<Dt> ≈ 1318 - 1329 </Dt> <Dd> Travels of the Franciscan monks, the Italian Odoric of Pordenone and James of Ireland via India and the Malay Peninsula to China where they stayed in Dadu (present day Beijing) for approximately three years before returning to Italy overland through Central Asia . </Dd> <Dl> <Dt> ~ 1321 - 1330 / 1338 (?) </Dt> <Dd> The French Dominican missionary Jordanus, made bishop over the whole Indian subcontinent in 1329, wrote down his travels through India and the Middle East in his book Mirabilia . </Dd> </Dl> <Dt> ~ 1321 - 1330 / 1338 (?) </Dt>

Why did european traders begin to travel to asia by sea