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ContentsIntroduction–page3MarcoPolo–page4SilkRoad–page5GenghisKhan–page6ChristopherColumbus–page7Conclusion–page10

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AlthoughsomemayinfactbelievethatGlobalisationisquiteanewthing,suggestingthattheoriginshavebeenarathermoderndaything.Others,however,believethatitissomethingwhichhasexistedforamuchlongerperiodoftime,YaleGlobalOnlinegoingasfarastosuggestit‘beganwiththefirstmovementofpeopleoutofAfrica’.(YaleGlobal)Regardlessofindividualsownpersonalopinionsonthesubject,ifgoingbytheMerriam-Websterdefinition,whichisasfollows;‘theactorprocessofglobalizing’(Merriam-Webster)thenGlobalisationwasdefinitelysomethingwhichoccurredinthepastastherearemanyexamplesofsituationswhenpeopleandthingsinvolvedoraffectedlargepartsoftheworldandinsomecircumstances,thesewerethingswhichwerecoveringalloftheirknownworld.‘Archaicglobalisation’inthissituationwillbeusedtoexplorethetimeupuntilthe1800sasthatcanbearguedtobethetimewhentherewasashift.ThomasLFriedmanarguesinhisbook,‘TheWorldisFlat’thatthehistoryofGlobalisationcanbesplitupintothreeperiods;

“threegreaterasofGlobalization.Thefirstlastedfrom1492-whenColumbussetsail,openingtradebetweentheOldWorldandtheNewWorld–untilaround1800.IwouldcallthiseratheGlobalization1.0.Itshranktheworldfromasizelargetoasizemedium.Globalizationwasaboutcountriesandmuscle”.(Friedman,2005)

NayanChandainhisbook'BoundTogether:HowTraders,Preachers,AdventurersandWarriorsShapedGlobalization'arguesthattherearefourgroupswhichhavedonethemosttobringusclosertogetherandreallyhelpGlobalization.

“Thoughthemotivesofthesegroups—toprofit,convert,learnorconquer—haveusuallybeenselfish,theoveralleffectoftheiractionshasbeentodrawusallclosertogether.“("TheEarlyPioneers")

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MarcoPolowasconsideredanAdventurerandalsohadafatherwhowasatrader,tradingwiththeNearEast,whichwouldexplainwhyayoungPolohadbecomesointerestedintheFarEastandwouldgoontobeconsideredoneofthepioneersofGlobalization.Atageseventeenhefirstbeganhisjourney,travellingtoAsiawithhisfatherandhisuncleandwasabletobegintoseewhatwouldinspirehimtowritehisexperiencesofthecontinent.Healsobecamethefirstpersonwhohaddecidedtowritethesethingsdown,evenifhewasnotthefirstWesternpersontovisittheEasternpartoftheplanet.Hewouldn'thaveknownatthetimehowimportanthiswritingswouldbecometomanypeople,eveninspiringChristopherColumbuswhoisalsoknownasaratherimportantpersonwhereGlobalizationisconcerned.PoloreturnedtoItalyfromChinain1295,whenhewastwentyoneyearsofageandreturnedwith“silkandjewelsandtalesofthefabulouswealthoftheOrient”.("ABriefHistoryOfGlobalization")All

ofwhicharethingswhichmanyoftheItalianswouldn'thaveevenbegantoimagine,norwouldmanyotherpeopleintheWesternworld,saveforthosewhohadactuallymanagedtoexperiencethemforthemselves.ItiseasytoseehowMarcoPolohelpedtheworldbecomeinter-connectedmuchmorewhenlookingathisbookandseeingthethingshewroteaboutvariousAsiancountriesandevenmorespecifically,thethingshesaidaboutthecitieswithinthem.“Thepeoplearewhollyidolatrous,burn

thebodiesoftheirdead,theirmoneyispaperandtheyareunderthekhan.Theyhavemuchgrainandgrass”(PoloandMurray)

owncountry,buthealsotookbackknowledgeandincreasedthethingspeopleknewofotherpeople.Therefore,healsocontributedtoGlobalisationonaknowledgelevel,aswellasdoingsoonatradelevel.MarcoPolocontributedheavilytothisideawithoutevenknowingit,especiallyastheconceptitselfisarathernewone,whichhewouldhaveknowpossibilityofknowingandyet,hecouldbeseenasoneofthepeoplewhoevenmadeitpossibleinthemodernday,orattheveryleast,itmaynothavegottenquiteasfarasithadwithouthim.HealsohappenedtobeoneofthepeoplewhotraversedalongTheSilkRoad.

