MARCO POLO

In 1271, at age 17, Marco journeyed with his father and uncle to the far east.

Using what was known as the Silk Road, they survived many dangers along the way.

After a 4 year journey, they arrived in China to find silk, spices, and jewels.

After spending 17 years in China, the rulers allowed them to leave. The return trip took 3 years.

Polo told his story to a writer while in prison (he was captured in a war), and the story became widely read in Europe.

The desire for more of these resources caused European powers to think about traveling to the Far East using a water route.

A water route would be faster, less dangerous, and ships had much more room to carry goods.

However, nobody had done this before. In fact, not much was even known about the west coast of Africa at the time, let alone sailing around it through the Indian Ocean

Marco Polo's journey was one of the main factors nations began looking to explore far beyong their own borders.