# When Did Globalisation Really Begin? ~ Valerie Hansen

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/on-humans-5714769/when-did-globalisation-really-begin-valerie-hansen
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/on-humans-5714769/when-did-globalisation-really-begin-valerie-hansen.md
Podcast: [On Humans](https://stenobird.com/podcast/on-humans-5714769)
Published: 2026-07-25T20:28:01+00:00
Episode link: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/ilari-makela/episodes/When-Did-Globalisation-Really-Begin---Valerie-Hansen-e3mhsl5
Audio file: https://anchor.fm/s/b6269808/podcast/play/123318373/https%3A%2F%2Fd3ctxlq1ktw2nl.cloudfront.net%2Fstaging%2F2026-6-25%2F3f36e138-2c4e-22f4-4c27-7be713b16060.mp3
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JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/on-humans-5714769/episodes/when-did-globalisation-really-begin-valerie-hansen
Duration seconds: 2860

## Resource

We can decide to stay home, but even then, the wider world is always close to our skin. From global trade to ideas that travel across continents, the wider world is always woven into our modern life. Since when has this been the case? There is a modern story about globalisation — a story about telecommunications and aeroplanes and such — but this is the climax of a long process, not its beginning. To find the deeper roots of globalisation, we should turn our gaze to the medieval world, and specifically to events around the year 1000. Or so argues historian Valerie Hansen. In this episode, we discuss the various curious developments around the year 1000 that began to connect the world into an interconnected web. From Viking explorers to the Silk Roads in Africa, Hansen offers many fascinating windows into the surprising connections that were already beginning to link the medieval world together. We also discuss the spread of inventions and world religions, as well as the deeper forces that Hansen thinks have long been driving world history. Enjoy! FACT-CHECKING No errors have been detected in this conversation. If you notice one, please get in touch via Substack or the form below. LINKS Hansen's books: The Silk Road: A New History ⁠ and ⁠ The Year 1000. Support: ⁠⁠ ⁠⁠Patreon.com/OnHumans⁠⁠⁠⁠ Articles & newsletter: ⁠⁠ ⁠⁠OnHumans.Substack.com⁠⁠⁠⁠ Get in touch: ⁠⁠ ⁠⁠https://forms.gle/h5wcmefuwvD6asos8⁠⁠⁠⁠ Music credit: Aleksey Chistilin (Lexin_Music) via Pixabay. MENTIONS Names: Erik the Red | Bjarni Herjólfsson | Jacques Cartier | Vladimir the Great | Mansa Musa | William Dalrymple | Kenneth Pomeranz | Andrés Moreno-Estrada | Michael Coe | Mary Miller | Ralph Austen | Richard Davis | Paul Freedman | Thor Heyerdahl Historical places: L’Anse aux Meadows | Greenland | Ne…

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