Which historians argued that the age of globalization began when all major continents began to exchange products?

• A. Karl Marx
• B. Dennis O. Flynn and Arturo Giraldez
• C. Adam Smith
• D. Thomas Friedman

Answer: (B)

Globalization as a historical process is about interconnecting economies through real trade, not just ideas or technology. Dennis O. Flynn and Arturo Giráldez argue that these links among continents appear clearly in the early modern period, when all the major regions began to exchange products with one another. They emphasize the global circulation of goods—for example, silver from the Americas flowing to Asia and Europe—which knit Europe, the Americas, Asia, and Africa into a single world market. This view shows globalization as starting in the 16th century, long before the Industrial Revolution or the late 20th-century digital age.

Karl Marx focuses on capitalism and class relations within societies, not pinpointing when a truly global exchange of goods first emerged. Adam Smith analyzes markets and trade, but his framing centers on national economies and the benefits of free markets rather than the specific start of global intercontinental trade. Thomas Friedman highlights modern, technology-driven globalization, arguing that recent centuries transformed how connected the world is. In contrast, Flynn and Giráldez provide the historical moment when the whole world began trading with itself, making them the best answer.