Why is Geography Important in a Globalizing World?

Globalization is not only a feature of our time, but also a trend that is unfolding over a longer historical horizon. The ancient Roman Empire can in fact be regarded as an undeniably globalized arrangement, unifying a major part of the world as was known at that time. Major milestones paving the way to globalization have included the great geographic discoveries, from the discovery of America to Magellan’s first voyage around the world and, much later, the expeditions to discover the unknown internal territories of various continents up until the 19th century. The unquestionable milestones of globalization were the colonial empires of the 19th century spanning most of the world, among which the largest, the British Empire, covered 22% of the world’s territory and constituted 20% of its population. It was held together in a unified administrative and economic framework when it was at its peak in 1922. Although the large empires disintegrated, with the USA and Russia being the only exceptions, unification picked up speed and spread at a pace that was unfathomable in the past…