Study Notes – World History Flashcards (Islamic Empires to Cold War)

A comprehensive set of practice flashcards covering Islamic empires, Ming/Japan, the Scientific Revolution, Enlightenment, revolutions, industrialization, imperialism, World Wars, Cold War, independence movements, and 20th-century global history.

Which two caliphates spread Islam into Asia, Africa, and Europe?

Umayyad and Abbasid

What routes did Islamic Caliphates control that enabled cultural and economic exchange?

Trade routes, including the Silk Road and Mediterranean trade

What knowledge did the Islamic Caliphates preserve and advance?

Greek/Roman knowledge; advances in science, medicine, and math

Which city did the Ottoman Empire capture in 1453 and what was it renamed?

Constantinople, renamed Istanbul

How did Ottoman control of trade affect Europe’s exploration?

Controlled Silk Road and Mediterranean trade, prompting Europeans to seek sea routes

How did Islam spread widely in the Middle East?

Through trade, conquest, and missionary work

What Islamic legal system unified diverse peoples under Islamic law?

Sharia

How did the roles of women, children, and families vary in Islamic lands?

Varied by region; some women gained property rights; families influenced by Islamic law

How did Islam influence law and government in many regions?

Sharia courts and Caliphs combining political and religious leadership

What are key Islamic contributions to art and architecture?

Calligraphy, arabesque designs, geometric patterns; mosques like Dome of the Rock and Blue Mosque

What were the Ming Dynasty’s overseas trade activities led by Zheng He?

Expanded Chinese influence through voyages; trade and diplomacy

What happened to Ming foreign trade later in the dynasty?

Isolationism limited foreign trade

What did Ming China export during its trade activity?

Silk and porcelain

Who unified Japan before its eventual unification under later leaders?

Oda Nobunaga, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, and Tokugawa Ieyasu

What were China’s and Japan’s major cultural contributions to arts and literature?

China: Journey to the West, porcelain, opera. Japan: kabuki theater, haiku poetry, gardens

What Enlightenment idea promoted in the 18th century influenced revolutions?

Reason, liberty, natural rights

What was the Glorious Revolution’s political outcome in England?

Establishment of a constitutional monarchy

How did religion play a role in revolutions according to the Enlightenment era notes?

Used to support or resist change; example: Catholic Church resisting revolution in France

Which thinkers influenced the ideas of separation of powers and checks and balances?

Montesquieu (influence on U.S. Constitution)

Which philosopher argued for natural rights of life, liberty, and property?

John Locke

Who argued for a strong government via the social contract?

Thomas Hobbes

Which thinker championed free speech and religious tolerance?

Voltaire

Which thinkers contributed ideas about liberty, equality, and the general will?

Rousseau (general will); Voltaire (free speech); Montesquieu (separation of powers)

Which American figure applied Locke’s ideas in the Declaration of Independence?

Thomas Jefferson

What did William Wilberforce achieve in Britain?

Abolition of the slave trade in 1807 and slavery in Britain in 1833

What is Adam Smith best known for in economics?

Wealth of Nations; free markets, capitalism, laissez-faire; invisible hand

How are democracy and republic different?

Democracy: rule by the people with voting rights; Republic: elected representatives govern for the people

What created governments that limited monarchies and expanded citizen rights after Enlightenment and Revolutions?

Development of Democratic-Republican governments

Name key Enlightenment thinkers and their ideas featured in Revolutions notes.

Locke (natural rights); Hobbes (strong government); Voltaire (free speech); Montesquieu (separation of powers); Rousseau (social contract, general will); Jefferson (American rights)

Which British politician led the abolition of slave trade and slavery in Britain?

William Wilberforce

What was origin and impact of the Scientific Revolution?

Origin in 16th-century Europe; transformed astronomy, physics, medicine, chemistry; foundation for the Industrial Revolution

Name key scientists and their contributions listed in the notes.

Archimedes (math/physics); Copernicus (heliocentric theory); Eratosthenes (Earth’s circumference); Galileo (telescopes, heliocentrism); Pythagoras (math); Isaac Newton (gravity, motion, calculus); Robert Boyle (gas laws)

What are the four stages of the French Revolution?

Moderate (1789–1791), Radical (1792–1794), Directory (1795–1799), Napoleonic Era (1799–1815)

What was Napoleon’s major legal contribution called?

Napoleonic Code (equality before the law, meritocracy)

What did the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen establish?

Natural rights (liberty, property, security, opposition to oppression); equality before the law; freedoms of speech and religion; fair taxation

What were the major causes and turning points of World War I?

