‘Instructor’s Name’
Christopher Columbus and "Globalization" in the early modern world
Globalization is by no means a phenomenon invented in the twentieth century, particularly with reference to cultural exchanges. Globalization is much more than a commodities exchange across national borders. It is a phenomenon which denotes the flow and bartering of knowledge, commodities, values, specimens and people on a global scale. It is fast replacing the societal identity of nationality with globality. Most historians attach the origin of globalization to the year 1492, when ‘Columbus’ stumbled upon America in his search for trade route to Asia. But even as early as thousand years before Columbus’ first voyage to America, long distance trade was a reality with silk from China finding its route to the Mediterranean market via the Silk Road. This road which connected Europe and Asia was used for trade, from the period of Han dynasty which ruled between 206 BC and 220 AD. The road was not just used by traders but also by monks, pilgrims, soldiers and nomads. It connected the East and West and everything from technologies, commodities, culture, art, religions and sometimes epidemics, were transported. But the Silk Road ceased to serve its purpose once the political unity along the road loosened. The Ottomans’ domination of Constantinople during the 1450s further weakened the trade in this route, as they were Anti-Western and resented any trade activity with them.
This is the period when Columbus embarked on his now famous voyage in search of a Westward sea route to the Eastern world. The Silk and spices obtained from Asia, were in huge demand in Europe and this disruption of the trade route had many European powers, scheming at length to find an alternative way to restore trade with the East. While the Portuguese tried to find a route to Asia by circling the African continent, Columbus and his brothers tried to reach Asia by sailing the ‘Ocean Sea’(The Atlantic) in the West direction. Though during the era in which Columbus lived, many theologians still considered earth to be flat, many of the Western elite understood that the earth was a sphere. So Columbus had the correct idea that he could reach Asia by travelling west, but he had grossly miscalculated the distance between Europe and Asia. After many failed attempts to get the European monarchs to sponsor his expedition, Columbus was granted sponsorship by the Spanish crown with rather liberal terms, mainly because they were sure he would fail his mission. Columbus embarked on his first voyage towards America (he presumed towards Asia) with a small fleet of 3 ships on August 3, 1492.
After five weeks of voyage the island San Salvador (Bahamas) was spotted, and Columbus met the indigenous people there who greeted the crew with gifts and brilliantly colored birds. Columbus took their ornaments, gifts and some slaves in his return voyage to Europe and thus started the first trade of Europe with America.
“They brought us parrots and balls of cotton and spears and many other things, which they exchanged for the glass beads and hawks' bells.” (Columbus, 1492)
Columbus refused to accept that he landed on a hitherto unknown island and continued to call the inhabitants of the land as Indies, as he insisted he had reached India. Before this period Europeans, Asians and Africans lived in their respective continent, and only Islamic countries which occupied the central region of the Eastern hemisphere, were able to establish contact with foreign cultures. Even when Portuguese reached India via the eastern sea route they did not initiate a huge trading process because they had nothing of prominent value to offer to Indians. Columbus’ voyage was different from earlier expeditions not only because he found a vast new land, which was unknown to both the Western and Eastern world, but he started the process of colonial settlement. People from both Europe (as settlers) and Africa (as slaves) were transported to the new found land. During his second voyage Columbus took with him 17 ships, given to him by the Spanish Monarch who was impressed by the results of the first voyage, which had aboard priests, farmers and soldiers. So far, European powers used conquered foreign lands as colonies for exploitation, but Columbus’ discovery initiated process of settlement which was aimed at converting the native population to Christianity. As Martin Dugard a state, Columbus’ achievement is not that he got to America first, because before him the Vikings have achieved that task, it is that he stayed.
Columbus’ voyages connected the American and European continents economically. The major exports from America to Europe included logwood and tobacco. With the increase of demand for goods produced in America, the colonists faced increased demand for labor and thus slave trade gained significance. Thus through his voyages to America Columbus established a trade network that bound three continents together, namely Africa, American and Europe, thus initiating a process of economic globalization in a massive scale. His newly discovered Western sea route also enabled the subsequent travelers to reach Asia and indulge in trade with them. Chinese Silk and Spanish silver were among the most frequently bartered items.
While most historians and economists define globalization in financial terms alone, Columbus’ contributions are more significant in terms of the biological exchange he initiated. Charles Mann, in his book 1493: Uncovering the new World Columbus Created, explains about the biological phenomenon initiated by the voyages of Columbus. He convey that the earth was created as a single landmass known as Pangaea, which later divided into Eurasia and America due to geological factors, and different geographies gave birth to different kind of fauna and flora. Before Columbus only a few species of insects and birds were able to cross the Atlantic and establish their species in a different geography. The major contribution according to him of the Columbian Exchange, a term coined by Crosby, is the thousands of species that found their way to new homes through European ships. This is the reason why today there are chili peppers in Thailand and tomatoes in Italy. So according to him the Columbian exchange is the single most important ecological event after the extinction of dinosaurs.
Today there are varying opinions about Columbus and his voyages. He did not find a new land as the Indians were already living there for thousands of years, and he was not even the first European to land there. He is held responsible for the spread of ‘Black Death’ and the near extermination of the indigenous people of America. Particularly, the information about his inhumane treatment of the Native Americans further puts his role as an American icon into skepticism. But it is beyond doubt that his landing in America, partly by design and partly by luck, started globalization with a vigor and speed which was never witnessed before his time. He started the process of state sponsored expeditions, acquisitions and trading monopolies, which was later followed successfully by many countries, the most famous example being the East India Trading company, which is a business entity operating under the British Crown. To be fair to Columbus, he had a vision, worked hard for it, and was skilled enough to procure the means to pursue his dreams. He was bold enough to voyage into unchartered waters. And he had conviction (though landmark he intended to find was Asia) that he would reach a land, in a path which was not attempted before. To sum it would be appropriate to quote President Reagan when he told during the inauguration of the Columbus Day in 1988,
“He was a dreamer, a man of vision and courage . And put it all together we might consider Columbus to be the inventor of the American Dream”. (President Ronal Reagan, 1988)
Reference
Allison, Scott T and Goethals, George R. True Heroes. New York: Routledge, 2013. Print
Columbus, Christopher. (1492) in A People's History of the United States: 1492 to Present. Ed by Howard Zinn. New York: HarperCollins, 2010. Print
Mann, Charles C. 1493: Uncovering the New World Columbus Created. USA: Knopf; August 9, 2011. Print.
