Final answer:
While Venice's trade with the East might have still increased even without Marco Polo's writings, his detailed narratives significantly influenced the Age of Exploration and the European quest for new trade routes. His accounts brought the allure of the East into European consciousness, accelerating the pursuit of global trade networks.
Step-by-step explanation:
Europe's trade with Eastern regions, particularly by Venice, may have still grown without the writings of Marco Polo, although perhaps not with the same fervor or direction. Before Polo's accounts, maritime trade was already expanding between East and West due to various factors—Including the Crusader's experiences with exotic eastern products like silk, spices, and porcelain. The need for these goods created fresh markets and drove the search for more direct trade routes. Additionally, Venice already prospered through trade by exploiting established routes like the Silk Road and connections with Islamic merchants.
However, it was Marco Polo's detailed account of his travels to China, his experiences in the court of Kublai Khan, and descriptions of previously unseen wonders like paper money, coal, and Chinese pasta that profoundly influenced later explorers. Marco Polo's influence inspired explorers like Christopher Columbus, who sought new routes to Asia and ultimately discovered the Americas, kickstarting the Age of Exploration. His narratives about the wealth and splendors of Eastern lands, conveyed in his book "Travels", stirred imaginations and underpinned European quests for direct maritime connections to Asia and the lucrative Spice Islands.
Even if Polo's stories hadn't been recorded, Europe's desire for eastern products and alternatives to the insecure and costly overland Silk Road would have probably continued pushing the search for sea routes. Still, Polo's accounts brought the mystery and allure of the East into European consciousness and undoubtedly accelerated the pursuit of global trade networks that reshaped the world.