A revised version of this paper appears in the Pacific Economic Review, 2008. By courtesy of Wiley Interscience and authors, an online version of the Pacific Economic Review paper is accessible at no charge at: http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/118545351/home . Please refer to and cite the published version!

Globalization began when all heavily-populated land masses began interacting – both directly with each other and indirectly via other land masses – in a sustained manner with deep consequences for all interacting regions; global interactions emerged during the 16th century when modern globalization was born. Dynamism emanating from within China played a pivotal role, while Europeans were (crucial) global intermediaries. Valid hypotheses concerning the emergence and sustenance of such a profound phenomenon as 'globalization' must accommodate evidence from numerous disciplinary debates. Any attempt to limit discussion of globalization's birth to strictly economic issues alone – such as the 1820's price-convergence hypothesis of O'Rourke and Williamson – are doomed. Instead, the central role of global economic history – and Chinese economic history in particular – becomes salient when located in a global/historical context that draws upon all disciplines.