AP World History Unit 4

Transoceanic Interconnections (1450 - 1750)

Transoceanic Interconnections Continuity (Topic 4.1: Technological Innovations)

Continuity: Traditional trade routes (Silk Road, Indian Ocean) continued to be used, and the demand for luxury goods remained constant.

Transoceanic Interconnections Change (Topic 4.1: Technological Innovations)

Change: The transition from regional maritime travel to truly global, transoceanic travel; the shift of the center of maritime innovation to Europe.

Transoceanic Interconnections Significant People (Topic 4.1: Technological Innovations)

Islamic Scholars: Maintained and improved the astrolabe and advanced mathematical navigation.

Chinese Mariners: Developed the magnetic compass and sternpost rudder earlier, which now diffused to Europe.

Magnetic Compass

A Chinese invention using a magnetized needle; essential for navigation on the open sea.

Astrolabe

An instrument used to determine latitude by measuring the position of the stars; perfected by Islamic scholars.

Lateen Sail

A triangular sail that allowed ships to sail against the wind; adapted from Arab dhows.

Caravel / Carrack / Fluyt

New European ship designs that were faster, more maneuverable, and had larger cargo capacities.

Topic 4.2: Exploration: Causes and Events: Continuity

Religion (Christianity) remained a primary motivator for state-sponsored expansion, similar to the Crusades.

Topic 4.2: Exploration: Causes and Events: Change

The creation of "Trading Post Empires" (Portugal) and the shift of the economic center of gravity from the Mediterranean to the Atlantic Ocean.

Prince Henry the Navigator

 Portuguese royal who founded a navigation school and sponsored exploration of the African coast.

Vasco da Gama

The first European to reach India by sea, opening a direct trade route.

Christopher Columbus

Sponsored by Spain; his 1492 voyage linked the Eastern and Western Hemispheres.

Mercantilism

 An economic theory focusing on maximizing exports and accumulating bullion (gold/silver) through government protectionism.

Trading Post Empire

An empire based on the control of trade routes through military power and strategic ports rather than large-scale land conquest.

Topic 4.3: The Columbian Exchange: Continuity

Agriculture remained the primary way of life for the vast majority of the world's population.

Topic 4.3: The Columbian Exchange: Change

 The "Great Dying" of indigenous populations due to lack of immunity; the permanent introduction of invasive species and new staple crops to both hemispheres.

Significant People: Columbian Exchange

Indigenous Leaders: Attempted to manage the demographic collapse caused by European contact.

Smallpox

A lethal disease that decimated indigenous populations in the Americas, leading to a massive labor shortage.

African Diaspora

The forced migration of millions of Africans to the Americas, creating new syncretic cultures.

Maize/Potatoes

High-calorie American crops that led to population booms in Afro-Eurasia.

Topic 4.4 & 4.5: Maritime Empires Established & Maintained: Continuity

The use of coerced labor remained central to empire-building; slavery existed in Africa and the Indian Ocean long before this period.

Topic 4.4 & 4.5: Maritime Empires Established & Maintained: Change

The racialization of slavery into "Chattel Slavery"; the creation of a global currency based on American silver flowing into China.

Topic 4.4 & 4.5: Maritime Empires Established & Maintained: Significant People

Hernán Cortés: Conquistador who led the fall of the Aztec Empire.

Francisco Pizarro: Conquistador who conquered the Inca Empire.

Encomienda System

 A Spanish labor system that granted settlers the right to the labor of conquered indigenous people.

Chattel Slavery

A system in which individuals are considered legal property to be bought and sold forever.

Joint-Stock Company

(e.g., VOC, British East India Co.) Private investors pooled money to fund colonial voyages, sharing risks and profits.

Topic 4.6: Internal and External Challenges to State Power: Continuity

Peasant and indigenous resistance to centralized state taxation and religious control continued as it had in land-based empires.

Topic 4.6: Internal and External Challenges to State Power: Change

Resistance became globalized; for the first time, indigenous Americans and enslaved Africans formed organized movements against European colonial rule.

Topic 4.6: Internal and External Challenges to State Power: Significant People

• Ana Nzinga: Queen of Ndongo/Matamba who led a 30-year resistance against Portuguese slave raids in Africa.

• Metacom (King Philip): Wampanoag leader who led a major war against English settlers in New England.

• Yemelyan Pugachev: A Cossack who led a massive peasant rebellion against Catherine the Great in Russia.

Maroon Societies

Communities formed by escaped enslaved people in the Caribbean and Brazil.

Pueblo Revolt

A successful 1680 uprising where indigenous people drove the Spanish out of New Mexico for over a decade.

Topic 4.7: Changing Social Hierarchies: Continuity

Patriarchal structures remained dominant worldwide; land-owning elites generally maintained high status.

Topic 4.7: Changing Social Hierarchies: Change

The implementation of the Casta System, a rigid hierarchy based entirely on race and ancestry in the Americas.

Topic 4.7: Changing Social Hierarchies: Significant People

Peter the Great: Forced the Russian Boyars (nobles) to adopt Western culture to solidify his absolute power.

Roxelana: A formerly enslaved woman who rose to high power in the Ottoman Harem, showing shifting power within the elite.

Casta System

A social hierarchy in the Spanish Americas (Peninsulares, Creoles, Mestizos, Mulattoes).

Janissaries

Elite Ottoman soldiers who, though originally enslaved, became a powerful and influential political class.

Queue

A hairstyle the Manchu (Qing) forced Han Chinese men to wear as a sign of submission to their new rulers.