Marco Polo - Part 4 - The Grand Canal and the City of Heaven
The Explorers Podcast
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The Dark Side of Hangzhou
Hangzhou generated a huge amount of cash for the Mongol Empire. Slaves would be imported into the kingdom even from as far away as Africa. Many families, even those without a lot of wealth or status, had slaves. Another common practice was for the poor to sell their children into servitude. Marco continued south but as a private citizen, not as a representative for the Khan.
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