Blake Ballinger

Professor Rodgers
Globalization
12 October 2015
Graphical Analysis Essay
Globalization is a broad term with many definitions and a long history. One graphic that
depicts some aspect of globalization is Diasporas. A Diaspora is defined as the dispersal of
migrants from their homeland (Conceptlink). One example of this is the African Diaspora. The
graphic that I chose that depicts an aspect of Globalization is a map of the African Diaspora.
The African Diaspora is the term commonly used to describe the mass dispersion of peoples
from Africa during the Transatlantic Slave Trades, from the 1500s to the 1800s(Oldwayspt).
My definition of globalization is that Globalization is when different cultures interact
and connect with each other to gain knowledge and spread knowledge to other people. However
there are many different definitions for example BBCs definition of globalization is
Globalisation is the process by which the world is becoming increasingly interconnected as a
result of massively increased trade and cultural exchange. (BBC). These definitions both
describe this graphic because in the graphic it shows African slaves being taken too many
different countries. This means that the world is coming into contact with people from a different
country (Africa). Even though they may be slaves they still will leave a mark on the native
cultures of the countries they are brought to.

Many people descend from some part of Africa thanks to the African diaspora. In the
graphic you can see that the slave trade routes lead to almost every single continent. In
oldwayspt.orgs article African Diaspora Cultures it says that when the Africans landed in the
foreign countries they introduced different foods to the native cultures (Oldwayspt). Africans
introduced new foods to the Americans such as Gumbo soup. In my opinion the aspect of
globalization is shown in the chart that Africans were taken to America to become slaves but they
introduced something new to a foreign culture which is a big part of globalization.
In the graphic that I chose it depicts the trade and slave routes from Africa up to 1873.

It also shows which ethnicities took the Africans and where they brought them to. As you can see
most of the Africans were taken by the Europeans to North America and South America. Where
as you can see in the map that barely any Africans were taken to East Asia. This is probably why
if you go to East Asian countries it is hard to find an African descendant. I found it interesting
that Africans came to Japan from only one route. I wonder why they decided not to send a lot of
Africans to East Asia.
The graphic that I thought depicted some aspect of globalization was the map of the
African Diaspora. It showed just how African people got to other countries and who brought
them there. This is a big part of globalization because it is mixing different cultures crating new
cultures and adding to existing ones. This is just one part of my definition of globalization
because as I stated in my definition previously Globalization is when different cultures interact
and connect with each Globalization is an ever expanding idea that will always have many
aspects to it so for me it was hard to choose just one.

Joseph E. Harris. Worcester, Masachusetts. 1990. Clark University. The African

Diaspora Map 1. Web. 14 October 2015

http://ad4change.org/african-diaspora-maps
"African Diaspora Maps - African Diaspora." African Diaspora RSS. N.p., n.d. Web. 12
Oct. 2015.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/geography/globalisation/globalisation_rev1.sh
tml
BBC News. BBC, n.d. Web. 12 Oct. 2015.
http://www.conceptlink.com/africa-diaspora/
"The African Diaspora: Impact and Trends." ConceptLink. N.p., n.d. Web. 12
Oct. 2015.
http://oldwayspt.org/resources/heritage-pyramids/african-diet-pyramid/african-diasporacultures
"African Diaspora Cultures." African Diaspora Cultures. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Oct.
2015.