2.2.1 Reasons for Historical Globalization

Throughout history, people of any culture have been in contact with people from other lands for many reasons. This cultural contact sometimes caused conflict, but it often helped people. They learned new and sometimes better ways of living. Ideas spread from one group to another and from one country to another as people moved around and as they traded goods. This began the process we call globalization. Globalization has been with us for a very long time!

Throughout history, globalization has occurred for many reasons. If your family came to Canada from another country, was it for any of the following reasons?

• Looking for a better life: Individuals want to make better lives for themselves and their families. They move (or
  immigration

  the practice of entering and and becoming a permanent resident in a country where one was not born
  immigrate) to other countries for a better climate, a better government, better jobs, or because family members have gone before. Most of the people who came to Canada from other countries came to make a better life for themselves and their families. According to the 2016 census, 22% of Canadians were born outside Canada.
  
  
• Religion: People who believe strongly in any religion want others to experience the meaning they have found in their beliefs. The early Buddhists formed cultural contacts from India to China, and they founded what would later become the "silk road", a famous trade route for goods across Asia. Shortly after the Buddhists began their explorations, both Christians and Muslims began to travel to spread their faiths. Jesuits and people from other Christian groups were some of the first non-Aboriginal people to arrive in Canada.
  
  
• Wealth: Individuals, governments, and companies want to make profits by obtaining resources as cheaply as possible and selling their products for as much as possible. This means
  trade

  the business of buying and selling or bartering commodities among individuals, organizations, or nations
  trade. This was true in the past and remains true today.