"Globalization" has become a popular buzzword for explaining today's world. The expression achieved terminological stardom in the 1990s and was soon embraced by the general public and integrated into numerous languages.

But is this much-discussed phenomenon really an invention of modern times? In this work, Jurgen Osterhammel and Niels Petersson make the case that globalization is not so new, after all. Arguing that the world did not turn "global" overnight, the book traces the emergence of globalization over the past seven or eight centuries. In fact, the authors write, the phenomenon can be traced back to early modern large-scale trading, for example, the silk trade between China and the Mediterranean region, the shipping routes between the Arabian Peninsula and India, and the more frequently traveled caravan routes of the Near East and North Africa--all conduits for people, goods, coins, artwork, and ideas.

Osterhammel and Petersson argue that the period from 1750 to 1880--an era characterized by the development of free trade and the long-distance impact of the industrial revolution--represented an important phase in the globalization phenomenon. Moreover, they demonstrate how globalization in the mid-twentieth century opened up the prospect of global destruction though nuclear war and ecological catastrophe. In the end, the authors write, today's globalization is part of a long-running transformation and has not ushered in a "global age" radically different from anything that came before.

This book will appeal to historians, economists, and anyone in the social sciences who is interested in the historical emergence of globalization."

This open access book belongs to the Maritime Business and Economic History strand of the Palgrave Studies in Maritime Economics book series. This volume highlights the contribution of the shipping industry to the transformations in business and society of the postwar era. Shipping was both an example and an engine of globalization and structural change. In turn, the industry experienced and pioneered, mirrored and enabled key developments that led to the present-day globalized economy. Contributions address issues such as the macro-level shift of shipping's centre of gravity from Europe to Asia, the political and legal frameworks within which it developed, the strategies and performance of both successful and unsuccessful firms, and the links between the shipping industry and the wider economy and society. Without shipping and its ability to forge connections and networks of a global reach, the modern world would look very different. By bringing together scholars from various disciplinary and national backgrounds, this book advances our understanding of the linkages that bind economies and societies together.

This open access book belongs to the Maritime Business and Economic History strand of the Palgrave Studies in Maritime Economics book series. This volume highlights the contribution of the shipping industry to the transformations in business and society of the postwar era. Shipping was both an example and an engine of globalization and structural change. In turn, the industry experienced and pioneered, mirrored and enabled key developments that led to the present-day globalized economy. Contributions address issues such as the macro-level shift of shipping's centre of gravity from Europe to Asia, the political and legal frameworks within which it developed, the strategies and performance of both successful and unsuccessful firms, and the links between the shipping industry and the wider economy and society. Without shipping and its ability to forge connections and networks of a global reach, the modern world would look very different. By bringing together scholars from various disciplinary and national backgrounds, this book advances our understanding of the linkages that bind economies and societies together.

In Varianten des informellen Imperialismus, wie sie nach der Jahrhundertwende in bzw. gegenuber Siam und China entstanden, zeigen sich bereits Ansatze des heutigen liberalen marktwirtschaftlichen Entwicklungsdenkens. Petersson untersucht, welche Politik Grossbritannien, Frankreich und das Deutsche Reich bei Modernisierungsfragen in Siam und China verfolgten. Aus der Presse: ..". ein Lehrstuck fur Probleme der Entwicklungspolitik der Gegenwart." Wolfgang j. Mommsen in: FAZ vom 20.3.2001"

The essays in this volume discuss the worldwide economic integration between 1850 and 1930, challenging the popular description of the period after 1918 as one of mere deglobalisation. The authors posit that markets were not only places of material exchange, but also socially structured entities, shaped by the agency of individual actors and by complex structures of political and economic power. Economic transactions were supported by an array of different institutions, ranging from formalized regulations to informal relations of personal trust. They argue that these networks were strong enough to prosper even through and after World War I, in a political climate often hostile to foreign trade. The Foundations of Worldwide Economic Integration shows that institutionalism altered its shape in the face of circumstances that increasingly challenged international trade. By presenting case studies from various countries, this book offers a fresh perspective on crucial periods of economic globalisation.

The essays in this volume discuss worldwide economic integration between 1850 and 1930, challenging the popular description of the period after 1918 as one of mere deglobalisation. The authors argue that markets were not only places of material exchange, but also socially structured entities, shaped by the agency of individual actors and by complex structures of political and economic power. Economic transactions were supported by an array of different institutions, ranging from formalised regulations to informal relations of personal trust. They argue that these networks were strong enough to prosper even during and after World War I, in a political climate often hostile to foreign trade. The Foundations of Worldwide Economic Integration shows that institutionalism altered its shape in the face of circumstances that increasingly challenged international trade. By presenting case studies from various countries, this book offers a fresh perspective on crucial periods of economic globalisation.