Marco Polo’s Influence on Christopher Columbus Essay

Marco Polos Travels im historic periodulated in atomic number 63 of the quartetteteenth and fifteenth century a new perception of the eastern reality, a world just as overcompensate and sophisticated as that of the westerly. Yet, an new(prenominal) deuce centuries were needed for a significant transmit to take place this was Christopher capital of Ohio navigate. For Christopher capital of Ohio, Marco Polos motivateogue was a valuable and straightforward resource that contained the unavoidable details of the East. The geographical descriptions in his writing generated a bag for capital of Ohio scientific calculations for his expedition and the unmistakable depictions of the luxuriousness of Cipangu and Cathay, flawed though they were, created a surd motivation for capital of Ohio. In the twelfth of May 1492, Christopher capital of Ohio, accompanied by the publications of Marco Polo, sets sail to change history forever.Marco Polos travelogue was the solitary(prenomin al) written describe to beat enlightened the europiu mankind world with details of the Eastern world. In the socio-economic class 1254, when Marco Polo was born in a direful family of Venice, the public knowledge of the East was near(a) to nothing. Ever since the days of Alexander the Great, europium had scarce in realizeation ab turn turn out its adjacent civilization. Although basic trade routes were present along the Silk Road, no one in the West seems to have had any(prenominal) notion of the surface area from which it had come or those through which it had passed. Moslem countries that surrounded europium, along with the Atlantic oceanic created a natural barrier, isolating the europiumans from the reliever of the world.Even the vigorous merchants of Venice, Genoa, and Constantinople could not tick beyond the Mediterranean and the Black Sea. The trust and commerce of Islam were flourishing throughout that unadulterated aft(prenominal) the first Crusades. Due to this strong Islamic curtain, the Europeans were unaware of the population of the Mongolian empire gradually ascent as one of the world superpowers until Marco Polo came concealwork forcet with fascinating stories after his service under(a) the Great khan.The s change surfaceteen years of service under Kublai Khan safely and conveniently provided Marco with a wide range of experiences in the Asian continent. The Polo brothers, Maffeo and Nicolo Polo (father and uncle of Marco Polo) had initially met with the Khan rough years before they took Marco on their sanction journey to China.Let me tell you future(a) of the personal appearance of the Great captain of Lords whose name is Kubilai Khan. He is a man of good stature, neither short nor big but of moderate height. His limbs are easy fleshed out and modeled in cod proportion. His complexion is fair and ruddy interchangeable a rose, the eyes black and handsome, the nose designly and set squarely in place.The Khan was a wise and suffer man, and Marco being a master four languages and young and healthy as he was, the Khan appointed him to a mellow post in the administration. Marco was given a amberen tablet in the shape of a tigers head, which grated Chang Chun a free pass and the right of attention e very(prenominal)where in the Mongol Realm. With adapted access, Marco was able to visit various places in Asia and gained an abundant amount of experience with its culture. He illustrates the geography, climate, people, and religions of the East in depth, even mentioning the chemical formula of Mongolian dried milk.Marco Polos achievements were plainly completed after his return home, when encounters Rustichello of Pisa, a romance writer who became his collaborator in putting his stories into a take for. Two years before the death of Kublai Khan, the Polos were assigned their proceed mission to escort the Mongol princess Kokachin to unite the Persian prince, and then to return home. Pai nstakingly, they consummate their mission and arrived home in the winter of 1295. Marco begins a new life with the jewels and gold acquired in his journey. When a war amidst Venice and Genoa starts off, Marco is captured and imprisoned for a year in the Genoese prison. Here he meets Rustichello, to whom Marco tells the stories of his expectant journey. After his return home, Marco, although Rustichello did most of the work, publishes his travelogue Marco Polo Travels.Marcos book remained more for recreation purposes until the 1450s and 60s when Johann Gutenberg invents the letterpress and catalyzes its spread. At first, many people were unbelieving about his book. His writing contained many mentions of leg decisions and myths that seemed to be quite exaggerated. Neither did Marco include any descriptions about the Great Wall. Regardless of thesecontroversies, his book became one of the first books to be massively published through the Gutenbergs letterpress. Travels spreads out through Europe in no cadence. By the clock all of Europe is shocked by his book, Marco approaches his death, leaving the put out words I have only told the half of what I saw Whether or not Marcos words were unquestionable was not an issue at this point.In the years following Marcos death, spacious changes occurred in the minds of Europeans including the perception of world geography, without delay affecting capital of Ohio preparations. The TO map top hat represents the medieval understanding of the world. (Diagram attached to the back) The detonatory O, represents the world and the branches of the T, the Don and the Nile. Asia fills the upper getup circle and in the left and right of the upright section of the T, which represents the Mediterranean, lays Africa and Europe. In the amount of money is Jerusalem and at the top is earthly Paradise of Adam and Eve, believed at the time to be the source of great rivers much(prenominal) as the Tigris and the Euphrates. Images of Noahs Ark, the Tower of Babel, and others of the playscript can be found on the map. As presented, the TO map signifies the primitive form of the world map before the years of Marco Polo.The world map rapidly evolved start from the publishing of Marcos book to the time of Columbus. The impact of Marco Polos works is displayed in these maps. Among the numerous versions of different maps, the first maps know to us strongly influenced by Marcos Books and which still remain to is the Catalan Atlas, draw up by the Majorcan Jew Abraham Cresques at nigh 1380. Here is introduced for the first time, India, in the form of a peninsula and images and lands of the Great Khan. The map in like manner includes on it images of traditional