The First “Golden Age” of Globalization (1870–1914)

Abstract

The period from 1870 to the beginning of the First World War is commonly referred to as the first golden age of globalization. The most important manifestations of this wave of globalization can be found in the dramatic intensification of global flows of capital, goods, and migrants. A truly global market for capital emerged (to which the spread of the gold standard greatly contributed). Countries tried to create the first international regulatory system for managing capital flows at the global level. The volume of global exports increased by nearly two orders of magnitude during 1800–1913, and a major part of this increase seems to have taken place during the golden age of globalization. The Leviathan of modern multinational corporations was born and began to spread globally. Global migration flows reached previously unimaginable levels, especially with respect to transatlantic migration. Major flows of colonizing migration headed for the largest remaining frontier territories left on Earth. The world was truly on the move.