ABSTRACT
When the United States Institute of Medicine conducted a survey among 29 international health leaders at the turn of the last century, asking what difference they saw between global and international health, some thought that global health responded to an increased awareness of globalization and global interdependence, while others felt it was merely a new word. This chapter looks at the historical contexts in which ‘global health’ emerged and unfolded and explores some existing theories trying to explain its rise. Though the term was a rare expression before 1970, it did exist, and in some ways early examples predicted later usage. Taking a different perspective, some authors do not search for the beginning of ‘global health’ as an expression but for the use of the underlying meaning it conveys. The aetiology of the other expressions might help to clarify the field. Tropical medicine was largely a European phenomenon with clear links to colonialism.
