Early globalization was structured by tension between global market heterogeneity and nation-state centralization.

Evidence

Globalization, of course, is not a new phenomenon. Its history is coterminous with the era of European exploration, conquest, and the formation of the capitalist world market. The earlier phases of this so-called global history were held together by the tension between these conflicting poles—the heterogeneity of the global market and the centripetal force of the nation-state—constituting between them one of the fundamental rhythms of early capitalist world systems. — Stuart Hall, Essential Essays, Volume 2, 841