Globalization (or globalisation) refers to the process or processes of international integration. Human Interaction over long distances, such as the overland Silk Road that connected Asia, Africa and Europe, existed thousands of years ago. In the 15th century, Europeans made important advances in exploring the World Ocean and locating the "New World" of the Americas. Global movement of people, goods, and ideas expanded significantly in the early 19th century with development of new forms of transportation (such as steamship and railroads) and telecommunications that seem to "compress" time and space. In the 20th century, road vehicles and airlines made transportation much faster. Electronic communications, most notably mobile phones and the Internet, connect billions of people in new ways.

The term derives from the root word "globe", with the meaning of "sphere," which came to English from the Latin globus: "round mass, sphere, ball," carrying the sense of "planet earth," or a three-dimensional map of it, from around 1550. One of the earliest known usages of the term as the noun "globalization" was in 1930, in a publication entitled Towards New Education, to denote a holistic view of human experience in education. A related term, 'corporate giants', was coined by Charles Taze Russell in 1897 to describe the largely national trusts and other large enterprises of the time. By the 1960s, both terms began to be used synonymously by economists and other social scientists. It then reached the mainstream press in the later half of the 1980s. Since its inception, the concept of globalization has inspired competing definitions and interpretations, with antecedents dating back to the great movements of trade and empire across Asia and the Indian Ocean from the 15th century onwards.

Thomas "Tom" Horn, Jr. (November 21, 1860 – November 20, 1903) was an American Old West lawman, scout, soldier, hired gunman, detective, outlaw and assassin. On the day before his 43rd birthday, he was hanged in Cheyenne, Wyoming, for the murder of Willie Nickell.

Born to Thomas S. Horn, Sr. and Mary Ann Maricha (née Miller), in rural northeastern Scotland County, Missouri, on the family farm of 600 acres (bisected by the South Wyaconda River) between the towns of Granger and Etna, he was the fifth of twelve children.

At sixteen, he headed to the American Southwest, where he was hired by the U.S. Cavalry as a civilian scout under Al Sieber and became involved in the Apache Wars, aiding in the capture of warriors such as Geronimo. On January 11, 1886, Tom Horn was involved in an expedition into Mexican territory in the pursuit of Geronimo as a packer and interpreter. During the operation, Horn's camp was attacked by Mexican militia and he was wounded in the arm. Horn allegedly killed his first man in a duel-a second lieutenant in the Mexican Army Horn was present at Geronimo's final surrender, acting as an interpreter under Charles B. Gatewood.

Sir Peter John Westmacott, KCMG, LVO (born December 1950) is a senior British diplomat, who effective January 2012 is Her Majesty's Ambassador to the United States of America, in succession to Sir Nigel Sheinwald.

The Prime Minister's Office announced Sir Peter's appointment on 24th June, 2011.

Sir Peter joined the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in 1972, and his first overseas posting was as Second Secretary in Tehran, Iran, in 1974. In 1978, he was sent to the European Commission in Brussels, and from 1980 to 1984 he was in Paris. After a period in London he was in Ankara as Head of Chancery from 1987.

In 1990 he was Deputy Private Secretary to HRH The Prince of Wales, and in 1993 was sent to Washington as a Counsellor. Later postings included Director for the Americas in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, and Deputy Under Secretary of State.

From 2002-6, Sir Peter served as HM Ambassador to Turkey where he had to deal with a suicide bomb attack on the British Consulate in Istanbul in 2003, which killed 15 people, and was closely involved in the decision to begin accession negotiations between Turkey and the EU in 2005. He was HM Ambassador to the French Republic from March 2007 until he took over as HM Ambassador to the United States in January 2012.

Mark Rutte (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈmɑrk ˈrʏtə]; born 14 February 1967) is a Dutch politician of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD). He has been the Prime Minister of the Netherlands and Minister of General Affairs since 14 October, 2010 as head of the cabinet.

He previously served as State Secretary for Social Affairs and Employment from 22 July 2002 to 17 June 2004 in the Cabinets Balkenende I and II. Subsequently he was State Secretary for Education, Culture and Science from 17 June 2004 until his resignation on 27 June 2006, when he was elected to succeed Jozias van Aartsen as the new VVD party leader.

At the 2006 general election the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy under Rutte lost six seats and he became opposition leader, serving during the Cabinet Balkenende IV. After the fall of the Cabinet Balkenende IV, a snap election was called, and Rutte was once again the VVD's lijsttrekker (top party list candidate) for the 2010 general election. The VVD won the highest number of votes cast, resulting in their occupying 31 of the 150 seats in the House of Representatives. After a long formation period, Rutte became prime minister and formed a cabinet. When he was sworn in on 14 October 2010, he became the first liberal Prime Minister in the Netherlands in 92 years. He resigned on 23 April 2012 after his government fell due to an impasse in talks on an austerity budget.

Catherine Ashton, Baroness Ashton of Upholland, PC (born 20 March 1956) is a British Labour politician who in 2009 became the European Union's High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy. Under the Treaty of Lisbon this post is combined with the post of Vice-President of the European Commission.

Her political career began in 1999 when she was created a Life Peer (Baroness Ashton of Upholland) by the Labour Government under which she took on a ministerial position (Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State) in the Department for Education and Skills in 2001, and subsequently in the Department for Constitutional Affairs and Ministry of Justice. She became a Privy Councillor PC in May 2006.

Catherine Ashton was appointed Leader of the House of Lords and Lord President of the Queen's Privy Council in Gordon Brown’s first Cabinet in June 2007. As well as Leader of the Lords, she held responsibility in the House of Lords for equalities issues, and she was instrumental in steering the EU's Treaty of Lisbon through the UK's upper chamber. In 2008, she succeeded Peter Mandelson as Commissioner for Trade in the European Commission.