Such was their reputation that, when the Polo brothers went to China (then known as Cathay), they met the Mongol leader Kublai Khan at his court in Beijing. Merchant families were very important at this time – they expanded long-distance trade, and people soon began to expect access to the foreign goods that the merchants brought back with them. Marco Polo was born around 1254 into a wealthy Venetian merchant family – his father Niccolo and his uncle Maffeo were both successful jewel merchants, and they spent much of Marco’s childhood in Asia. The young Marco travelled across Asia at the height of the Mongol Empire more than 800 years ago, and his experiences helped shape Europe’s understanding of the continent through one of the most important travel texts ever. There are few travellers more significant in shaping our knowledge of the world than Marco Polo.
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