Marco Polo came from the country of Italy and was born in
Venice. His biggest contribution came from his writings about
his travels and the time he spent in China. Marco Polo was a
merchant, explorer, and writer. He was born around the year 1254
and died on January 8, 1324 in Venice. Twenty four years of his
life was spent in Cathay, which is now China, and traveling to
and from there. Marco Polo was born into a wealthy family of
Venetian merchants during a time when Venice was leading the
world in foreign commerce. His father Niccolo and uncle Maffeo
had already traveled to China by the time Marco was six years
old, where they were very well-received by Kublai Khan. Khan
sent them to Rome in 1269 with a message for the pope. He wanted
the pope to send 100 Europeans to share knowledge with him. The
pope did not do this, but the Polo brothers returned to China in
1271 taking Marco with them. With Khan’s approval, the Polos set
up trade agreements within China. While they were there, Marco
kept detailed account