INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT MARCO POLO

1. Marco Polo was born in Venice around 1254. His father left his pregnant mother to go with Marco’s uncle to trade with China on the Silk Road. He met his father for the first time when he returned when Marco was 15 years old.
2. In 1271, he and his father and uncle set off for China to trade for silk, gems, and spices. They joined a caravan which was attacked by bandits. The trio managed to escape the bloodshed.
3. When they reached China, he was introduced to the Great Khan named Kublai Khan. Kublai Khan liked the young man and they became friends. He was given a gold tablet that ordered Chinese people to take care of Marco. He could use imperial horses and was given a place to stay wherever he went. He traveled all over China, but also Southeast Asia. He served as an envoy for the Great Khan. It is estimated that his travels equaled to more than 15,000 miles.
4. The Polos eventually got homesick, but Kublai Khan did not want them to leave. Finally, he relented and had them escort a princess to her groom in Persia. They were robbed of a lot of money on the way back, but still returned rich because they had sewed precious jewels in their clothing.
5. Three years after his return to Venice, he was captured in a sea battle between Venice and Genoa. He was put in jail where he met Giovanni da Carpini. Giovanni was a romance author. Marco told his story and Giovanni turned it into a book entitled The Travels of Marco Polo. The book made him famous, but many Venetians considered him to be a teller of tall tales. They nicknamed him “Milione” because of his claim that the Chinese ruler was a millionaire.
6. In the book, Marco describes the Great Khan’s fabulous palace called Zanadu. He talks about Chinese customs. He was the first European to describe monkeys, crocodiles (that could swallow a man) and rhinoceroses. He thought they were unicorns because of the horn, but he warned readers that they were not the benevolent beasts they thought they were.
7. He mentioned things the Chinese had invented like coal, paper money, eyeglasses, gunpowder, and porcelain. He has been credited with introducing pasta to Europe, but it was already there.
8. His book has been disputed by some historians. Some do not believe he ever went to China. They point out that he does not mention the Great Wall or chopsticks. Howeve, most historians do think he saw what he wrote about. But he may have exaggerated things (or Carpini did) or passed on observations made by other traders that he encountered. On his deathbed, he said “I did not tell half of what I saw.”
9. He settled down in Venice after being released from prison. He became a wealthy merchant and had three children.
10. The pool game “Marco Polo” was invented in the 1960s. It is believed to be making fun of Marco being lost a lot of the time, which was not true.
    

https://www.history.com/news/11-things-you-may-not-know-about-marco-polo 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marco_Polo

https://www.biography.com/history-culture/marco-polo-facts-netflix-series

https://www.coolkidfacts.com/marco-polo-facts-for-kids/