This dossier argues that the historical phenomena of the urban and the global have interacted in a dialogical fashion. The perspective that emphasizes the interconnection between the city and globalization-the global city-is prevalent in urban studies that focus on the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries. Applying the same analytical perspective to the early modern period using an implicit comparison between different urban centers and communities elucidates the role cities like Rio de Janeiro played in that era of globalization, as well as the impact that historical moment had on the city.