Marco Polo
You probably only know Marco Polo from that silly blind tag game that just screamed injury, but Marco Polo was a famous traveler in the later 1200s and the author of the book, “The travels of Marco Polo”. He was the inspiration for many expeditions like Christopher Columbus’ expedition to North America. Marco Polo was born in 1254 in Venice, Italy, and he spent most his life with his dad and uncle. When Marco Polo was 15 years old the three men went to china with some things the king, Kublai Khan requested including the oil from the holy candle of Jerusalem. They were warmly welcomed by Kublai Khan and were given anything they could possibly want. Kublai Khan was very fond of Marco and gave him a position in the kingdom. Marco would be sent out on hunting and scouting missions and he never disappointed Kublai Khan. 17 years later, Marco Polo new four languages, but he wanted to go home to Venice. Kublai Khan allowed the three men to go home with his daughter the princess and 596 other passengers. When they got home, only 18 passengers remained, but Marco and crew were still alive. As soon as Marco Polo started to have a normal life, a war broke out and he was captured. He told his cellmate about all the places he had been and his cellmate wrote it all down. When the war ended due to a peace treaty Marco Polo published the things his unnamed cellmate wrote about his travels and called it “The travels of Marco Polo”! After that, he became a simple merchant and he died in 1324. Now you know Marco Polo isn’t just a silly game, he was an amazing traveler
