Pre-Modern Globalisation - Essay Example

?Does Pre-Modern Globalisation Meet the Criteria for Globalisation? The Start of Globalisation (Pre-Modern Globalisation) Globalisation has been existent for more than one millennium; however, it was only officially recognised in the modern age and so is assumed by many scholars to be of recent origin. In the ancient world, citizens in civilisations such as those of ancient Greece, the Mauryan Empire in India, the Han Empire in China, and the ancient Roman Empire all actively traded and interacted with people from foreign states and faraway communities. The Arabs also travelled to Europe and Africa, among other lands, to trade and explore. In the late 1400s, Christopher Columbus would journey to the North American continent 200 years after Marco Polo, the Venetian traveler had visited China (Gunn 2003). This shows that travel and trade practices among different communities were common even in ancient civilisations. Moreover, it is only in the 19th and 20th centuries that globalisation which was characterised by Westernisation would begin to take root across the world. The implements that were created in Western nations would propel globalisation by facilitating more trade by enabling the quicker transportation of goods to distant locations. What different perspectives are there on the starting date of globalisation and why do people disagree on when it started? Globalisation is defined in different ways by different scholars. Historians like Petersson and Osterhammel will claim that globalisation can actually be traced to the interactive trade activities of people in ancient Chinese, Greek, and Indian civilisations (Kaiser 2003). Eurocentric historians, on the other hand, define the start of globalisation as the moment when European nations acquired the naval skills to navigate the oceans and travel to different nations and continents (Pieterse 2003). For other scholars, true globalisation can only be said to have started in the mid-nineteenth century, when entire continents were suddenly able to have access to information about what was occurring in nations across the sea as a result of the trans-Atlantic communications cables that were placed on the ocean floor. The mid-nineteenth century also marked the beginning of international social movements like the female suffrage movement. The final group of scholars claim that globalisation only truly began in the 1960's, with the production of the earliest computer systems, commercial flight which allowed people to relocate to other continents in a much shorter time than was previously possible, and due to the invention of modernising communications technologies. For each of these groups, globalisation is defined y their area of specialty. A historian, for example, is well aware that trade between nations is something that was not invented in the 19th century with the discovery of locomotives; but existed even when Alexander the Great lived. A modernist, on the other hand, will define globalisation according to when the most modern technological discoveries were first fashioned in such a way that they improved human transportation. Examples of pre-modern globalisation There are numerous examples of ‘pre-modern’ civilisations that encouraged their citizens to engage in international trade- which is the most obvious quality that is identified with globalisation. India, for example, was a globalised society centuries before the European connotation of the word globalisation was coined. In 322 B.C.E., Asoka (304-232 B.C.E) ruled over the great Empire of Maurya (Versluys 2008). The citizens of Asoka’s empire were free to trade with others, and did so across a vast state. The Mauryan Empire stretched from the Bangladesh to the Himalayas. It also encompassed areas such as modern day Pakistan, and Afghanistan. While Emperor Asoka at first used war to expand his empire, he would later resort to religion to keep it together. Asoka became a Buddhist and even encouraged his ethnically diverse citizens to educate themselves and learn philosophy. Alexander the great was another emperor who presided over an empire that stretched from Egypt in Africa to Europe and Asia (Versluys 2008). Trade flourished among his ethnically diverse subjects. In the 1st century C.E., the Han dynasty in China witnessed the first incidence of trans-world trade after successful trade relations between European and Asian states were launched (Versluys 2008). The Roman Empire saw the rapid development of trade in elements such as salt and wheat. There was also the rise of trade routes created by the Arabs in the west Mediterranean region in 650-850 AD (Versluys 2008). During the reign of the Mongolian Emperor, Genghis Khan, in the 1100s, there would be an increase in the number of overland routes used by traders criss-crossing the Eurasian subcontinent (Versluys 2008). It is only in the late 1400s and later after 1600 AD that the rise of Western nations as economic powerhouses that championed the development of different means of transportation would begin in earnest (Gunn 2003). It is also after 1600AD that the European religion, Christianity, was exported to all the peoples with whom the Europeans came into contact- in an effort to further unify different cultures. Early Global Imaginings The early civilisations were not completely focused on the development of trade. The main aim of the rulers who sought to annex additional territories to their vast empires was to create a singular monolithic state that would be ruled by a single individual. In a way, war served the purpose that is today served by trade in that it was used to force contact with people from different states and lands. Once foreign lands became occupied territories, they naturally came under the influence of the culture of the colonisers. For example, Asoka would accept Buddhism as his religion and then create religious centres across his empire where his many subjects from diverse ethnic backgrounds would be able to learn more about it (Versluys 2008). During Alexander the Great’s rule in the Hellenistic Age (323-146 BC), the territories that he conquered were exposed to the culture of ancient Greece and encouraged to adopt it as their own. When the Romans conquered ancient Greece, they would keep its modern aspects or adopt them as their own. Through war, which was quickly followed by the influence of culture, the rulers of ancient civilisations enforced a type