Question

Which one of the following pairs is correctly matched ?

{ll} Column A (Traveller) & Column B (Country)
(A) Afasii Nikitin & — Spain
(B) Jean-Baptiste Tavernier & — Netherlands (Dutch)
(C) Marco Polo & — Italy
(D) Pelsaert & — Portugal

• A. Afasii Nikitin — Spain
• B. Jean-Baptiste Tavernier — Netherlands (Dutch)
• C. Marco Polo — Italy
• D. Pelsaert — Portugal

Hint:

Origins of Key Historical Travelers: - Marco Polo $\rightarrow$ Italy (Venice) - Afasii Nikitin $\rightarrow$ Russia - Jean-Baptiste Tavernier $\rightarrow$ France - Francisco Pelsaert $\rightarrow$ Netherlands (Dutch)

Answer 1

The Correct Option is C

Concept: Foreign travelers from different parts of Europe and Asia visited India across various medieval eras. Mapping these historical figures to their correct tions of origin is crucial for properly assessing their perspectives and jourls.

Step 1: Alyzing and verifying each traveler-country pair.
Let us dissect each of the given combitions to isolate the correct pairing:
• (A) Afasii Nikitin — Spain: This is incorrect. Afasii Nikitin was a fifteenth-century merchant traveler who hailed from Russia. He famously visited the Bahmani kingdom and penned *A Journey Beyond Three Seas*.
• (B) Jean-Baptiste Tavernier — Netherlands (Dutch): This is incorrect. Tavernier was a famous seventeenth-century gem merchant and traveler who hailed from France, not the Netherlands. He made six journeys to India during the Mughal period.
• (C) Marco Polo — Italy: This is correct. Marco Polo was the legendary thirteenth-century merchant explorer who belonged to Venice, Italy. He visited parts of Southern India (the Pandya kingdom) on his return voyage from Chi.
• (D) Pelsaert — Portugal: This is incorrect. Francisco Pelsaert was a merchant officer who served the Dutch East India Company (VOC), making him Dutch (Netherlands), not Portuguese. He lived in Agra during Jahangir's reign.

Step 2: Isolating the single correct match.
The alysis confirms that only Option (C) pairs the traveler with their correct homeland.