Prester John

•  Marco Polo dictated his stories to a writer named Rusticello while serving a prison sentence in Genoa.

•  His book claimed that the Chinese burned black stones for fuel. His European readers, who did not know about coal, found this hard to believe.

•  On his death bed, Marco Polo was asked if he had made up his stories.

He replied that he had not recorded half of what he had seen in the Indies.

•  Other travellers' tales told of giant gold-mining ants, and headless people, whose faces were on their chests.

Prince henry had heard travellers' tales of a powerful Christian king called Prester John, who ruled somewhere in Africa or Asia. He hoped that the Portuguese voyages of exploration would find Prester John, so that he could help Christian Europe fight a new crusade against the Muslims.

Imaginary king

Although he was pictured on maps, Prester John did not really exist.

Engraving of Genoa harbour

Columbus's home city, Genoa, was one of the Mediterranean's busiest ports. As a boy, Columbus must have watched hundreds of merchant ships arriving and departing, and dreamed of a life of adventure as a sailor.

Columbus the seaman

As an experienced navigator, Columbus was always welcome at the bustling dockside.

Into the Atlantic

Columbus sailed on several trading voyages out into the Atlantic Ocean from Lisbon. He sailed north to Iceland, and south to Guinea, all the while learning about the great ocean and its system of winds and currents.

European exports

Portuguese ships sailed to Africa with cargoes of horses, glass beads, brass bells, carpets, English wool, and Irish linen

Columbus saved himself by clinging on to a floating oar.