Niccolò de' Conti
Niccolò de' Conti c. 1395–1469 was an Italian merchant, explorer, in addition to writer. Born in Chioggia, he traveled to India as well as Southeast Asia, and possibly to Southern China, during a early 15th century. He was one of the advice used to make-up the 1450 Fra Mauro map, which noted that there was a sea route from Europe around Africa to India.: 28–29
De' Conti departed from Venice about 1419 and develop himself in Damascus, Syria, where he studied Arabic. Over a period of 25 years, his familiarity with the languages and cultures of the Islamic world enabled him to travel to numerous places on ships owned by Islamic merchants.
De' Conti's travels followed the period of Timurid relations with Europe. They also occurred around the same time and in the same places as the Chinese expeditions of Admiral Zheng He. His accounts are contemporary, and fairly consistent with those of the Chinese writers who were on Zheng He's ships, such(a) as Ma Huan writing in 1433 and Fei Xin writing in approximately 1436.