Summary Of Nayan Chanda's Bound Together

In his book, Bound Together: How Traders, Preachers, Adventurers, and Warriors Shaped Globalization, Nayan Chanda argues today's global interconnectedness is part of a process that has developed over thousands of years, as a consequence of natural human impulse. Chanda constructs his argument around four groups that have induced globalization: traders, preachers, adventurers and warriors. And while their intentions to profit, convert, explore and power are mostly self-interested, ultimately globalization has benefited the majority of the world’s population.

Commerce is as old as civilization. Chanda tells the intesting story behind  4,000-year-old clay tablets from Mesopatamia concerning a wife writing to her trader husband, desiring a bigger house like the neighbors. The couple from the tablets prove that people have unceasingly sought out better and more interesting goods, to make profit. Traders have built broad networks such as the Silk Road and the cities of Venice and Geneva. These trade networks have evolved into trade empires such as apple and eBay, where products an be purchased by the simple click of a mouse through PayPal. Despite the innovative forms,

the concept of trade is the same, to exchange goods and ideas as well as making a profit.
Preachers, specifically those who spread the message of Christianity, Islam and Buddhism have been important to the process globalization.

All three religions and their missionaries sought out connections throughput the world to let others know their God for the betterment of humanity as a whole. In the process of trying to covert others missionaries connected the world by the trading of goods and ideas. In his book Chanda refers to, a Spanish missionary in San Diego who had to have wine in order to have Communion, thus he planted grapes and brought wine to California. Another example of how religion has connected the world is the Jesuits in Asia who opened democracy between Asia and the west by translating documents from Chinese into other languages that allowed a better understanding of the

culture.
Chanda identifies the human urge to explore with in the first chapter when describing our ancestor’s migration y from Africa into all corners of the world. Adventurers have provided momentum to globalization because when they would return from their endeavors with newfound information, traders, preachers and soldiers were bale to travel to the same locations to satisfy their own motives. For instance, when Christopher Columbus discovered the new world he immediately wrote to Knight Ferdinand and Queen Isabela about the potential slaves and profit available through his discovery, sparking centuries of trade, conversion and conquering.
Warriors of imperial expansion have contributed o Globalization by seeking out and controlling lucrative lands with abundant resources. Chanda describes many historical leaders like Sargon of Akkad who desired timber. Empire has also enhancing trade routs and methods, Alexander the Great developed “international coinages”.
As Chanda explains Globilation has a dark side, and has allowed the exploitation and desecration of people and the devastation of resources. Globalization mobilized the gruesome “oldest trade” of slavery and human trafficking. The increased demand for sugar in Europe resulted the massive and extremely profitable establishment of the transatlantic slave trade in the 17th and 18th centuries, where millions of Africans were transported to the Caribbean islands and Brazil. Asia also has a notable past of slavery, Slavery remains in existence, today thousands of people work in slavery-like condition \s within the Amazon Rainforest, clearing out lumber. Disease was one of the first negative consequences of Globalization. Pandemic like the Bubonic plague as able to spread through trade routes such as the Silk road, and was responsible for the deaths of nearly half of the Population. When European’s brought themselves, foreign insects and animals, the pathogens carried with them devastated the Native American population. globalization and the environment such as global warming, air pollution and biological invasions. These problems pose a potential threat to people’s life. Globalization has increased the consumption and demands of different goods and services. The goods and service need trade, and then trade needs transportation, which needs fuel. F
Although Globalizations often berates, it has benefited millions of people. For instance, Chanda cites that a third of China’s population has been rescued from poverty. Similarly, much of India’s population has risen to the middle class. Globalization has brought about technology such as television and the world wide web that has brought the world together. Chanda discusses televised sport and natural disasters; Just days ago the world united over the terror in Paris. Learning new languages and different cultural traditions is as easy as a quick google search. Historically, globalization allowed for scientific discoveries and political ideas through shared information delivered through traders, preachers adventures and warriors..
While some may argue that the costs of Globalization outweighing the benefits, analyzing globalization from a utilitarian viewpoint proves the opposite. Globalization allows for the spread of culture, ideas and international trade. Globalization has allowed countries like China. That being said, it is humanity’s responsibility, especially countries like the US to ensure the costs of globalization diminish. A greater attention towards environmentally friendly fuels and energy would go a long way. Furthermore, a more powerful international movement to stop human trafficking is a necessary and moral task.
Globalization is inseparable from almost every aspect of society. Everything we eat and wear, every math problem we solve is a product of globalization. Todat Globalization exists as it did thousands of years ago when the first people migrated from arica, it is the consequence of human impulse.