MAIN: Militarism, Alliances, Imperialism, Nationalism; Spark: assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand; turning points: Battle of Stalingrad, D-Day, etc.

What were the major outcomes of World War I?

Collapse of monarchies; economic hardship; women entered workforce; Russian Revolution; rise of communism

Which nations and events marked the turning points of World War I?

Invasion of Poland is WWII; focus on World War I turning points include St. Petersburg? (note: actual WWI turning points include battles and the 1917 revolutions)

What were the main military technologies developed in World War I?

Machine guns, poison gas, tanks, airplanes, submarines; civilians targeted

Who led the Russian revolutions of 1917 and what did they establish?

Lenin and the Bolsheviks; established the Soviet Union

What did the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk do for Russia?

Took Russia out of World War I

What did Woodrow Wilson's Fourteen Points call for?

Self-determination, free trade, open diplomacy, reduction of arms, creation of the League of Nations

What did the Versailles Treaty do to Germany in 1919?

Punished Germany with war guilt, reparations, and territorial losses; contributed to economic instability

What global event followed World War I and reshaped world politics?

The Russian Revolution and the rise of communism; later the Cold War

What caused the Great Depression (1929–1939)?

Overproduction, falling demand, stock market crash, bank failures, tariff barriers, unequal wealth

What were the main government responses to the Depression in the US, Germany, and the USSR?

US: New Deal; Germany: Nazi rise; USSR: Five-Year Plans (industrialization, collectivization)

What is totalitarianism and which regimes are typical examples?

A political system where the state controls all aspects of life; examples: Stalin’s USSR, Hitler’s Nazi Germany, Mussolini’s Italy

What was the League of Nations and its limitations?

First global peacekeeping attempt; lacked enforcement power and U.S. participation; failed to stop aggression

Name major leaders before World War II listed in the notes and their roles.

Mussolini (Italy) – Fascism; Hitler (Germany) – Nazi regime; Tojo (Japan) – militarist; Stalin (USSR) – communist dictatorship; FDR (US) – New Deal; Churchill (Britain) – warned against appeasement

What are the origins and traits of Fascism vs Totalitarianism?

Fascism: nationalist, anti-communist, authoritarian; Totalitarianism: broader control of society; both can be single-party and use propaganda

What were the major purges and mass murders under Stalin?

Great Purges (1936–1938); forced famines (Holodomor); gulags; millions killed or imprisoned

What was Einstein’s major scientific contribution and stance on war?

Theory of Relativity; warned against nuclear weapons; promoted peace

How did Hitler rise to power in the 1930s?

Nazi Party growth; Great Depression boost; 1933 Enabling Act consolidating power; end of democracy; anti-Semitic laws

What events marked the decline and collapse of the Ottoman Empire?

Internal corruption, weak leadership, nationalist uprisings; defeat in World War I; dissolved in 1922; replaced by Turkey

Who was Atatürk and what did he do?

Mustafa Kemal Atatürk; founded Republic of Turkey (1923); abolished sultanate and caliphate; modernized law, education, dress; secularism

What Armenian event is noted in the notes as a politically motivated mass murder?

Armenian Genocide (1915–1917) by the Ottoman Empire, ~1.5 million Armenians killed

What role did Gandhi play in Indian independence?

Nonviolent resistance (satyagraha); boycott of British goods; Salt March; inspired global civil rights movements

What was the Suez Canal crisis of 1956?

Nasser nationalized the Suez Canal; Britain, France, and Israel invaded; U.S. and USSR forced withdrawal; marked end of European dominance in the Middle East

What were the major Arab-Israeli conflicts after 1948?

1948 Arab-Israeli War; 1967 Six-Day War; 1973 Yom Kippur War; ongoing Palestinian struggles; PLO formed

What are characteristics of Radical Islamic Fundamentalism & al-Qaeda?

Rise as a reaction to Western influence; use of terrorism for political/religious goals; al-Qaeda founded by Osama bin Laden

What is the United Nations and why was it created?

Founded 1945 to promote peacekeeping, humanitarian aid, and international cooperation; replaced the League of Nations

What were major independence leaders in Africa?

Kwame Nkrumah (Ghana) and others; leaders across Africa led independence movements post-WWII

Which major Indian independence leaders are mentioned?

Mohandas Gandhi and Nehru

What was the Suez Canal’s significance to global power dynamics?

Control of a vital global trade route; its nationalization shifted influence away from European powers

What were the main outcomes of the Cuban Missile Crisis?

Closest the world came to nuclear war; resolution included removal of missiles and a U.S.-Soviet agreement

What impacts did post-WWII independence movements have on global politics?

