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The Italian traveller Marco Polo visited the Malabar coast (Kerala) in the:
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Answer: Option A — 13th century CE
Detailed Solution
The famous Venetian (Italian) traveller Marco Polo visited the Malabar coast (Kerala) and other parts of south India in the late 13th century, around 1292-1293 CE, on his way back from China.
About Marco Polo:
- He was born in Venice in 1254 and died in 1324.
- He travelled to China with his father and uncle in 1271, along the Silk Route.
- He spent about 17 years in China, in the service of the Mongol emperor Kublai Khan.
- On his return journey by sea, around 1292, he passed through South-East Asia, Sri Lanka and India.
His account:
- His travels were written down by a writer named Rustichello of Pisa, while they were both in prison in Genoa, as "The Travels of Marco Polo" (Il Milione).
- It became very popular in Europe and increased European interest in Asia.
His observations on India:
- He visited the Coromandel coast (Tamil Nadu), where he described the Pandya kingdom and the pearl fisheries.
- He described Kayal (Kayalpatnam), an important port of the Pandyas, which had many ships from Arabia and China.
- He visited the Malabar coast and described the trade in pepper, ginger, cinnamon and other spices.
- He described the "kingdom of Mutfili" in the Telugu region, ruled by a wise queen, and its diamond mines.
- He mentioned the tomb of St Thomas at Mylapore.
- He described Indian customs, such as sati, the practice of chewing betel leaves, and the wearing of very little clothing in the hot climate.
Other foreign travellers to India:
- Al-Biruni (11th century): from Central Asia.
- Ibn Battuta (14th century): from Morocco.
- Niccolo de Conti (15th century): from Italy; visited Vijayanagara.
- Abdur Razzaq (15th century): from Persia; visited Vijayanagara.
- Afanasy Nikitin (15th century): from Russia; visited the Bahmani kingdom.
- Domingo Paes and Fernao Nuniz (16th century): from Portugal; visited Vijayanagara.
- Francois Bernier (17th century): from France; visited the Mughal court.
Why not the other options?
- ✗The 11th, 15th and 16th centuries are when other travellers visited India.
Quick tip
Remember: Marco Polo (Venice) = visited south India in the 13th century (about 1292-93); Pandya kingdom, Kayal port, Malabar pepper; "Il Milione"; Ibn Battuta = 14th century.
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World GK: Countries, Capitals & Currencies — Preparation
This question tests your understanding of World GK: Countries, Capitals & Currencies, a key topic in the General Knowledge section. The detailed solution above uses a step-by-step approach to show the reasoning, and where available, a shortcut that helps you solve similar questions in under 90 seconds during the actual exam.
This topic covers world GK: countries with their capitals, currencies and parliaments, national symbols, famous landmarks, the longest, largest and highest features of the world, and international boundary lines such as the Radcliffe, McMahon and Durand Lines. The most common questions match a country with its capital or currency, or a parliament with its name (such as the Knesset of Israel or the Diet of Japan). Revise countries continent by continent, giving extra attention to India's neighbours. Questions on boundary lines usually ask which two countries a line separates. Practise the world GK questions below, written in the style of the general awareness sections of exams such as SSC, banking, railways, CUET GAT, MAH CET and CLAT. Each question comes with a detailed explanation that adds related facts, so every question helps you revise more than one point.