Traveler Postcards
WORLD HISTORY PROJECT ORIGINS/ LESSON 6.4ACTIVITYTRAVELER POSTCARDSUnless otherwise noted, this work is licensed under CC BY 4.0. Credit: “Traveler Postcards,” OER Project, https://www.oerproject.com/1PurposeUse what you learn from a primary-source travel accountto write a postcard from the perspective of a traveler from the thirteenth or fourteenth century. Summarizing theseaccounts will help you understand the ways people connected and lived during this period.Key informationIn the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, missionaries and merchants ventured to faraway lands, often writing abouttheir journeys. These sources can betricky. Sometimes it isn’t clear if they were written by real people, orif they werefictional accounts. Even accounts by real historical peopleare difficult to analyze, because authorship is unclear, or they borrowed from other sources, or the account includes exaggerations and embellishments. Still, travel accounts offer unique glimpsesinto avibrantworld of travel, trade,and religion across Afro-Eurasia.Process1.Read a primary source excerpt from one of the thirteenth-and fourteenth-century travelers below. Your teacher will either assign you a traveler or let you pick. Check the traveler you will be readingand click the link to go to the source.•Friar Odoric,also known as Odoric of Pordenone, a Franciscan friar and missionary explorer•Rabban Sawma and Rabban Markos, Nestorian Chinese monks.(Note: Youcan write the postcard from the perspective of either monkor both.)•Francesco Balducci Pegolotti, a Florentine merchant•Marjory Kempe, an English Christian mystic and traveler•Ibn Battuta, a Moroccan scholar and explorer•Marco Polo, a Venetian merchant2.As you read, look for any details that will help you take on the author’s perspective to write about their travels.
WORLD HISTORY PROJECT ORIGINS/ LESSON 6.4ACTIVITYTRAVELER POSTCARDS2Guiding questionsNotes Where did they travel? Note all the locations. What did they see? For example: new religions, new trade items, new cities. What new knowledge or items did they acquire? Howdidthey affectthe placesthey visited?Other important details that will help you describe their travel experiences3.On the next page, draw an image on the left side of the postcard that shows what the traveler saw or experienced. On the right side of the postcard,write a letter home summarizing the highlights of their journey.
WORLD HISTORY PROJECT ORIGINS/ LESSON 6.4ACTIVITYTRAVELER POSTCARDS3