Marco Polo Influence On American Culture

936 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Marco polo explorer influence

Venice, Italy native, Marco Polo, is the most famous western traveler to travel to China during the time of the Khan. In China, he worked under Qubilai Khan for many years and wrote about his experience upon his return to Europe. Polo’s travels and writings were crucial for the time period. During and after his work under Khan, there was an increase in connection between Europe and China, from the Mongol Empire. Marco Polo discoveries and relationship with Qubliai Khan help establish the importance of sedentary civilization and the link between European and Chinese global history. The mongols, people of the steppe, were avid hunters. As a person of the steppe, they needed to learn how to live of the land and hunt for their own food. Since …show more content…

Polo fell in love with the Quinsai’s architecture and location. He highlights the cities size, alongside side the idealistic location between a freshwater lake and river (Marco, 134). Not only did Polo find the size and location to be impressive, he also thought Quinsai had beautiful architecture. He notes the beautiful main street, buildings, and 12,000 bridges (Marco, 134-35). With the impressive city of Quinsai, Polo also grew to find the Chinese city life very impressive. Polo found the merchants of the city to be especially fascinating, giving high remarks to merchants and cuisine (Marco, 135-36). I find this especially important because Marco Polo was able to bring this back to his home and incorporate it into the European …show more content…

Quibilai was born a Mongol. He was a person of the steppe, he lived off the land and hunted. Most importantly, Quibilai set victory in North China, where he learned to adapt to the sedentary culture. He “oversaw the transformation of steppe conquerors to sedentary rulers in China (Lane, 85). With this, Quiiblai expected the Chinese culture and was open to change. He was open to the facilitation of trade and religion, while keeping in mind his Mongolian heritage. He paved the way for the Mongols to “sown the seeds of a multicultural society” (Lane,

Show More
Related

  • Compare And Contrast Zheng He And Prince Henry

    626 Words  | 2 Pages

    When comparing the Chinese and Western historical development, the similar key events would have very different outcomes due to their different backgrounds. During the fifteenth century, Zheng He was commissioned to lead the “treasure ships” for seven voyages down the Western Seas. And, Prince Henry sent expeditions to explore the western coast of Africa. China and Portugal, the both ends of the Eurasian continent, almost simultaneously began marine navigations. They have shared some similar features, but there are actually major differences between the two. This paper will compare and contrast these two remarkable explorers. The focus will be on the ideas and circumstances that influenced their actions, and their importance in shaping history.

    Read More

  • Views of the Mongols DBQ

    681 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Mongols were a group of nomadic people who were known for not only their ferocity in battle but also their tolerance of other cultures. Over the course of their many empires, the Mongols conquered lands from as far as the Korean peninsula to the Islamic civilizations of the Middle East. The movement of the Mongol people into these areas was met with mixed opinions, as members of some societies respected the braveness of the Mongols while others saw them as destructive. According to Ala-ad-Din Ata-Malik Juvaini, 15th century Korean scholars, and Rashid al-Din, the Mongols were a group of tolerant people who attempted to eradicate injustice and corruptness (1,3,4). However, members of other societies viewed the Mongols as coldhearted and merciless because of the damage they dealt in the conquest of Russian cities and the taxes they forced upon their conquered societies (1,2). Nonetheless, some scholars and historians recognized the Mongols power and braveness, but were indifferent with their views of the Mongol civilization.

    Read More

  • Mongol Empire Dbq

    505 Words  | 2 Pages

    To begin, one factor that supported Mongols in their conquests was their capacity for foraging, allowing them to survive under harsh living conditions. According to Marco Polo, a Venetian traveler that journeyed to Asia stated "They are capable of supporting every kind of privation, and when there is

    Read More

  • Hist 161

    1211 Words  | 3 Pages

    Under Mongol control, the Chinese were not trusted. Kublai Khan appointed the government officials through selecting individuals that were not Chinese. A source of great power

    Read More

  • Primary Source Analysis: The Travels Of Marco Polo

    893 Words  | 2 Pages

    After receiving a job in a minor administrative position for the Mongol ruler, Marco Polo stayed in China for another seventeen years. Throughout this time he wildly traveled across the Chinese land and collected stories about his experiences in the foreign country. His book, The Travels of Marco Polo helped to shape Western European culture, though scholars question the legitimacy behind his stories since he left out many prominent features of the Chinese life.

    Read More

  • Zheng He Voyages

    1765 Words  | 4 Pages

    After this, China shied away from maritime travels and expenses and many records of Zheng He and his voyages disappeared. It was not until the twentieth century that Zheng He started to become an interest again. As so, the significance of his travels could once more be understood by the world. Zheng He’s voyages, put China in the history of oceanic “…exploration, trade, colonization, and exercise of sea power, even if such portrayals took Zheng He out of the context of early Ming history and viewed his voyages from a Western analytical perspective.” (Dreyer, 165). Not to mention, the sheer size of his fleet and treasure ships; which at that time was a massive achievement of its own. Apart from the significance of his fleet and voyages, Zheng He himself also deserves credit for rising so high, as a eunuch who came from humble beginnings.

