WONDERS OF CHINA
On his travels, Marco Polo became a favorite of Kublai
Khan, the Mongol ruler. Marco later published a
detailed account of his journey
and the wonders he had seen.
Few believed the account, and it
was years before Europeans
realized that he had
experienced a great
civilization— the
empire of China.Marco Polo
leaving Venice
INQUISITIVE EUROPEANS
Once Europeans had an idea
of the correct shape of the
world, they set out to
explore it more thoroughly.
Some were driven by
curiosity, some by greed,
and some by a desire
to convert the peoples
who lived in faraway
places to Christianity.
All faced hardships
and dangers.SIR HENRY MORTON
STANLEY (1841-1904)
Welsh-born Henry Stanley
worked for a New York
newspaper. He led an
expedition into Africa
to find the missing
Scottish explorer
David Livingstone.
When he found him,
he uttered the famous
words “Dr. Livingstone,
I presume?” Stanley later
explored much of Central
Africa around Lake Victoria.MARY KINGSLEY (1862-1900)
A fearless and determined
Englishwoman, Mary
Kingsley traveled in
West Africa, trading
and making scientific
studies. On her travels,
she was entertained by
cannibals. She was one
of the first to demand
fair treatment for the
people of Africa by
their colonial rulers.AMERIGO VESPUCCI (1454-1512)
The first European to
explore the Brazilian
coast, Italian-born
Amerigo Vespucci
gave his name to
America. He was in
charge of a school
of navigation in
Seville, Spain.
Vespucci believed
in a southwestern
route to the Indies
around South America.FERDINAND MAGELLAN (1480-1521)
Leader of the first European expedition to
sail around the world, Portuguese explorer
Magellan proved that there was a southwestern
route to the Indies through the Pacific.VASCO DA GAMA
(1469-1524)
Despite bad weather
and hardships on
the voyage,
Portuguese-born
Vasco da Gama
reached the East
African coast and
proved that there
was a southeastern
route to India. He
was the first European
to sail around the
southern tip of Africa.VeniceArabia IndiaChinaSiberiaJourney to ChinaASIAMarco Polo’s journey EUROPE
from Italy to China lasted
more than 24 years.MARCO POLO
Marco Polo (1254-1324) was
an Italian explorer. His father
and uncle were merchants
from Venice, Europe’s
greatest trading city. They
took the 17-year-old Marco
with them on a journey
from Italy to China.Journey
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