Globalization refers to the trend toward countries joining together economically, through education, society and politics, and viewing themselves not only through their national identity but also as part of the world as a whole. Globalization is said to bring people of all nations closer together, especially through a common medium like the economy. In the 17th century, globalization became a business when the British East India Company, which is often described as the first multinational corporation, was established, as well as the Dutch East India Company and the Portuguese East India Company. Because of the large investment and financing needs and the high risks involved with international trade, the British East India Company became the first company in the world to share risk and enable joint ownership of companies through the issuance of shares of stock. Globalization was achieved by the British Empire (the largest empire in history) due to its sheer size and power. British ideals and culture were forced on other nations during this period. Since World War II, globalization has largely been the result of planning by politicians to breakdown borders and altered trading to increase prosperity and interdependence. This eventually leads to a decreasing chance of future wars. Their work led to the Bretton Woods conference, an agreement by the world's leading politicians to lay down the framework for international commerce and finance, and the founding of several international institutions intended to oversee the processes of globalization. These institutions include the World Bank, and the International Monetary Fund. Globalization has been facilitated by advances in technology which have reduced the costs of trade, and trade negotiations, originally under the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), which led to a series of agreements to remove restrictions on free trade. This led to the creation of free trade zones that have little or no tariffs. Works Cited

1. WWW.WIKIPEDIA.COM. 12 May. 2009. 12 May 2009 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Globalization>.