Sea-Based Globalization

This chapter focuses on the fourth wave of globalization, or the era of ocean-based globalization, and the period between Christopher Columbia and James Watt, the inventor of the steam engine. This wave of globalization brings together Eurasia, Africa, the Americas, Oceania, and Australia. China led ocean-based navigation, and then the Iberian peninsula and Britain became navigational leaders as well; Professor Sachs give examples of explorers and famous voyages. Reference is made to the search for the Northwest Passage, China’s isolation, Columbus’ voyages, and the gunpowder age. Adam Smith wrote about the world economy and the exploitation of indigenous peoples by Europeans; he suggested that globalization will lead to an exchange of knowledge and technological advances.

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