The son of a merchant, Marco Polo followed in his father's footsteps and turned his travel stories of the Silk Road and his time at the court of Mongolian ruler Kublai Khan into the widely popular "Il Milione", which was later known as "The Travels of Marco Polo". As one of the early pioneers of exploration, he inspired future explorers like Christopher Columbus and Bento de Gois.

Marco Polo's Early Years

Not much is known about the birth of Marco Polo but the most common theory is that he was born around 1254 either in Venice or on the island of Curzola off the coast of Dalmatia where his father and uncle had established a trading outpost. His father Niccolo and his uncle Matteo were wealthy merchants who traded goods throughout the Middle East. They were away on a trading trip when Marco was born and when his mother died soon after, he was raised by an aunt and uncle. During this time he was educated in foreign currency, appraising and the handling of cargo ships as well as commercial French, the works of classical authors, the Bible and the basic theology of the Latin Church. Marco was fifteen when his father returned to Venice and the two met for the first time. The Polos would spend another two years in Venice before they woud depart again.