World Travel and Trade
Chapter 3 Lesson 1
Marco Polo Travels to China
• Marco Polo was a merchant.
• A merchant is someone who
buys and sells goods to earn
money.
• He is famous for traveling from Italy to
China to buy and sell goods.
• The journey to China took
3 years
Marco Polo
• Marco Polo stayed in China for 16 years.
• He worked for China’s ruler, Kublai Khan.
• While in China, he saw many inventions
(paper, printing, and gunpowder).
• When he returned to Italy, he told about what
he had seen in a book.
• His stories about China and the journey on
the silk road made people in Italy more
interested in traveling to Asia.
Marco Polo
• Marco Polo’s book made Europeans
want to travel to Asia.
• His stories fascinated people,
especially his stories about the Silk
Road.
Silk Road
• The Silk Road was not one road, but
several trade routes connecting China to
Europe.
• Merchants became rich as they traveled to
China to buy silk, spices, and other goods.
• Wealthy Europeans were willing to pay
high prices for silk.
Chinese Set Sail
• More than 100 years after MP visited
China, the ruler of China sent Admiral
Zheng He on a series of voyages.
• The ruler wanted to impress other
countries with China’s power.
• He sailed all the way to Africa’s east coast.
• Some of his ships were longer than
football fields and had 1000’s of sailors.
Travel Stops
• In 1434, a new ruler
stopped Chinese exploration.
He believed that China did not need to have
contact with other countries.
• Zheng He’s amazing voyages were over.
African Trading Kingdoms
• Trade was becoming very important in
several kingdoms in Africa just like it had
been in China.
• A kingdom is a place ruled by a king or
queen.
Trade in Africa
• Africa had plenty of gold but not enough
salt.
• Salt was used to keep food from spoiling.
• Merchants traveled in large caravans
across the dangerous desert to the city
of Ghana to trade salt for gold.
• A caravan is a group of people and
animals who travel together.
Mansa Musa
• He was Mali’s greatest king.
• He made Timbuktu one of the largest and
most important cities in Africa.
• It became a center for learning and art.
Lesson Review
Trade connected people in Europe, Asia, and
Africa. Marco Polo, Zheng He, and Mansa
Musa spread new ideas as well as goods.
Their travels inspired others to explore even
farther, seeking new trade routes and new
knowledge.
WHY DOES IT MATTER?
Trade and travel brought the people of Asia,
Europe, and Africa in contact with each other.
Ideas and goods began to flow freely between
them.