Marco Polo was born in Venice to a family of merchants. His father, Nicolo, and Uncle, Maffeeo were the main providers of the family and often went on long trading trips to Eastern lands.
One trip to China brought a useful friendship with the King there. The Polo men spoke of Christ and the Catholic faith, drawing the King nearer to Christianity. "I invite you back to my beloved country. I wish you to ask the pope to allow priests to come and teach my people about your Christ," the King said, when the Polo's spoke of leaving for Venice.
Nicolo promised readily and the Polo's left for their homeland. They spent two years with their family, which gladdened their hearts to the fullest extent. It made them so happy that they decided to bring Marco, who was seventeen at the time, with them on the next trip to China.
They also brought two priests, who had to flee for their lives when turks came upon them as they neared the mountains of China. After escaping the Turks, the three Polo's arrived at the palace.
The king was very happy to see them, Marco became a favorite and the King made him Messenger which gave him a chance to explore further the wonderful new world.
The Polo's saw the process of Silkworms, they experienced heat from black rocks(coal), they saw the silver and gold mines, and the islands which were like floating worlds.
More than twenty years away from home, the Polo's yearned for colorful Venice. They went back, bringing with them spices, silk, coal, and many other treasures which had been given to them by the King.
In Venice, many family and friends had died, leaving ignorant folk who couldn't believe that these were the Polo's, who had sailed for China more than twenty years ago. Marco told of all he had seen, coal, and the silver and gold mines. It left a deep impression on the people. Before he died, Marco's story was recorded down, and has since been handed down thru our history books. The End
P.S. This was part of our homeschooling exercise, two page essay a week. It is fun, we get to pick our own subject, but there is a lot more to know about Marco Polo
Excellent essay Avimar ! I learned new things about Marco Polo.
ReplyDeleteYes, I had a lot of fun doing this essay, it really helped my history lesson, sort of like a past review but learning more!
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