Figure1.MarcoPoloTravelmap

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TheSilkRoadwasatraderoutewhichconnectedtheEasttotheWestandexistedfromChina,allthewaytotheMediterraneanSea,andwasconsideredsoimportantthattheChineseextendedtheGreatWallofChinainordertoprotectthisrouteevenmoreso.TradeswhichweredoneonthisrouteimpactedthedevelopmentofseveralcivilizationsimmenselyandthesecivilizationsincludedChina,Persia,Europe,TheHornofAfricaandtheIndiansubcontinentandopenedlong-distance,politicalandeconomicrelationsbetweenthese.Itisn'tsurprisingthatthisrouteisconsideredimportanttothehistoryofglobalisation,especiallyasthethingswhichweretradedalongtheroutevariedfromSilkandothergoods,religion,technologies,philosophiesandevendiseases.OnethingwhichwastradedquitewidelyalongtheSilkRoad,traversinggreatdistancestogettovariousplaceswasexactlywhattheSilkRoadwasnamedafter;silkandthe“textiletechnologyhashadahugeinfluenceontheworld”.(Lu,QianandHe)Thisissomethingwhichcouldbeseeninthepastandisalsoseenwidelynow.SignsofWoodblockprintinginChinahavebeenfound,showingsignsofthemdatingasearlyas200ADandshowedflowersinthreeflowersonsilkandexamplesofresistdyeinghavebeenfoundwhichdatefromthreehundredyearslater.Chinawasoneofthecountriesmostforwardwherethetextileindustryisconcernedanditlikelyhelpedthatsilk,oneoftheoldestfibresdidinfactoriginateinChinaandthereisalegendwhichsuggeststhatEmpressHsiLingShiwasthefirsttodiscoverthatsilkcouldinfactbeworn.Nowadayssilkisstillacommonfibreusedforthefabricofclothingandalthoughman-madeismuchmorecommon,silkisstillsoughtafterandalsoused

Figure2:SilkRoadroute

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quiteoften,withtheonlinewebsite;Texeresilksuggestsjusthowmuchisstillproduced.

“Today,around125,000metrictonsofsilkisproducedintheworld.AlmosttwothirdsofthatproductiontakesplaceinChina”("SilkHistory:HistoryOfSilkFabric;HistoryOfChineseSilk;SilkRoadHistorySilksHistory")

Thisgivesanideaofjusthowimportantsilkhasbecometopeoplearoundtheworld,especiallyasitisn'ttheeasiestfabrictoproduceinthemodernera,duetohowitisnaturallymade,ratherthanman-made.SilkmadeinJapanisalsorathercommon,aswellasothercountrieshavingtheirhandinproducingthematerial.Thisisn'ttheonlythingwhichwastradedontheSilkRoadwhichhasbecomequiteaglobalthingsince,andotherthingsincluded;goldandsilver,animals,ChineseporcelainwhichbecameveryexpensiveintheEuropeanmarketandgemssuchasJade.ManyofthesethingsmayhaveonlyexistedinthecountriestheycameforhaditnotbeenfortheexistenceofTheSilkRoadandotherrouteswhichweresimilar.Also,thepeoplewhojourneyedamongtheseroutestradingbecomemuchmoreofaglobalthing,ratherthanbeingeachcountriessecret.

AlthoughhemaynotbeinstantlyimaginedassomeonewhohasanysortofconnectiontoGlobalision,GenghisKhanisanotherpersoninhistorywhocouldbethoughttohavecontributedtotheorigins.HewasthefounderoftheMongolEmpirewhichexpandedvastly.HehascontributedtowardsGlobalisationinafewways,thoughthemainoneislikelyduetohisgenetics.Duetoallofthechildrenhefatheredovertheyears,itisn'ttoosurprisingthathisgeneticscanevenbetracedtothemodernday,whichwasfoundinastudyovertenyearsago.The'NationalGeographic'reportedthefindingswhichsaid;“0.5percentofthemalepopulationintheworld,orroughly16million”(News.nationalgeographic.com,2016)havebeenfoundwiththesameYchromosomeashedid,theYchromosomebeingwhatispassedfromafathertohisson.Andso,itwouldn'tbedifficulttobelievethatasimilarnumberofdescendantsmayexistwhomarefemale.Hisgeneticshavespreadquitewidely,however,themajorityareinAsia,yet,eventhen,hewasbornclosetotheborderbetweenSiberiaandModernMongoliaandso,itisclearthatthroughhisdescendants,hehasbecomemuchmoreglobal.Bythetimeofhisdeath,his

Figure3:AnexampleofChinesesilk

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empirecontainedmuchofAsiaandreachedtoKievinmodernUkraineandJackWeatherfordspokeaboutthemoderndayinrelationtothelandheconquered.

