Marco Polo

Children Fantina, Bellela, and Moretta

Marco Polo
Parents Mother: Unknown Father: Niccol Polo

Marco Polo (

/mrko polo/; Italian plo]; c. 1254 January 9,

pronunciation: [marko

1324)[1] was a Venetian merchant traveler[2][3] from the Venetian Republic whose travels are recorded in Il Milione, a book which did much to introduce Europeans to Central Asia and China. He learned about trading whilst his father and uncle, Niccol and Maffeo, travelled through Asia and apparently met Kublai Khan. In 1269, they returned to Venice to meet Marco for the first time. The three of them
Portrait of Marco Polo[Note 1]

embarked on an epic journey to Asia, returning after 24 years to find Venice at war with Genoa; Marco was imprisoned, and dictated his stories to a

Born

c. 1254 presumably in Venice, Italy

cellmate. He was released in 1299, became a wealthy merchant, married and had 3 children. He died in 1324, and was buried in San Lorenzo.

Died

January 9, 1324 (aged 69) Venice, Venetian Republic

Their pioneering journey inspired Christopher Columbus[4] and others. Marco Polo's other legacies include Venice Marco Polo Airport,

Resting place

Church of San Lorenzo 45.2613N 12.2043E

the Marco Polo sheep, and several books and films. He also had an influence on European cartography, leading to the introduction of the Fra

Occupation

Merchant, Explorer

Mauro map.

Known for

The Travels of Marco Polo

Spouse

Donata Badoer

Full name

Kublai Khan.
Kublai Khan

Setsen Khan ( )

Era dates Khagan of the Mongol Empire Founder of the Yuan Dynasty Emperor of China Zhongtong () 12601264 Zhiyuan () 12641294

Posthumous name

Emperor Shengde Shengong Wenwu ()

Dynasty

Yuan

Father

Tolui

Mother

Sorghaghtani Beki

Born Portrait of Kublai Khan during the Yuan era. Died Reign May 5, 1260 February 18, 1294 (33 years, 289 days) Burial Coronation May 5, 1260

23 September 1215

18 February 1294 (aged 78) Dadu (Khanbalic)

Burkhan Khaldun, Khentii province

Kublai Khan ( /kubl kn/; Mongolian: , Xubila xaan; Middle Mongolian:Qubilai Qaan, "King Qubilai"; September 23, 1215

Predecessor

Mongke Khan

Successor

Temur Khan

February 18, 1294),[1][2] born Kublai(Mongolian: , Xubila

Consort

Tegulen, Chabi, Nambui

; Middle Mongolian: Qubilai; Chinese: ; pinyin: Hbli

; also spelled Khubilai) and also known by the temple name Shizu (Chinese: ; pinyin: Yun Shz; WadeGiles: Yan Shih-tsu), was the fifth Great Khan of the Mongol Empire from 1260 to 1294 and the founder of the Yuan Dynasty in China. As the second son of Tolui and Sorghaghtani Beki and a grandson of Genghis Khan, he claimed the title of Khagan of the Ikh Mongol Uls (Mongol Empire) in 1260 after the death of his older brother Mngke in the previous year, though his younger brother Ariq Bke was also given this title in the Mongolian capital at Karakorum. He eventually won the battle against Ariq Bke in 1264, and the succession war essentially marked the beginning of disunity in the empire. Kublai's real power was limited to China and Mongolia (which was the Yuan Dynasty, or the Mongol Dynasty) after the victory over Ariq Bke, though his influence still remained in theIlkhanate, and to a far lesser degree, in the Golden Horde, in the western parts of the Mongol Empire.[4][5][6] If one counts the Mongol Empire at that time as a whole, his realm reached from the Pacific to the Urals, from Siberia to modern day Afghanistan one fifth of the world's inhabited land area.[7]
[3]

In 1271, Kublai established the Yuan Dynasty, which at that time ruled over presentdayMongolia and China, and some adjacent areas, and assumed the role of Emperor of China. By 1279, the Yuan forces had successfully annihilated the last resistance of the Southern Song Dynasty, and Kublai thus became the first non-Chinese Emperor who conquered all of China. He was also the only Mongol khan after 1260 to win new great conquests.[8] The summer garden of Kublai Khan at Xanadu is the subject of Samuel Taylor Coleridge's 1797 poem Kubla Khan. Coleridge's work and Marco Polo's book brought Kublai and his achievements to the attention of a widespread audience, and today Kublai is a well-known historical figure.

