Today, globalization is truly a "global" event--with entertainment, music, sports, brands and corporations used by all sorts of people all over the world.
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| Seal from the Indus Valley Civilization Public Domain. |
As religions moved from where they began to other places in the world, they changed. For example, Christianity was influenced by Judaism and the ancient Persian religion of Zoroastrianism.
Buddhism, which began in India, added Chinese features when it moved to China.
Globalization increased with the Age of Discovery starting in the 1400s. The opening up of North and South America after Columbus caused a boom in trade and a huge movement of people, plants and animals across the world. Corn, a plant found only in the New World, soon starting being grown in Europe, Africa and Asia. Horses, unknown at the time in the New World, became the mode of transportation used by Native Americans once the animals were brought by Europeans.
This event was known as "The Columbian Exchange" and it created the modern world. Boats began criss-crossing the hemispheres like never before. People began moving to different locations across the globe.
The Columbian Exchange led to a change in food production across the globe. The chili pepper, for example, was first grown by people in Mexico. It is now a main ingredient in food in India, Thailand, South Korea and China.
The trade in sugar became one of the first global industries. Unfortunately, this caused another global industry as well: the African Slave Trade. As a result, millions of people from Africa were kidnapped and brought to the New World and other places across the globe.
Slavery has not ended, however. In fact, because of globalization there are more slaves in the world today than at any other time in our history.
The Industrial Revolution, which began in England in the late 18th century, increased globalization. In order to make things, companies needed raw materials. They began traveling all over the world to get those materials.
It is no different today. All you need to do is look at the cell phone in your pocket. Ingredients and labor used to make that cell phone has come from all over the globe.
The electronic industry is made up of multinational corporations which have an influence all across the world. Samsung, for example, is a corporation located in South Korea. But it has offices in every major nation and gets the materials for its phones and televisions from all over the world.
Soccer is a global sport, although it has it's origins in Europe.
Fast-food, once just a part of American culture, is now recognized all over the world.
Musicians and entertainers have fans all over the world.
Americans movies are watched everywhere.
Check out the following images related to globalization:
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| Source: http://www.indexmundi.com/blog/index.php/2013/02/25/the-presence-of-mcdonalds-across-the-world/ |
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| Source: http://www.altenergyshift.com/gallery/image/143-globalization-starbucks-vs-mcdonalds-infographic/ |
