THE

TIMELINE
OF

GLOBALIZATION
(1st century BC-5th century AD, and 13th-14th centuries AD)

Silk Roads
A remarkable phenomenon occurred in the 1st
century BC. Luxury products from China reached
Rome after being hauled for thousands of miles
along the Silk Road. The Silk Road eventually
closed and reopened several centuries later in
Marco Polo’s late medieval time because of the
Mongol Empire.

(7th-15th centuries)

Spice Routes
In the 7th century, the religion of Islam founded by the
prophet Mohammed, spread in all directions from the
Arabian heartland and so did trade. Afterward, in the
9th century, Muslims dominated the Mediterranean
and Indian Ocean trade. Spices were their main
trade and became the true focus of international
trade in the medieval era. Still, silk remained a luxury
product but remained relatively low in volume.

(15th-18th centuries)

Age of Discovery
Marked the beginning of global trade. European
explorers connected East and West and discovered
the Americas, introducing new goods like potatoes,
tomatoes, coffee, and chocolate to Europe.
However, true globalization was limited, with
European empires primarily establishing supply
chains with their colonies, marked by exploitation
and the slave trade.

(19th century-1914)

1st Wave of Globalization

From the 19th century to 1914, Great Britain dominated
the world geographically, technologically, industrially,
and more. It was the era of the first Industrial Revolution.
The trade grew on average by 3% in 100 years. Other
countries like Argentina and Uruguay also benefited from
this globalization and started to mass export their own
grown meat cattle. Opposedly, large countries like India,
China, Mexico, and Japan were not able to adapt to the
industrial and global trends.

The World Wars

The outbreak of World War 1 in 1941 marked
the catastrophic end of Western high
society as well as globalization. Millions
have died, war replaced trade, and borders
are closed. In the years between the world
wars, financial markets caused a further
breakdown of global economy and its links.

2nd and 3rd Wave of Globalization

After WW2, the US, aided by the technologies of the Second
Industrial Revolution, global trade started to rise again. At first, the
Iron Curtain separated it into two tracks but when it fell last 1989,
globalization became a global phenomenon. Institutions like EU and
US-backed trade projects boosted growth. By 1989, exports
accounted for 14% of global GDP. When the Soviet Union collapsed,
globalization became an all-conquering force, and the WTO
encouraged nations to enter free-trade agreements. A new
technology from the Third Industrial Revolution, the internet, further
united the nations. By the 2000s, exports hit a quarter of global GDP,
with trade constituting half.

4th Wave of Globalization

In today's new phase of globalization, where China
and the US lead at the top, globalization's new
frontier is the cyber world. With the rise of digital
services, e-commerce, and 3D printing, the 3rd wave
of globalization saw the new dawn of the digital
economy. Simultaneously, negative globalisation
intensifies due to climate change resulting in
damage to the environment that affects worldwide.