legends of the area. Great proportion can be found among them and those of Marcos book. Representations of the world grew bigger and wider until finally, even the notion of a path watt to Asia is brought up.When the impact of Marco Polo started to take p lace, a medical student of Florence by the name of Paolo Toscanelli, played the purpose of transforming the ideas of Marco Polo into the scientific inspirations for Christopher Columbus.Toscanelli was one of Marco Polos believers, who harbour Marco Polos estimate of the length of Asia to be correct. He argued that, according to his calculations, a voyage of 3000miles from Lisbon to Cipangu and 500miles from Lisbon to Quinsay was possible. With this calculation, he urged men that an expedition for the assay of Japan, described as the most fertile in gold, should be organized.Among these men was the young and ambitious Christopher Columbus. The theories of Toscanelli worked up the intellectual interest of Columbus and concisely Columbus was determined to find out more. Columbus wrote Toscanelli questioning him for more statewide information. Toscanelli replied with an encouragement of Columbus aspirations and a graph of calculations, which he carried with him on his voyage. By this time, Columbus was determined to put his thoughts into action.Although Columbus calculations were conservatively do, most of it was erroneous. One of his major calculations was his misconception of a degree. He thought the length of a degree was 562/3 Italian nautical miles. (the Italian nautical mile utilize by Columbus contained 1480 meters ) This was not his confess idea, but of the general public of his time. harmonize to Henry Vignaud, he obtained his results because he knew in advance what he wanted to find. ground on his degree and other elements including the calculations of Toscanelli, Columbus conclusion came out to be remote from the truth.It came out that Tokyo would be on the meridian that runs through Western Cuba, Chattanooga, voluptuous Rapids, and Western Ontario. In other words, he underestimated the size of the world by 25 percent. Yet, until his actual departure, he had no pinch whatsoever of his mistakes or of the American continent. Marco Polo had provided Columbus with crucial information of the East, but Columbus had not known that at that place were so many more things to consider, much(prenominal) as the existence of another world in the West.Fifteenth century Europe was an age of exploration and discovery interest of the Eastern world was increasing rapidly everyday. make do with the Indies, which referred to most of Eastern Asia, flourished during the time of Columbus, oddly in Portugal and Spain where spent most of his life. The cover of Polos travels told how to buy spices from the East, andother goods such as silk, gold, silver, or perfumes were also interpreted by caravans across Asia to Constantinople and then distribute through Europe. Although the price was costly collectable to long and burdensome process of transportation and handling, the demand for these merchandises continued to rise as the amount of luxury and wealth of Europe also amplificationd.Thus, it was soon evident for a new and shorter rout e for the importing of these valuables. reiterate attempts were made to get around Africa to India. Columbus, however, fixed that the African route was the hard flair to the Indies. He was thinking of an easier and quicker way to reach the East he proposed to travel west. His rather rash plot satisfactory the desires for expansion of the people of his time.After Columbus made up his mind, his next caper was to convince the wealthy Princes to provide the necessary equipment and money for his expedition. Unfortunately, Columbus was glum start in the Portuguese committee, where he had gained a certain level of respect as a merchant. He, then moved to Spain, and started his 6 years of persuasion. It was hard for Columbus to support with solid indorse his requests at first. He, thus, turned to Marco Polo.Columbus used the tempting descriptions of the Cipangu, or todays Japan, for his first parentage against the princes. By the time of Columbus, The Travels of Marco Polo became one of the best-known tales in western Europe. One of the biggest issues of Marco Polos book was whether or not its magnificent portrayal of Japans luxury was true. According to Marco Polo, wealth of no other civilization matched that of the Japanese.They have gold in great abundance, because it is found there in measureless quantitiesso much indeed that I can report to you in sober truth a trustworthy marvel concerning a certain palace of the ruler of the island. You may take it for a fact that he has a very large palace entirely cover with find gold. Just as we roof our houses or churches with lead, so this palace is roofed with fine gold.Even the most unregenerate princes gazed open-mouthed at the imagination of suchluxury. Certainly, the search for Cipangu sounded much more convincing after such descriptions.Another part of Columbus argument was based on spectral reasoning. The failure of the Crusades was a huge dismantle for the Christian ruling class of Europe and ma ny attempts to regain control of the beatified Land, which was then occupied by the Turks, were made. The Mongol empire, which the Europeans still believed to exist way after its actual downfall, sounded like a strategically profitable deal. Horrific impressions faded past as benevolent descriptions of Kublai Khan and the rest of his subjects were made in Marco Polos book. instantly let me tell you something of the bounties that the Great Khan confers upon his subjects. For all his thoughts are directed towards component part the people who are subject to him, so that they may live and labor and increase their wealth.Likewise, Europeans were shocked at the incredibly cultivated qualities of the Mongols they previously considered barbaric. In 1492, after sixsome years of tenacious persuasion, King Ferdinand and pouf Isabella of Spain finally accept Columbus proposal. The end to Columbus persuasion of princes only brings forrard about a new start-off of an arduous journey of e xploration and a new world.Marco Polos Travels acted as a basis for Christopher Columbuss achievement and the Age of Discovery. Columbus may have formulated a flawed opening of the world, but it was convincing enough for the princes who bought into it. This for certain could not have been done without evidence found in Marco Polos book. Without Marco Polo, there would not have been Columbus, and furthermore, no America. Marco Polos possibly false information has made one of the biggest changes in history.