For many historians and academics, globalization was a big bang phenomenon of 1492. The onset of globalization is thus often related to the voyage of Christopher Columbus, which resulted in his discovery of the Americas. Later on, Vas Co Da Gama’s voyage around Africa and his eventual entry into spice trading further laid the foundation of globalization and interconnectedness. The focus of this essay is to develop a clear analysis of the actual onset of the globalization process. It seeks to show that globalization was present even before the famously-acclaimed voyage of 1492.
Globalization in itself denotes the aspect of exchange of goods, capital, and knowledge on a global platform. Factors that have to be considered in understanding globalization have to be in tandem with historical facts.
The description of the word ‘world’ has changed over the century with new discoveries. There is existing evidence of intercontinental voyages before the year 1492, which had a similar impact to that of Cristopher Columbus and Vas Co Da Gama. A lot of information points at the existence of a global frame before the thirteenth century.
The expansion of the Vikings to America for instance or the travels of John of Monte Corvino provide insight into the aspect of a globalized world before the big bang significance of 1492 and 1498. Looking at globalization from the Chinese perspective, one realizes that it is a concept that has been in existence for thousands of years.
The history of China depicts an open-ended interaction with the world. For instance, during the reign of the Middle Kingdom, China managed to reach all the corners of the globe in an effort to facilitate the exchange of goods, technology and ideas. The story of Zheng He, who was a Yunnan Muslim explorer during the Ming Dynasty is a testament to this fact.
He managed to travel to Africa and India on over seven journeys. His journeys were conducted between the years of the 1405 and 1433. The royal family of the Ming Dynasty put into motion the voyages around the world by heavily funding naval venture from the year 1405. The purpose of the expeditions was aimed at creating diplomatic ties.
His expeditions were composed of hundreds of vessels and thousands of sailors, who made voyages across the world. The voyages were focused on exchanging gifts and enrolling tributaries. The journeys were instrumental in mapping the world for the people of China and introducing new scientific investigations from around the world.
The sailors often brought back geographic information and that resulted in the establishment of trade routes. The following phrase best summarizes the expanse of the journeys that Zheng He and his crew managed to cover and signifies the aspect of the very foundation of globalization and exchange of goods and ideas: “We have traversed more than one hundred thousand li of immense water spaces and have beheld in the ocean huge waves like mountains rising sky-high, and we have set eyes on barbarian regions far away hidden in a blue transparency of light vapors.”
After a critical look at the voyages that were conducted during the Ming dynasty, one realizes that they represented economic exploitation as well as establishing the recognition of the power and prestige that the Ming Dynasty possessed. The Ming voyages may have been curtailed in 1433 and its records destroyed in 1479; however, this does not erase the fact that China played a crucial role in instigating the age of exploration and trade across the world. In essence, they created the very basis upon which globalization was built.
John of Monte Corvino is another critical figure of the globalization phenomenon, and part of the evidence that date globalization way back before 1492. John was a Franciscan priest, and he was the first archbishop of Cambalec back in 1307. His endeavor was instrumental in defining globalization in the twelfth century. The idea that globalization was a concept that arose only in the thirteenth century is disapproved once more by the journeys made by John.
He traveled to India back in the year 1291, as clearly stated in the Report from China 1305: “I, Friar John of Monte Corvino, of the order of Minor Friars, departed from Tauris, a city of the Persians, in the year of the Lord 1291, and proceeded to India.” The text by John details his journeys across central Asia, a feat he managed to achieve during the reign of the Mongol Khans. His journeys were aimed at spreading Christianity across the Asian continent and this in itself denotes the idea and concept of globalization.
In conclusion, the discussion and analysis in this essay brings to light the fact that globalization was a concept that began way before 1492. Arguments that propose the voyage of Christopher Columbus as the pretext of globalization are overshadowed by the overwhelming evidence from the journeys made by Zheng He and John of Monte Corvino. The voyages made by the Chinese facilitated exploration, mapping of trade routes and trade. Therefore, it is incorrect to assume that globalization started in 1492.
Bibliography
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"Zheng He Documents." Zheng He Documents. <http://www.lasalle.edu/~mcinneshin/356/wk03/zhenghe.htm>.
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