The Year 1000: When Explorers Connected The World–And Globalization Began, by Valerie Hansen

At the core of this book there are at least two essential shortcomings. These shortcomings do not make the book impossible to enjoy; it remains an enjoyable book all the same, but it is by no means as important as the author seems to think it is. For one, globalization did not begin in and around the year 1000, though it becomes easiest to record at this era. The presence of Roman coins off the coast of South America indicates that at least someone was engaged in Transatlantic trade during the time of the Roman empire, likely among the Celts or another one of the seafaring peoples at the periphery of the Roman world. Similarly, even earlier in the past there appears to have been a period around 1000BC or so when copper mined in Labrador and other parts of Canada to about the area of Peterborough was mined, likely for export to areas in the Eastern Mediterranean, though records here are admittedly elusive. As long as there were seaworthy boats where people could survive for a couple of months with food and water, and people willing and able to ply those routes, trade and traffic between the coastal areas of Europe and North Africa and that of North America and the Caribbean, or even South America nearly inevitable. We know that those conditions held true in the period of 1000, but it was not the only period where they held true. The book’s claim that the year 1000 was the start of globalization is therefore only a matter of convenience.

The second shortcoming of the book is more diffuse, and it consists of the rather superficial treatment that the author gives to the material. The author, having decided to give a broad account of the world and its dealings in and around 1000AD (and a great deal after that, it must be admitted), of necessity sacrifices a great deal of depth in discussing any of it. Very little about this book would be new to someone who was well read in world history in the time period. Even a casual student of world history during the Middle Ages would likely be well aware of what was going on in Europe, the Middle East, China, and the Americas. Those educated in the United States would likely have heard of Cahokia and the mound builders that followed, who in turn were wiped out by disease with the coming of the Spaniards. Those with an interest in Chinese history will likely have heard of the Liao and later the Jurchens and Mongols, as well as the Song dynasty and its role in exploring and settling trade areas in Southeast Asia. Similarly, those familiar with the Middle East will know of the Abbasid caliphs and the various rulers like the Ghazvanids who were the real rulers in Central Asia. This is not to say that the book does not have useful things to say about the importance of religious blocs to the enduring culture of the regions of the world, but this insight only goes skin deep rather than being the foundation of deep scholarship. The book would have to be far longer for depth than the author wished to write, and so the result is a pleasant but slight book that offers some insights but few surprises.

In terms of its contents, this book is about 250 pages long or so and is divided into eight chapters that are more or less regionally organized. The book begins with an author’s note as well as a short prologue. The author then discusses the world in the year 1000, namely by pointing out which areas were connected with each other in what the author considers to be a nascent globalization which ended shortly before the European age of discovery intensified the connections between areas (1). This is followed by a discussion of the Westward exploration and settlement of small numbers of Vikings that led to the settlement of Greenland and, for a short time, Vinland on the coast of North America (2). After this the author discusses the pan-American highways that allowed for a great deal of trade and the diffusion of useful agricultural knowledge like the triad of corn, beans, and squash (3). The author talks about the European slave trade and how it helped lead to the establishment of the Russian state (4) as well as a demonstration of the power of the Abbasids and others in the Middle East. A discussion of the world’s richest man leads to a look at the peaceful spread of Islam in the gold trading Sahel region of Africa (5). The author discusses the religious split between the Buddhist and Muslim parts of Central Asia, a split that persists to this day (6). The author discusses surprising journeys in East and Southeast Asia (7) as well as a look at China as the most globalized place in the world at that time (8). The book ends with an epilogue, acknowledgements, suggestions for further reading, notes, illustration and photograph credits, and an index.