ABSTRACT
The concept of urbanization refers not only to the sheer existence of cities, but also to their size, density and functions. This chapter begins by considering the earliest larger settlements in the Near East and China and moves on to discuss the urban autonomy typical of Europe that was eventually threatened by the rise of the nation state. The phase of almost continuous urbanization since the late eighteenth century, ending with the rise of present-day global cities, is subsequently examined in the chapter. This chapter addresses the following questions: What were the prime movers of urban growth, under what conditions did territorial rulers dominate cities, and under what conditions could cities, or indeed their citizens, deploy their transnational or transcultural capacities to the full. The eighteenth century saw the start of an era of prolonged urbanization that reached worldwide dimensions in the later nineteenth century, mainly thanks to an upswing in agricultural productivity and the spread of the Industrial Revolution.