    Read More

  • The Influence Of The Mongols On The World

    597 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Mongols were a tough, strong, and a fierce Asian group of people. Their reign

    Read More

  • Women’s Role within the Mongol Empire

    1271 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Mongols were nomadic people that lived in tribes in Asia during the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. The joining of numerous tribes would eventually form one of the biggest empires in history. With the lack of rain though the region, the Mongols did not have wide spread agriculture, instead they would herd sheep, cattle, goats, horses, and camels that thrived on the grasses and shrubs of the steppe lands where they lived. The Mongol tribes would travel with their herds to lands with copious amounts of grasses so their animals could graze. When their herds exhausted the vegetation, they would migrate to a new area. The tribes were self-sufficient, they not only lived off the meat, milk, and hides provided by their animals, but also used them for trade purposes.

    Read More

  • The Political Importance of Zheng He’s Voyages

    913 Words  | 2 Pages

    Accompanied by 27,000 men on 62 large and 255 small ships, the Chinese eunuch Zheng He, led 7 naval expeditions to Southeast Asia, Middle East and east coast of Africa in the span of 28 years during the Ming Dynasty. The scale of Zheng He’s fleet is unprecedented in world history. The large treasure ships used during the expeditions were purported to be 440 feet long and 180 feet wide (Dreyer, p. 102). Throughout his travels, Zheng He brought Chinese tea, porcelain and silk products to foreign countries and also brought back exotic goods to the Ming court such as spices, plants and leather. Although his voyages fostered commercial trades and cultural exchange between China and foreign countries, the goal of his expeditions stemmed from the political motivation to maintain the tributary system and his voyages had important political implication of causing Neo-Confucian opposition and suspension of the expedition.

    Read More

  • Marco Polo- An Exploratory Essay

    1050 Words  | 3 Pages

    Many children, including myself, have once played the game Marco Polo. Although, I have always been curious, who exactly is Marco Polo? My fascination of Marco Polo warped into a fixation of his travels. Marco Polo was born in Venice in the year 1254. His father, Nicolo, and his uncle, Maffeo, were merchants who had seats in the great nobleman council of Venice (Polo IV). According to his records, he had traveled thousands of miles with his father and uncle.

    Read More

  • Staphylococcus aureus

    812 Words  | 2 Pages

    Life History and Characteristics: Staphylococcus aureus is a gram positive bacterium that is usually found in the nasal passages and on the skin of 15 to 40% of healthy humans, but can also survive in a wide variety of locations in the body. This bacterium is spread from person to person or to fomite by direct contact. Colonies of S. aureus appear in pairs, chains, or clusters. S. aureus is not an organism that is contained to one region of the world and is a universal health concern, specifically in the food handling industries.

    Read More

  • Marco Polo’s Influence On Later Explorers

    1614 Words  | 4 Pages

    an influence to many later explorers. Though one could argue the content of his writings, and why he wrote about the things he did, the answer is simple: He was a merchant and he wrote about things that were appealing to a merchant. This seemed to have effect on many later explorers because of the descriptions that The Travels of Marco Polo contained from the observations of Marco Polo. The interest in his book grew more and more, and it was one of the earliest books ever printed in Europe. He listed many comments on goods such as spices, gold, paper money, and many more.

    Read More

  • Isolation Policy

    2215 Words  | 5 Pages

    In the early part of the 15th century C.E., a massive fleet of Chinese ships went on a series of seven voyages under the direction of Admiral Zheng He (The Ming Dynasty: Exploration to Isolation). For approximately 30 years, China sailed it's ships around Southeast Asia, India, and even East Africa trading exotic goods and reportedly establishing political alliances (Viviano). In addition, many estimate the Chinese flagship as being about 4.5 times larger than a European ship of the time period (Hadingham). These accounts of Zheng He's voyages can be used to argue that China in the early 15th century was the equal or possibly even superior to Europeans in terms of technology, navigation, trade, and it's political scope. Despite these voyages tremendous success, a faction of Confu...

    Read More

  • A Critical Analysis of the Secret History of the Mongols

    986 Words  | 2 Pages

    The first part gives a record of the historical legend of the Mongols as obtained from pre-medieval oral traditions, legends, myths, historic events nad stories. This part starts by narrating the legend that a bluish wolf was the Mongolians forefather and this wolf was born destined from the heavens. Mor...

    Read More

  • Genghis Khan: The World's Greatest Conqueror

    1005 Words  | 3 Pages

    In the West, Genghis Khan and the Mongol tribe are often presented as brutal savages who wiped out entire cultures, destroyed cities and killed many people. While these accounts are true, there was certainly more to the Mongol empire than sheer brutality. Many of the practices that Genghis Khan put into place were responsible for the successes of the Mongol Nation. With an ability to adapt and innovate, Genghis Khan became known as the world’s greatest conqueror and is still revered in many countries today. Temujin, who later took the name Genghis Khan, came from humble beginnings which helped to form the foundations of the type of leader he became later in life.

    Read More

More about Marco Polo Influence On American Culture

Open Document