Ancient Globalisation

I just read a fascinating article in Minerva Magazine that gets to the root of one of my favorite topics, the inter-relationships of vastly different cultures from the past. The article, entitled "Ancient Globalisation" by Roberta Tomber, summarizes her book "Indo-Roman Trade: From Pots to Pepper."

It seems there was a tremendous amount of trade between the Roman and Indian peoples from the 1st century BC through the 5th century AD. As the name suggests, the book cites the finding and study of pepper and pots that have been discovered recently on the African and Indian continents.

In fact, so many pots made the journey from India to the African coastal city of Myos Hormos that the broken pottery was used to make a jetty into the Red Sea. Ancient recycling at its finest.

We typically study cultures in silos, while forgetting that they existed at the same time. We hear of the wars that are fought, but not the trade, travel, diplomacy, migration and other co-mingling that took place on a daily basis. Who knew that the Romans loved pepper so much that they had it important from a world-away?

I'm reminded of one of my favorite movie scenes, one that played an early role in luring my to the world of history. There is a scene in Anna & the King where the King of Siam receives diplomatic correspondence from then-President of the United States, Abraham Lincoln. The king had previously written Lincoln to ask for military assistance, a request which the President had to cordially deny.

This interplay immediately struck me as fascinating... Who would have thought that President Lincoln, literally on the other side of the planet and entrenched in a bit of a war of his own, would have had diplomatic relations and correspondence with the King of Siam?

It seems that the world has been globalized for a long time indeed.