Hernn Corts
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Other Hernando Cortes

This name uses Spanish naming customs; the first or paternal family name is Corts de Monroy and the second or maternal family nameis Pizarro.

names

Occupation

Conquistador

Hernn Corts
Known for Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire

Children

Martn Corts, 2nd Marquis of the Valley of Oaxaca, Martn Corts (son of doa Marina)

Signature

Hernn Corts de Monroy y Pizarro, 1st Marquis of the Valley of Oaxaca (Spanish
pronunciation: [erna

kortes de monroj i piaro];

1485 December 2, 1547) was

Hernn Corts in a contemporary rendition

a SpanishConquistador who led an expedition that caused the fall of the Aztec Empire and brought

Born

Hernn Corts de Monroy y Pizarro 1485 Medelln, Castile

large portions of mainland Mexico under the rule of the King of Castile in the early 16th century. Corts was part of the generation of Spanish colonizers that began the first phase of the Spanish

Died

December 2, 1547 (aged 6162) Castilleja de la Cuesta, Castile

colonization of the Americas. Born in Medelln, Spain, to a family of lesser nobility, Corts chose to pursue a livelihood in

Nationality

Castilian

theNew World. He went to Hispaniola and later to Cuba, where he received an encomienda and,

for a short time, became alcalde (magistrate) of the second Spanish town founded on the island. In 1519, he was elected captain of the third expedition to the mainland, an expedition which he partly funded. His enmity with the Governor of Cuba, Diego Velzquez de Cullar, resulted in the recall of the expedition at the last moment, an order which Corts ignored. Arriving on the continent, Corts executed a successful strategy of allying with some indigenous peoplesagainst others. He also used a native woman, Doa Marina, as an interpreter; she would later bear Corts a son. When the Governor of Cuba sent emissaries to arrest Corts, he fought them and won, using the extra troops as reinforcements. Corts wrote letters directly to the king asking to be acknowledged for his successes instead of punished for mutiny. After he overthrew the Aztec Empire, Corts was awarded the title of Marqus del Valle de Oaxaca, while the more prestigious title of Viceroy was given to a high-ranking nobleman, Antonio de Mendoza. In 1541 Corts returned to Spain, where he died peacefully but embittered, six years later.

Because of the controversial undertakings of Corts and the scarcity of reliable sources of information about him, it has become difficult to assert anything definitive about his personality and motivations. Early lionizing of the conquistadors did not encourage deep examination of Corts. Later reconsideration of the conquistadors' character in the context of modern anti-colonial sentiment also did little to expand understanding of Corts as an individual. As a result of these historical trends, descriptions of Corts tend to be simplistic, and either damning or idealizing.

Feast

3 December

Francis Xavier
Attributes crucifix; preacher carrying a flaming heart; bell; globe; vessel; young bearded Jesuit in the company of Saint Ignatius Loyola; young bearded Jesuit with a torch, flame, cross and lily

Saint Francis Xavier

Patronage

African missions; Agartala, India; Ahmedabad, India;Alexandria, Louisiana; Apostleship of Prayer;Australia; Bombay, India;Borneo; Cape Town, South Africa;

A painting of St Francis Xavier, held in the Kobe City Museum.

China; Dinajpur, Bangladesh; East Indies; Fathers of the Precious Blood; foreign missions; Freising, Germany; Goa, India; Green Bay

Apostle to the Far East

, Wisconsin; India; Indianapolis, Indiana; Sophia University, Tokyo, Japan; Joiliet, Illinois

Born

7 April 1506 Xavier, Kingdom of Navarre, (Spain) ; Kabankalan, Philippines;Nasugbu, Batangas,Philippines; Alegria, Cebu,Philippines;

Died

3 December 1552 (aged 46) Shangchuan Island, China

diocese of Malindi, Kenya; missionaries; Missioners of the Precious Blood; Navarre, Spain; navigators; New Zealand; parish

Honored in

Roman Catholic Church,Lutheran Church, Anglican Communion

missions; plague epidemics; Propagation of the Faith; Zagreb, Croatia;Indonesia

Beatified

25 October 1619 by Paul V

Controversy unknown +

Canonized

12 March (12 April) 1622 byGregory XV