Decolonization; new nations; Cold War rivalry and proxy battles; globalization increases

What was the Marshall Plan designed to do?

Rebuild Western Europe after WWII; stabilize economies to prevent communism spread

What is the policy of Containment?

U.S. strategy to stop the spread of communism via aid, alliances (NATO), and proxy wars

What were Mao Zedong’s agricultural and industrial campaigns?

Great Leap Forward (1958–1962): rapid industrialization via collective farms and backyard furnaces; led to famine

What changes did Deng Xiaoping introduce after Mao’s death?

Economic reforms; move toward limited capitalism; opened to world trade; political control remained

What was Tiananmen Square in 1989 a protest for?

Democracy and political reform in China; suppression by government; many killed

What happened in the Bosnian War during the breakup of Yugoslavia?

Ethnic cleansing of Bosnian Muslims by Serb forces; part of broader Balkan conflicts

Who were notable advocates for human rights and democracy in the late 20th century?

Nelson Mandela (South Africa); Gandhi (India); Oscar Romero (El Salvador); Margaret Thatcher (Britain) for different contexts

What role did Margaret Thatcher play in the late 20th century?

Prime Minister of Britain (1979–1990); known as the Iron Lady; strong anti-communist stance; influenced end of Cold War

What is the significance of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights?

Not explicitly listed in notes, but tied to human rights developments under postwar era and UN; concept implied in discussions of human rights during revolutions and Cold War

What major global institution was created in 1945 to promote peace and cooperation?

The United Nations

What was the impact of the open-door policy in China?

Equal trading rights for all nations; aimed to prevent partition of China

Which two religious and political ideas clashed in the 19th–20th centuries in China and the USSR?

Communism (Marxist-Leninist model) vs Nationalist/authoritarian governance; Mao’s peasant-based revolution vs Soviet industrial worker focus

What happened in Korea during the Cold War?

Korean War (1950–1953): North Korea (backed by USSR/China) vs South Korea (backed by U.S./UN); ended in stalemate; division remained

What was the outcome of the Vietnam War?

North Vietnam (communist) defeated South Vietnam; unification under communism in 1975; U.S. withdrawal in 1973

What was the significance of the Cuban Missile Crisis for Cold War tensions?

Nuclear standoff between the U.S. and USSR; closest approach to nuclear war; led to later arms control agreements

What major social change did World War II trigger for women?

Women entered factories, offices, and war-related roles; expanded gender roles and independence

What is the Universal impact of the development of the assembly line and mass production?

Increased efficiency and output; transformed manufacturing globally; influenced economic systems and labor

What is the difference between socialist and communist economic ideas as described?

Socialism: shared or government ownership of industry to reduce inequality; Communism (Marxist): abolition of private property and classless society; revolutionary aim often implied

What was the Open Door Policy’s purpose?

To ensure equal trading rights for all nations in China and prevent partition

What major 20th-century event ended with the dissolution of the Soviet Union?

End of the Cold War; 1991 Soviet Union dissolution; shift to market reforms in former Soviet states

Who developed the theory of the 'invisible hand' in economics?

Adam Smith

What were two major anti-imperial resistance movements in Africa and Asia?

Gandhi’s nonviolent resistance in India; independence movements across Africa and Asia post-WWII

Which 1956 event marked a shift away from colonial control in the Middle East?

Suez Crisis: Nasser nationalized the Suez Canal; Western powers withdrew under international pressure

What was the goal of Nelson Mandela’s leadership?

Ending apartheid in South Africa and establishing a multiracial democracy

Which 20th-century war is linked to the rise of NATO and the Warsaw Pact?

The Cold War conflicts and arms race between the U.S.-led Western bloc and the Soviet-led Eastern bloc

What was the basis for many Latin American revolutions and reforms in the 19th–20th centuries?

Influence of Enlightenment ideas, nationalism, and economic pressures; independence movements and later reforms

What was the significance of the 1948 Arab-Israeli War in the Middle East?

Established the state of Israel and led to decades of Arab-Israeli conflict and displacement

What technological advances defined WWII and the early Cold War era?

Tanks, aircraft carriers, radar, jet engines, rockets, atomic bombs; later ICBMs and space tech in the Cold War

What role did India and Pakistan’s partition play in 1947?

Division of British India into two states (India and Pakistan) and later Bangladesh; major religious and ethnic tensions

What is the significance of Nelson Mandela and Gandhi in global history?

Gandhi: nonviolent resistance in India; Mandela: ending apartheid and leading South Africa’s democracy

What major cultural shifts occurred due to globalization in the 20th century?

Spread of Western consumer culture, global media, and cross-cultural exchange; modernization of music, art, and politics