AP World History Unit 2: Networks of Exchange (c. 1200-1450)

Vocabulary flashcards covering causes and effects of trade expansion, technologies, trading cities, financial institutions, cultural diffusion, and geographic trade networks for Unit 2 (c. 1200-1450).

Pax Mongolica

A period of stability during which Mongol khanates unified trade connections, created a common currency and tax system, and built infrastructure such as bridges and roads.

Caravanserai

Roadside inns or rest stations along trade routes like the Silk Roads and Trans-Saharan routes that supported merchants and their pack animals.

Lateen sail

A triangular-shaped sail used in Indian Ocean maritime trade that allowed ships to sail effectively against the wind.

Stern rudder

A technology adopted in Indian Ocean maritime trade that enabled more efficient ship steering.

Dhow

A Chinese cargo ship adopted throughout the Indian Ocean region to facilitate maritime trade.

Astrolabe

A navigational tool used by sailors in the Indian Ocean to determine latitude.

Monsoon winds

Predictable seasonal wind patterns in the Indian Ocean that merchants studied and utilized to time their maritime voyages.

Swahili city-states

Coastal cities and states along the East African coast that grew prosperous by regulating and taxing Indian Ocean trade.

Gujarat

A state/region in western India that grew wealthy by regulating and taxing Indian Ocean trade.

Sultanate of Malacca

A powerful Southeast Asian state that regulated and taxed maritime trade passing through strategic trade choke points.

Kashgar

A major oasis trading city along the Silk Roads that flourished as trade expanded across Central Asia.

Samarkand

A key Silk Roads trading city that expanded into a major commercial and cultural center.

Calicut

A prominent port city on the coast of India that became a bustling center of Indian Ocean trade.

Timbuktu

A major West African trading city in the Mali Empire that developed into a renowned center of Islamic learning.

Flying cash

A Chinese financial innovation involving paper credit that allowed merchants to deposit cash in one location and redeem it in another.

Bill of exchange

A contractual finance idea used in trade where one party promised to pay a set amount of money to another at a specific time.

Hanseatic League

A commercial trade organization formed by merchant guilds and towns in Northern Europe to protect mutual economic interests.

Diasporic communities

Settlements of foreign merchants—such as Arab and Persian communities in East Africa, Chinese communities in Southeast Asia, and Malay communities in the Indian Ocean basin—that introduced cultural traditions into indigenous host societies.

Voyages of Zheng He

Ming dynasty naval expeditions across the Indian Ocean region that projected Chinese authority and facilitated the spread of Islam.

Mansa Musa

Ruler of Mali who converted to Islam, undertook a famous pilgrimage, and established centers of learning in Timbuktu.

Bubonic plague

A deadly disease spread throughout Asia and into Europe along trade routes facilitated by the expansion of the Mongol Empire.

Champa rice

A fast-ripening, drought-resistant crop introduced from Vietnam to China via Silk Roads networks.

The Four Khanates of the Mongol Empire

The political divisions of the Mongol Empire established in the 13th-14th centuries: Khanate of the Golden Horde, Chagatai Khanate, Ilkhanate, and the Khanate of the Great Khan/Yuan Dynasty.

Trans-Saharan Trade Routes

Commercial trade routes across the Sahara Desert linking West African empires like Ghana and Mali to Mediterranean and North African trading hubs.

Indian Ocean Monsoon Trade Routes

Maritime trading routes connecting East Africa, Arabia, India, and Southeast Asia, heavily dependent on predictable seasonal monsoon wind shifts.