Answer: An increased European awareness of important cultural, political, and economic developments in Eastern Asia
Explanation:
William Rubrick was a monk that had been sent by the French King Louis IX to spread Christianity to the Mongol empire which at the time was under the Great Khan, Möngke Khan.
William was very articulate and documented his trip in great detail from Geographic to Socio-economic developments that he encountered. When he reached Karakorum which was the Mongol capital at the time, his detail of the city provided one of the most detailed accounts of it.
It can therefore be said that exchanges such as these helped the people of Western Europe find out more about the cultural, political, and economic developments in Eastern Asia.
The excerpt in question is;
"The next day (25th May) (the Chan) sent his secretaries to me, who said: ‘Our lord sends us to you to say that you are here Christians, Saracens [Muslims] and Tuins. And each of you says that his doctrine is the best, and his writings—that is, books—the truest. So he wishes that you shall all meet together, and make a comparison, each one writing down his precepts, so that he himself may be able to know the truth.’ Then I said: ‘Blessed be God, who put this in the Chan’s heart. But our Scriptures tell us, the servant of God should not dispute, but should show mildness to all; so I am ready, without disputation or contention, to give reason for the faith and hope of the Christians, to the best of my ability.’ They wrote down my words, and carried them back to him. Then it was told the Nestorians that they should look to themselves, and write down what they wished to say, and likewise to the Saracens [Muslims], and in the same way to the Tuins.”
<em>Excerpt from The Journey of William of Rubruck, written by a Franciscan monk sent by King Louis IX of France to the Mongol Empire in 1253.</em>
