco Polo” 1). “Marco traveled along the Silk Road in 1271 for three years” (“Marco Polo” 4). Three years of carrying supplies that would be traded for other goods or currency. They made their final stop on the Silk Road in 1274. They entered the palace of Kublai Khan, where “Kublai… took Marco Polo into his court possible as a tax collector” (“Marco Polo” 5). Kublai Khan wanted the Polo’s to stay for the rest of their lifetime, but they refused. The only way they were able to leave the palace was when Marco agreed to “escort a princess to her intended husband” (“Marco Polo” 7). Marco had many expeditions after these, but they stopped when he was arrested and locked in …show more content…

According to Diana Childress, “Rustichello worked on the book… [he] was an experienced writer” (p. 100). He also did most of the writing. “The book made Marco, who was released from prison in 1299, a celebrity” (“Marco Polo Biography” 15). Many fans came to visit him in prison, and ask him questions about his voyages. “It [the book] was printed in French, Italian, and Latin, becoming the most popular read in Europe” (“Marco Polo Biography” 15). Biography.com states that “They [the public] took it to be fiction” (“Marco Polo Biography” 15). This is true, many thought that Marco was a liar. The public even gave the nickname for the seemingly impossible travels. “The work eventually earned another title: II Milione (‘The Million Lies’)” (Marco Polo Biography 15). When Marco was released from prison, “...he returned to Venice, where he married, raised three daughters and, for some 25 years, carried on the family business” (“Marco Polo Biography” 15). These times didn’t last long

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