of globalisation in their empires. In what ways is pre-modern globalisation not modern globalisation? Globalisation entails the increased movement of people from different locations (Pieterse 2003). It allows tourists, along with migrants who are forced to leave their homes due to unfortunate circumstances, to be able to visit new lands where they may stay for as long as they wish. This results in diversity among the populations of different states. In ancient civilisations, the individuals who usually travelled with such freedom were from the wealthy classes. Travelling meant that the person in question had to have enough money for food and other supplies to last him until he arrived at the desired destination (Gills and Thompson 2006). The person also had to ensure that he had enough money to hire bodyguards to protect him in case he came across criminals. In modern globalisation, the invention of modern means of transport has made such concerns irrelevant. People can travel to various locations in relative safety. In addition, the development of a higher standard of living in many nations also means that crime is no longer as big a problem for travellers, as it was in bygone eras. The status of citizens in present day nations is also much different from what it was in ancient civilisations. Citizens today enjoy freedoms that were unheard of, except for the rich, in bygone civilisations. There is also the fact that in past civilisations, the interests of diasporic and dispersed ethnic communities were not really viewed as being a concern of the ruling government. Political organisations which sought to unite the different states were non-existent. Essentially, even though international trade existed, it was mainly conducted by the wealthy classes, or by the relatives of the rulers. Why sociology overlooks pre-modern non-Western origins of globalisation It could be said that sociology is mainly Eurocentric and looks to the present era’s globalisation as being the real representation. However, it is a fact that the conditions that exist in the present make it possible to even discuss the issue of globalisation with an understanding readership. In ancient civilisations, the very fact that not all people could write meant that topics such as globalisation could not be understood by the mainstream society (Geraghty 2007). The only people who may have benefited from international trade were the wealthier classes; and so it cannot be claimed that globalisation improved the society for the majority of citizens living in those states. Also, in today’s world, the multinational corporations are at the forefront of spreading globalisation and its ideals among different peoples of the world. In ancient civilisations, society was not specialised to such an extent that there were government recognised industries which would trade on an international scale (Gills and Thompson 2006). The settings of ancient empires also disqualify them from the sociological point of view because instead of seeking to enable citizens, ancient empires victimised them for profit. Ancient empires were mostly based on mercantilist or imperialistic systems that were founded on the system of plundering new regions, or of exploration. Globalisation today is based on the notion of the gain of the entire society and not just a favoured few. It also seeks to upgrade the lives of all citizens through advanced technological discoveries in the transport, communication, and information technologies. How can the way you define globalisation affect how early you see it first occurring? If a person is a historian and defines globalisation in terms of the long distance trade phenomenon or the existence of human interaction between different cultures, then, for him or her, globalisation began more than two millennia ago. On the other hand, if an individual defines globalisation as progress in terms of transportation as well as the widespread use of knowledge, then, for him, globalisation really started in the 19th century. Perspectives which criticise globalisation-as-modern views for Euro-centrism Eurocentrism is a word that is descriptive of an inclination to interpret the cultures as well as histories of non-European nations and communities from a European point of view. This may include disregarding or undervaluing communities with a non-European background as they are perceived to be inferior to European culture. According to Zygmunt Bauman, Eurocentrism allows for European culture to be placed in the central position that has the power to define all other cultures (Flynn and Giraldez 2004). From this position Eurocentism can authorise the ignoring of relevant historical as well as social experiences of the regions and nations that European nations have an agenda for in as far as economic matters are concerned. The theory of Andre Gunder Frank goes further in discrediting the true aims of euro centrism as he states that most academic theories contain a Eurocentric bias (Flynn and Giraldez 2004). According to Frank, terms such as ‘industrial revolution’, ‘imperialism’ and ‘capitalism’ do not do justice to the financial systems that existed among the ancient Eastern civilisations. He further states that the word ‘globalisation’ is just a new expression for a very old phenomenon. This would mean that Westernisation does not deserve the supreme role that so many scholars have in the past assigned to it. It is merely recognised because it characterises the most recent model of global interaction. References Flynn, D.O. & Giraldez, A. (2004) ‘Path dependence, time lags, and the birth of globalisation: A critique of O’Rourke and Williamson’, European Review of Economic History, vol. 8, pp. 81-108. Geraghty, R.M. (2007) ‘The impact of globalisation in the Roman empire, 200 BC-AD 100’, Journal of Economic History, vol. 67, pp. 1036-61. Gills, B.K. & Thompson, W.R. (2006) Globalisation and global history, Routledge, London. Gunn, G.C. (2003) First globalisation: the Eurasian exchange- 1500-1800, Rowman & Littlefield, Lanham. Kaiser, M. (2003) Eurasia in the makingorevival of the Silk Road: a study of cross-border trade and markets in contemporary Uzbekistan, Bielefeld. Pieterse, J.N. (2003) Globalisation and culture: global melange, Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Lanham. Versluys, M.J. (2008) ‘Exploring identities in the Phoenician, Hellenistic and Roman East’, Bibliotheca Orientalis, vol. 65, pp. 342-356. Read More