Unit 1 Lesson3

History of Globalization

Technology is always evolving, it is never regressive. It also provides

efficiency and enables us to perform tasks in less time. Over the years, we have
seen how globalization brought convenience in our lives in the form of technological
innovations. But the question is where do we attribute the beginning of globalization?
According to Kenneth Waltz as cited by Brawley (2008), many of those who
argue that globalization is something quite new underestimate the extent to which
the present looks like the past. Is globalization all that new? In this lesson we will
look into several eras which can be seen as periods when globalization is seen as
powerful political, economic, cultural and historical responses.
Trade is measured as one of the most important factors that started the
cross- border relationship among nations. This process involves transfer or
exchange of goods and services from one person to another or one country to
another. The following are the most important periods in the emergence of
globalization.

Silk roads

Silk roads are

ancient network of trade
routes that connect the
east and the west. (as
shown in figure 1)These
routes have been useful to
carry out goods and
services. Silk is one of the
most common products
for trading at that time.
Silk is a fiber obtained
from silkworms which can
be woven into textiles.
Image source: https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2019/01/how-globalization-4-0-fits-into
-the-history-of-globalization/
Figure 1. The Silk Road

People have been trading goods from the very start. Yet in the 1 st century BC,
an incredible phenomenon occurred. Luxury products from China started to appear
in Rome. They got there after being hauled for thousands of miles along the Silk
Road. Trade had stopped being a local or regional affair and started to become
global (Vanham, 2019).
This is not to conclude that globalization started intense. Silk was considered
a luxury good, together with the spices that were added to the intercontinental trade
between Asia and Europe. The value of these exports was tiny, in relation with the
total income of the economy, yet many middlemen were involved to get the goods to
their destination. But because of this, global trade links were established. Silk road
served as the key to people’s movements and open the doors for trans-border
relations among countries.
According to Kuzmina (2008) this was the road that for many centuries saw
the movement of people, object and ideas. Ethnic migrations, trade that was first
conducted in stages and later by caravan, the spread of advanced technologies and
ideological conceptions- all were part of the process by which the achievements of
the different people of Eurasia blended into a universal stream.

16th century

During this period, Europeans was recognized worldwide by building trade

connections on their own terms, bringing their culture to different regions by settling
vast areas, and defined the ways in which different people were to interact with each
other.
The main focus of the Islamic trade in the Middle Aged was spices. The
spices were traded mainly by sea since ancient times, unlike silk. But by the
Medieval Era spices had become the focus of international trade. Leading among
them were the mace, nutmeg, and cloves from the Maluku islands in Indonesia.
These spices were extremely expensive and in high demand, not only in Indonesia
but also in Europe. But compared with silk, they remained a luxury product, and
trade remained relatively low volume. Globalization at this time still didn’t take off, but
the original Belt (sea route) and Road (Silk Road) of trade between East and West
did now exist (Vanham, 2019).
During this period, colonization took place in different parts of the world.
Several sponsored expeditions were made by European countries in search for
spices. Spices are also popular goods for trading at that time. They are considered
highly valuable goods because they are very hard to obtain. Because of minimal
technological advancements, spices are being used as medicine and food
preservatives.

First wave of globalization (19th century)

This marked the period of intense globalizations, when millions migrated,

trade greatly expanded, and new norms and organizations came to govern
international conduct.
International relations and cross-border activities started to change with the
first wave of globalization, which roughly occurred over the century ending in 1914.
By the end of the 18th century, Great Britain had started to dominate the world both
geographically, through the establishment of the British Empire, and technologically,
with innovations like the steam engine, the industrial weaving machine and more. It
was the era of the First Industrial Revolution. This period is characterized by
machine manufacturing and industries. During these times, cities grew as people
shifted from farming/agriculture to industry and commerce.
According to Allen (2017), Industrial Revolution refers to the far reaching
transformation of British Society that occurred between the mid-18 th and mid-19th
centuries. Some of the advantages of this period are;
 Invention of machines to spin and weave cloth.
 Steam engine was widely used as a source of power.
 Using of coal in smelting and refining iron.
 Construction of railways.
However, the Industrial revolution also had a downside for it brought poverty along
with progress. Some of the disadvantages are;
 Technical change threw people out of work.
 The cities were polluted.
 The provision of education was limited.
 Worker’s housing condition was poor.

Allen (2017) added that the Industrial Revolution made for a fantastic twin
engine of global trade. On another note, trains and steamships could transport
goods, both within countries and across countries. Moreover, its industrialization
authorized Britain to produce products that were in demand all over the world, like
manufactured goods, textiles, and iron. With its advanced industrial technologies,
Britain was also able to bombard a huge enlarging international market. The result of
globalization could be seen through numbers. Trade grew on average 3% per year,
for about a century. That growth rate drove exports from a share of 6% in the early
19th century, to 14% in the eve of WW I. As stated by the Economist, John Maynard
Keynes, London could order through telephone the goods and services it wants
while sipping tea and lying on bed.
While Britain was the country who benefited most from globalization, as it had
the most technology and capital, other countries did benefitted too, by exporting
goods. For instance, the invention of the refrigerated cargo ship or “reefer ship” in
the 1870s, allowed countries like Uruguay and Argentina, to enter the golden age of
globalization. They started to mass export meat, from cattle grown on their vast
lands. Other countries, too, started to specialize their production in those fields in
which they were most competitive.
For More (2000), Industrial Revolution implies industrialization- that is both the
absolute growth of industry and its expansion relative to the other sectors of the
economy, those being agriculture and services. Industry in this context covers
manufacturing, mining and building.
Yetthe first wave of industrialization and globalization also coincided with
darker events, too. Many workers in the industrialized nations did not benefit from
globalization, for their work is commoditized by industrial machinery, or their output
undercut by foreign imports.

Image source: https://www.google.com/search?q=industrial+revolution&tbm=isch&ved

Figure 2. Illustration of the Industrial Revolution
 Figure 2 shows the illustration of how industrial revolution brought rapid
changes in our world today. As they say, it took centuries for us to reach this golden
age. Several waves of industrialization bring us to today, when a new era of
globalization is once again upon us.
According to Schwab (2016), the first industrial revolution traversed around
1760 to 1840. It is triggered by the invention of steam engine and construction of
railroads. The second industrial revolution which started in the late 19th century
and into the early 20th century, made mass production possible, fostered by the
advent of electricity and the assembly line. The third industrial revolution began in
the 1960’s. It is usually called the computer or the digital revolution because it was
catalyzed be the development of semi-conductors, main frame computing and the
internet. Nowadays, we are at the beginning of the fourth industrial revolution or the
globalization 4.0. It is characterized by a much more present mobile internet, by
smaller and more powerful sensors that have become cheaper, and by artificial
intelligence and machine learning.

Globalization 4.0 (20th Century)

Globalization in the 20th century is considered as the golden age of
globalization. Movement of people, goods and services across national borders was
at least as free and significant as it is today.
In a world dominated by two powerful countries, China, and the US, the new
partition of globalization is the cyber world. Digital economy, in its early years during
the 3rd wave of globalization, is now becoming a strength to reckon with through 3D
printing, digital services, and e-commerce. It is further empowered with artificial
intelligence, but is threatened by cross-border hacking and cyber-attacks (Vanham,
2019).
Moreover, a negative globalization is enlarging too, through climate change.
Pollution often leads to extreme weather events in another. This has a further
devastating effect not just on the world’s biodiversity, but also in its capacity to cope
with hazardous greenhouse gas emissions. As they say, for every production, there
is destruction, and for every consumption, there is waste.