Astonishing quiz as always. But maybe u can colour the answer cells of the respective routes so that after we finish the quiz we can still understand who leads which route since I didn't get many. Once the quiz is finished, the missed SVG Paths don't show the number as before and I'm very bad remembering things. Though this is just a suggestion.
Thanks Swat. :) That’s what I wanted originally, but I had trouble with the execution. I think I figured out a different approach, though, so I’ll update it soon.
I also suggest putting the number at the end of the journey instead of the start, making sure the number stays visible after guessing, and sorting numbers so that 1 is the oldest and 12 the most recent. Great quiz!!
There was a documentary on Netflix a while back about how Marco Polo's journey to the Far East may have been fictional. I thought they made a pretty convincing case. There really was a person named Marco Polo and he probably did travel to the east, but he most likely went no further east than current day Baghdad.
The only written record of his journey includes many fantastical embellishments that could not have been true (ie descriptions of animals that have never existed). There is also no confirming documentation of his presence in Asia from historical documents from that area of the world, which you think there would be considering some of the things he is supposed to have done while he was there.
There has been shade cast on Marco Polo at least since the 1700s, but most scholarship accepts that he did, in fact, spend time in China, even if he embellished his journals with some second-hand information. That no contemporary Chinese account describes his visit is curious but not definitive given that the Chinese historians sometimes failed to reference later travelers that certainly reached the kingdom after Polo, such as the papal envoy de Marignolli. Some people gripe that Polo failed to mention the Great Wall, ignoring the fact that much of the Wall as we know it was built under the Ming Dynasty, after Polo's visit, and many earlier sections would have been much less impressive or in great disrepair. So, Netflix aside, I'll stand by Marco Polo.
I remember reading something very similar in a book. The bits that stuck with me were his highly inaccurate descriptions of Chinese cities, and how he did not own any items from China.
Don't believe everything that is on Netflix. They recently put a documentary about Australian Prime Minister Bob Hawke and misattributed some things he didn't actually say about his first meeting with the British Royal family. It was debunked fairly quickly and Netflix has been taken to task about it by our National broadcaster.
The book of his journey was written by Marco Polo's cellmate when from when they were imprisoned.
I'm not surprised that the stories were embellished, they were to entertain his cellmate, not provide an historical record.
However his stories are more accurate than other Western records of the time, and include specific details of currency, salt production etc. that were not known in the West or the Middle East.
I actually kinda explain the deal behind Marco Polo on my Travels of Marco Polo quiz! @GreenFriday is right that the book was actually written by his cellmate, who may have embellished some details, but overall historical evidence mostly suggests he did travel to China.
Anyways, if you enjoyed this quiz and/or want to learn more about Marco Polo, I highly recommend checking out the quiz I linked above! Plus, I'm planning on doing a series of quizzes like it, so if you enjoyed it, please check regularly. :)
Yes, I left out some good ones. Both Battuta and Da Gama deserve to be here. I considered Darwin as well. Unfortunately, the map is already a bit of a mess, and as you add routes it becomes mass chaos! :)
I LOVED this quiz! This map is sooooo amazing. Some extra suggestions for future quizzes (in addition to the ones mentioned above): Zheng He and Amelia Earhart
You've got to make choices, and there's no claim that this is a top_x_ list, so any particular exclusions are fine. But I think Ibn Battuta must be most incredible traveller of all time.
Could you update this to include the start/end locations along with the dates? It's a little unclear (especially in Europe since its small and there's many lines) where the person is starting their quest. Plus it's fun information to learn :-)
The great Australian explorers after Cook appear to only be familiar to Australians - Matthew Flinders, Hume & Hovell, Pawel Strzelecki, John Macdouall Stuart
I think it'd be cool to add Mansa Musa's journey. Africa is pretty empty and it'd be nice to see another non-European journeyman on here. I don't know how hard it is to add the path on the map, but I think his path is pretty established by the academic community.
I had punched in Drake, but wouldn't the map get kinda crowded and illegible. There is however good space for Barentz and Amundsen. I seconded Battuta (see below).
My favorite voyageur is not on the list and deserves to be. Ibn Battuta left his native Fez around 1325 and didn't return until 1358 or sometime; he travelled the entire Muslim world. First, of course, Mecca, but then he fell in with other pilgrims and visited Kurdistan, the court of the King of Uzbek, where he follows the entourage of the King's youngest wife home to Constantinople ( he meets the abdicated ex-emperor in the palace gardens.) He serves as a judge for the Sultan of Delhi, up until the rebellion, wins great riches and then loses everything. He works in the Maldives, and ultimately makes his way to the court in China before winding his way home to Morocco. Once there, he is ordered to dictate his story to a scribe. He later takes a supplementary voyage southward to Timbuktu and the height of the West African civilizations, but doesn't find it as impressive as his previous journey. Get hold of his book, and put him into the quiz.
what about ibn battuta? he traveled from morroco to arabia, up through russia, then to india, indonesia, and china, and back to morroco before going south to mali
- add some more non-Western travelers like Ibn Battuta, Hotu Matua, Mansa Musa to make it more challenging. Maybe Napoleon too? He went to Egypt, Moscow, St. Helena.
- add a yellow box for each entry so that we can't just type in random explorer names like Magellan and Columbus. You've included dates, so it's easy enough.
Nominated
The only written record of his journey includes many fantastical embellishments that could not have been true (ie descriptions of animals that have never existed). There is also no confirming documentation of his presence in Asia from historical documents from that area of the world, which you think there would be considering some of the things he is supposed to have done while he was there.
I'm not surprised that the stories were embellished, they were to entertain his cellmate, not provide an historical record.
However his stories are more accurate than other Western records of the time, and include specific details of currency, salt production etc. that were not known in the West or the Middle East.
Anyways, if you enjoyed this quiz and/or want to learn more about Marco Polo, I highly recommend checking out the quiz I linked above! Plus, I'm planning on doing a series of quizzes like it, so if you enjoyed it, please check regularly. :)
Edit: maybe Vasco Da Gama should also be here as one of the famous travelers?
(ahem, I of course scored a 5 )
Two suggestions:
- add some more non-Western travelers like Ibn Battuta, Hotu Matua, Mansa Musa to make it more challenging. Maybe Napoleon too? He went to Egypt, Moscow, St. Helena.
- add a yellow box for each entry so that we can't just type in random explorer names like Magellan and Columbus. You've included dates, so it's easy enough.