Katrina Gulliver

Globalisation is scarcely new: it dates back to the year 1000

With their journeys to America centuries before Columbus, the Norsemen had already ‘closed the global loop’, according to Valerie Hansen

The Vikings discover America. Credit: Getty Images 
issue 11 April 2020

In Japan, people thought the world would end in 1052. In the decades leading up to judgment day, Kyoto was rocked by a series of epidemics. It seemed the end was truly nigh. Of course they were wrong, but they were hardly the only people to predict the end of humanity on a specific date.

GIF Image

Disagree with half of it, enjoy reading all of it

TRY 3 MONTHS FOR $5
Our magazine articles are for subscribers only. Start your 3-month trial today for just $5 and subscribe to more than one view

Comments

Join the debate for just £1 a month

Be part of the conversation with other Spectator readers by getting your first three months for £3.

Already a subscriber? Log in