Globalisation is nothing new

The Hanza was a commercial then financial and more or less military alliance between cities in Northern Europe throughout all the Middle Ages.

Thanks to this very organised alliance formed by groups of cities, today still strongly attached to their independance (Bremen, Hamburg and all Flemish and Dutch cities) - Scandinavia and Russia were able to sell wood, furs, copper, gold, iron, silver, oil from whale and mercenaries to the Mediterranean world who was missing them in exhange for its wine, honey, olive oil, cereals and all the exotic goods Venitians and other powerful cities of Italy were bringing from the Middle East, Central Asia and Far East: silk, gems, dye, plants, spices...The British Isles were selling their very good quality wool from their sheeps to the Flemish cities in exchange of the best drapes, sheets, linen and clothes in Europe. The Muslim world of North Africa and Middle East would also provide ivory and other luxury goods to Europe because, like today, religion never stopped trade.

Globalisation is nothing new.

Russia was formed because Vikings were travelling allong the rivers between the Baltic Sea and the Black Sea to trade with the Byzantine Empire. As the trade increased, so did the attacks on the shipments. So they build forts along the rivers where merchants could halt and find a shelter. People from Scandinavia then the lands around moved next these forts to provide the merchants with food and homes. They stayed there and started to cultivate. Forts became hamlets, then villages, then towns, then cities and the "Rus", as the Vikings called the people who were travelling East for trade, made these lands theirs...The rest is history.