“ThemajorityofpeopletodayliveincountriesconqueredbytheMongols;onthemodernmap,GenghisKhan'sconquestsincludethirtycountrieswithwellover3billionpeople”.(Weatherford,2004)

Hewasconsideredasaglobalpersonatthetimehewasaroundandwouldverymuchbeseeninthesamewayinthemodernday,especiallyconsideringhow

manypeoplearetaughtabouthimandhowmanymoreatleastknowofhim.Though,mostpeoplewouldknowaboutthemorenegativethingshehaddoneinhislifetime,however,thatwasn'talwaysthecase.History.comwroteanarticlespeakingaboutthetenthingspeoplemaynotknowaboutGenghisKhan,oneofwhichhappenedtobe“Hecreatedoneofthefirstinternationalpostal

systems”.(history.com,2014)Theircommunicationmethodalsohappenedtobe

oneoftheirbestweapons,asitallowedinformationandgoodstotravelalongtheroads,andwasalsohelpfulastheireyesandears,allowinghisspiestotravelalongtheselengths,findingthingsoutaboutotherpoliticalandmilitarystrengths.TheservicewouldthengoontobeusedbyMarcoPolo,aswellasmanyothertypesofpeople.SomeevensuggestthatGenghisKhanhappenedtobethepersontostartGlobalisation,duetohowheencouragedculturalinteractionandtradeamongstpeople.However,regardlessofhowmuchgoodhehasdoneinthissense,hestillusedratheraggressivewaystotakeoverthelandshewouldcometoown.However,thiskindofthingisn'tuncommonthroughouthistoryandmanyotherswouldalsobeconsideredconquerorsinthesameway.

SomepeoplealsoarguethatitwasnoneofthesepeoplewhoallowedhelpedGlobalisationtobecomewhatweknowitastoday,butthatitwasChristopherColumbusandhisarrivalinAmericathatdidso.Thistimeisoftenreferredtoas'TheColumbianExchange',whichfocusesonhowtheexchangesofvariousthingstransformedthelivesofboththeEuropeansandtheNativeAmericans.Sincehisarrival,variousthingshavebeenexchangedbetweenAmericaand

Figure4:TheMongolEmpire

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Europe,aswellastherestoftheworld,thesethingsrangedfromplantstopeopleandpracticallyeverythinginbetween.Thesethingsaffectedthecountriesinbothpositiveandnegativeways,causingproblemsandbenefitsforthepeople,somethingsevenmanagingtoprovidebothpositivesandnegatives,dependingontheparty.ItisobviousthattheSpaniardstookfromtheIndiansasinChristopherColumbus'book,heevensayssohimself;

“TheIndiansgavethemalltheywant;butevenwithoutgivingtheIndianssomething,theSpaniardswanttohaveandtakeeverything”.(Columbusetal.,1989)

Diseasesforastartweretakentothenewworldandarangeofnewdiseaseswerethentakenbackwiththem.Diseasessuchasmeasles,smallpoxandtyphusandalsomumpsweretakentoAmericaandcausedalargeamountofdevastationtotheAmericannatives,somehistoriansevenbelievingthat90%oftheNativeAmericanpopulationdiedfromthesediseasesduringthe1500s,however,therewerealsothingswhichColumbusandhissailorstookfromAmerica,backtotheirhome.

