UNIT 4 AP World History Modern

What is the main focus of Unit 4 in AP World History: Modern?

The causes and effects of transoceanic exploration and global interactions from c. 1450–1750.

What major change distinguishes Unit 4 from earlier periods?

The linking of the Eastern and Western Hemispheres.

What new global trade network emerged during this period?

The Atlantic trading system.

Why did European states pursue ocean exploration?

To find new trade routes, gain wealth, spread Christianity, and increase power.

What technologies made ocean exploration possible?

Caravels, lateen sails, astrolabes, magnetic compasses, and improved cartography.

What is mercantilism?

An economic system focused on accumulating wealth through trade surpluses and colonization.

How did mercantilism influence European expansion?

It encouraged colonization and control of resources.

What was the Columbian Exchange?

The transfer of plants, animals, people, diseases, and ideas between the Old and New Worlds.

What crops were transferred from the Americas to the Old World?

Maize, potatoes, tomatoes, cacao, and tobacco.

What animals were introduced to the Americas?

Horses, cattle, pigs, and sheep.

What diseases devastated Indigenous American populations?

Smallpox, measles, and influenza.

What demographic effect did disease have in the Americas?

Massive population decline.

What was the encomienda system?

A labor system granting Spanish colonists control over Indigenous labor.

What labor systems replaced Indigenous labor?

The Atlantic slave trade and African chattel slavery.

What was the Atlantic slave trade?

The forced transportation of Africans to the Americas.

What was the Middle Passage?

The brutal transatlantic journey enslaved Africans endured.

What was the triangular trade?

A trade system connecting Europe, Africa, and the Americas.

What goods were traded in the triangular trade?

Manufactured goods, enslaved people, and raw materials.

What were cash crops?

Crops grown for profit such as sugar, tobacco, and cotton.

Why were plantations important?

They produced large quantities of cash crops using enslaved labor.

What was the hacienda system?

Large agricultural estates in Spanish colonies.

What was the mita system?

A forced labor system adapted by the Spanish from the Inca.

What role did silver play in global trade?

Silver from the Americas fueled global commerce, especially with China.

What was the Manila Galleons trade?

A Pacific trade route linking the Americas and Asia.

How did Christianity spread to the Americas?

Through European missionaries and conquest.

What was syncretism in the Americas?

The blending of Indigenous, African, and Christian beliefs.

How did European colonization affect Indigenous societies?

Loss of land, labor exploitation, and cultural disruption.

What new social hierarchies developed in colonial societies?

Casta system based on race and birthplace.

What was the casta system?

A racial hierarchy used in Spanish colonies.

What environmental effects resulted from the Columbian Exchange?

Soil depletion, deforestation, and the introduction of invasive species.

What was a major continuity from earlier periods?

States used trade to gain wealth.

What was a major change during Unit 4?

Global-scale interconnection of continents.

How did transoceanic trade affect Europe?

It increased wealth and strengthened state power.

How did transoceanic trade affect Africa?

Increased warfare and population loss due to the slave trade.

How did transoceanic trade affect the Americas?

Economic exploitation and demographic collapse.

What role did joint-stock companies play?

They funded exploration and colonial ventures.

What were joint-stock companies?

Businesses funded by investors who shared risk and profit.

What was the significance of transoceanic interconnections?

They created the first truly global economy.