For me, it's picrel.
>Travelled tens of thousands of miles
>From Tangier to Beijing
>Was welcomed everywhere by everyone, and since he was a scholar fluent in standard arabic, he was basically hired in the richest of muslim courts such as the Delhi sultanate.
>He basically had the equivalent of a master's degree in theology and the equivalent of a modern day nation leader welcomes him as one of his most influent advisor
>Devout muslim but basically married at every town and acquired female slaves (which are halal to fuck) at every city
>biggest coomer in history, coomed in Greek slaves, mongols, indians, maldivians, indonesians
>Survived the plague, which followed him in his path at every turn
>finished his life in good ol' Tangier where a poet ghostwrote his aptly titled "A gift to those who contemplate the wonders of cities and the marvels of traveling
My soul for a time machine
Colombus because he makes white Americans on the internet seethe
Columbus was even hated by the people of his time.
True, the portuguese wanted to kill him but the king said no
That was more due to his arrogance and greed, not muh six gorillion tainos who died by the swords of his followers
Okay. My point is that Columbus does not qualify as my favourite explorer, and even his peers agree with me, even if it's for different reasons.
Something I never understood about these guys was how they paid for shit traveling around back then.
Obviously gold, but did they seriously haul a chest around with them everywhere and hire somebody to guard their belongings? Like did they have an entire entourage?
>Obviously gold, but did they seriously haul a chest around with them everywhere and hire somebody to guard their belongings? Like did they have an entire entourage?
In most cases, yeah, they had entire entourages of servants, employees, slaves, or soldiers, or combinations thereof. In other cases (probably including many of Ibn Battuta’s), they were working as they went, in the service of or collaboration with various traders’ caravans or emissaries’ staffed missions. Ibn Battuta’s earliest travels were pilgrimages, which could be undertaken alone and basically broke, often starting out or at least partially on foot. But most of the major oooold-school explorers had someone’s gold and swords and guns at their side or back.
Most people at the time travelled via caravans and rarely ventured alone, because of the distances at play. So obviously, people had to stash their money somewhere and the stash was particularly well guarded.
Also, they weren't stashing tons of gold coins either. While the endeavor was difficult, people were extremely hospitable back then, especially with pilgrims.
Not only that, but Ibn Battuta was also basically an errant judge and could make religious and civil (since the civil part was governed by islamic law) rulings pretty much everywhere he went, and his perfect drive of standard arabic did a number on a lot of people that hosted him. He was even more precious for the more remote part of the islamic world such as the mongols and the mughal since they were welcoming any actualization of their islamic knowledge, like a SEA government welcomes english teachers nowadays.
Add to that his knowledge of routes and trails, and his charisma, and you can understand why people would literally give him money to keep them company.
Remember that the internet didn't exist back then, people's only source of entertainment was down syndrome jesters and sex with their wife/cousin. This guy was a walking television.
Ever been to a place that doesn't see tourists/foreigners/strangers often?
People in such places can be very hospitable even if they are poor because it's a prestige to host and people from far away can provide entertainment for weeks after they left.
Remember when Pitbull got memed into visiting remote Alaska?
They say people in Kodiak still talk about it a decade after.
Lmao, apparently it was sighsee that crashed a poll to send him there. Based.
>biggest coomer in history
Bigger coomer than Genghis Khan?
Ibn Battuta is a great historical figure and he wrote an interesting travelogue.
However, if you asked your question to current university undergrads, he'd be their answer, just *because*.
A more significant yet contemporarily downplayed explorer is Sir Richard Francis Burton.
>However, if you asked your question to current university undergrads, he'd be their answer, just *because*.
Congrats, you're smarter than a bunch of kids
My favourite explorer? Myself.
+1 ibn dude was the original begpacker just got by on donations because of his reputation as a travelling scholar. My plan is to learn arabic and recreate his route. prime pussy included
>biggest coomer in history
but that's me
>biggest coomer in history
No, that was Lord Byron. His letters to his friends are like sighsee before the internet. This is him talking about his crazy Venetian girlfriend, one of many:
"At last she quarrelled with her husband, and one evening ran away to my house. I told her this would not do: she said she would lie in the street, but not go back to him; that he beat her (the gentle tigress), spent her money, and scandalously neglected her. As it was midnight, I let her stay; and next day, there was no moving her at all.
Her husband came roaring and crying, and entreating her to come back: not she. He then applied to the police, and they applied to me. I told them and her husband to TAKE her—I did not want her. She had come, and I could not fling her out of the window; but they might conduct her through that, or the door, if they chose it. She went before the commissary, but was obliged to return with her ‘becco ettico,’ as she called the poor man, who had a phthisic. In a few days, she ran away again.
After a precious piece of work, she fixed herself in my house, really and truly without my consent; but owing to my indolence, and not being able to keep my countenance, for if I began in a rage, she always finished by making me laugh with some Venetian pantaloonery or other,—and the gipsy knew this well enough, as well as her other powers of persuasion, and exerted them with the usual tact and success of all she—things high and low; they are all alike for that."
Bald and Bankrupt.
>Bald and Bankrupt.
Fat and Broke
Captain Cook obviously. What is wrong with you people
Interesting as fuck. Any crazy stories about him OP?