“Columbus'ssailorsbecameinfectedwithsyphilisintheAmericasandcarriedthediseasebacktoEurope.Itspreadthroughoutthecontinent,destroyinghundredsofthousandsoflives”(Feinstein,2010)

Duetothediseasebeingonewhichisspreadsexually,therewasnowonderitmanagedtodevastateasmanylivesasitdid.Especiallyassailorsweremenwhoweren'tnecessarilywithwomenandbecauseofthat,tendedtoenjoythefemalecompanywhentheywereableto.Itcouldn'tbeassumedhowmanysexualrelationshipseachofthesemenwouldhavehadwithdifferentmen,andthenhowmanydifferentpeoplethesewomenwouldhavehadinturn,butitisn'tsurprisingthatithadsuchadominoeffectonWesternsociety.FoodwasanotherimportantandhighlyexchangedpartoftheColumbianExchangeasmanyfoodtypeswerebroughttoAmericafromEuropeandviceversa,“Maize,whitepotatoes,sweetpotatoes,varioussquashes,chilies,andmaniochavebecomeessentials”(Gilderlehrman.org,2016)andwereallbroughtfromAmericaandEuropetookwheat,pampa,alongwithdomesticatedanimalssuchashorsesandcows.Columbus'journeysovertoAmericadefinitelyhelpedGlobalisationvastly,asitallowedvariousspeciesofplantsandanimals,aswellasdiseasestocrosstonewareasintheworld,allowingforawiderrangeoffood,natureandillnesstobeaccessedbyalargerrangeofpeople,workinginarangeofways.However,eventhoughillnessesweretakentonewpeople,thiscouldalsobeseenastheworldshrinkingasithasalloweddoctorsfromarangeofcountriestocometogethertocuretheseillnesses.Justasafurtheringrangeofingredientshasallowedcooksfromallaroundtheworldtocreatedisheswithvarious

Figure5:PaintingofChristopherColumbusarrivingonaCaribbeanIsland

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inspiration,andnoneofthiscouldbeachievedifnotforpeoplesuchasChristopherColumbus.

AlthoughmanypeoplemaybelievethatGlobalisationisarathermodernidea,itisobviousthatitdatesmuchfurtherbackthanpeoplemayhavefirstassumed.Manypeoplethroughouthistorycanbethanked,astheyhelpeditbecomewhatweknowitastoday.However,itshouldalsobenotedthatalthoughthemoderndaypersonmaythinkofitpurelyasagoodthing,therewerealotofnegativethingswhichhappenedthroughouthistorywhichallowedittobecomewhatitistoday.Manypeoplehadtosufferfortheworldtoshrinkandtoallowmanypeopletobecomecloser,however,manypeoplewerealsoimpactedinaratherpositivewaysbecauseofthesethings.Andso,itishardtoimaginewhatlifewouldbelikewithoutGlobalisation,norisitsomethingwhichwouldbeeasilywishedaway.

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Weatherford,J.(2004).GenghisKhanandthemakingofthemodernworld.NewYork:Crown.Andrews.E(2014).10ThingsYouMayNotKnowAboutGenghisKhan-HistoryLists.[online]HISTORY.com.Availableat:http://www.history.com/news/history-lists/10-things-you-may-not-know-about-genghis-khan[Accessed15Mar.2016].(ChristopherColumbus)(banner)Columbus,C.,Casas,B.,Dunn,O.andKelley,J.(1989).TheDiarioofChristopherColumbus'sfirstvoyagetoAmerica,1492-1493.Norman:UniversityofOklahomaPress.Feinstein,S.(2010).Columbus.BerkeleyHeights,NJ:EnslowPublishers.Gilderlehrman.org.(2016).TheColumbianExchange|TheGilderLehrmanInstituteofAmericanHistory.[online]Availableat:https://www.gilderlehrman.org/history-by-era/american-indians/essays/columbian-exchange[Accessed16Mar.2016].(Images)Figure1:Shunya.net.(2016).MarcoPolo'sIndia.[online]Availableat:http://www.shunya.net/Text/Blog/MarcoPoloIndia.htm[Accessed17Mar.2016].Figure2:Cbw.ge.(2016).[online]Availableat:http://cbw.ge/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/o-SILK-ROAD-MAP-facebook.jpg[Accessed17Mar.2016].Figure3:S-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com.(2016).[online]Availableat:https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/10/bc/5c/10bc5cca8c309856de2423c84225ce8f.jpg[Accessed17Mar.2016].Figure4:Weeklydictator.com.(2016).[online]Availableat:http://weeklydictator.com/blog1/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/w47_Ghenghis_Khan.gif[Accessed17Mar.2016].

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Figure5:S.hswstatic.com.(2016).[online]Availableat:http://s.hswstatic.com/gif/c-columbus-12.jpg[Accessed17Mar.2016].