Historians differ on when historical globalization actually began. It may have begun when Arab traders travelled to Asia in 100 CE. Many historians begin with the trade relationships that emerged after the Conquest of the Americas by Spain, Portugal, France, and England. Other historians formally acknowledge the nineteenth century as the starting point for historical globalization when the increased manufacturing and trade of goods globally created mass change in the societies of both Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples.

The eighteenth century was a time period in Western Europe when many ideas emerged about how the economy should operate and how people should live and be governed. You will explore these ideas in this lesson and examine the legacies of the application of these ideas on the societies of both Indigenous peoples and non-Indigenous peoples. Your work in Explore will gather understandings to these questions:

• What ideas, values, and beliefs formed the foundations of historical globalization?

• What were the legacies of historical globalization?

Reflection

Open the Philosophy of My Jeans assignment here. 

The ideas, values, and beliefs that guide a person’s choice and purchase of jeans are not just individual views. You may be unaware that many of your consumer ideas and views have been shaped by the economic system in place. Many of Canada’s early trade relationships have reflected the ideas of mercantilism, imperialism, capitalism, and industrialization. Capitalism has become a contemporary force behind many economic and business policies.

Historical relationships between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples were also based on these ideas. How did these ideas shape the foundations of historical globalization?

Check out 

Foundations of Historical Globalization 

LA410/6943

Read

Read about mercantilism, the values behind capitalism, industrialization, the Industrial Revolution, imperialism, and eurocentrism on pages 134 to 152 in Perspectives on Globalization.

Quiz

Check your understanding of the ideas that shaped the foundations of historical globalization. Make sure you have done the reading above!  9 questions on this quiz.  Give your self 30 minutes to complete. 

Historical Globalizations Quiz