Marco polo biographies for teens

Marco Polo was born in Venice, Italy in His father, Niccolo, was a merchant who traded with western Asia and their family was well off.

Marco had a good education and spent a lot of his late teens travelling Asia with his father along the Silk Road. His mother died when he was very young.

The Silk Road

The Silk Road was a trade round that went through over 4, miles of Asia – from Turkey to Eastern China, via India and Persia.

It helped to increase trade between different countries and spread different ideas, cultures and inventions.

The main products traded were silk cloth, tea, porcelain and spices.

As the journey was so long, mostly expensive, light good were traded.

Trade on the Silk Road started during the Han dynasty ( BC – AD ) in China but peaked in the Yuan dynasty, when Marco Polo travelled it.

Merchants could travel safely then because the Mongols, who ruled China at the time, controlled most of the road.

Some bandits were common, but merchants travelled in big g Kids Biography: Marco Polo - Ducksters KYPA