AP World History Exam Review

Flashcards for key vocabulary and events.

9th Century CE

Emergence of Neo-Confucianism in China, blending Confucianism with elements of Daoism and Buddhism.

206 BC – 220 AD

Civil Service Exams used in China to select officials based on merit.

1206 CE

Establishment of the Delhi Sultanate in northern India.

750 to 1258

Rule of the Abbasid Caliphate, known for cultural achievements and centered in Baghdad.

1271

Establishment of the Yuan Dynasty in China by Kublai Khan.

Early 14th Century

Reign of Mansa Musa, the tenth Mansa of the Mali Empire, known for his pilgrimage to Mecca.

Mid-14th Century (1346-1353)

The Black Death, a devastating global epidemic of bubonic plague in Europe and Asia.

1371-1433

Life of Zheng He, a Chinese mariner and explorer during the Ming dynasty, leading voyages to Southeast Asia, South Asia, the Middle East, and East Africa.

2nd Century BCE to the 18th Century CE

Use of the Silk Roads, an ancient network of trade routes connecting the East and West.

Medieval Period Onwards

Emergence of Caravanserai along trade routes like the Silk Road, providing rest for travelers.

Ancient Times Through Early Modern Period

Operation of Indian Ocean trade routes connecting Southeast Asia, India, Arabia, and East Africa.

Throughout History

Emergence of Diasporic communities due to trade, migration, or political upheaval.

Ancient Times Through the 16th Century

Operation of Trans-Saharan trade routes connecting North Africa with sub-Saharan Africa.

13th and 14th Centuries

Pax Mongolica, a period of relative peace and stability in Eurasia under the Mongol Empire.

1271 and 1295

Marco Polo's travels through Asia along the Silk Road.

14th Century

Ibn Battuta's extensive travels in Africa and Asia.

1453

Fall of Constantinople to the Ottoman Empire.

8th Century to 1492

Reconquista in the Iberian Peninsula, with Christian kingdoms retaking land from Islamic control.

1526-1857

The rise and fall of the Mughal Empire in South Asia.

1600 and 1868

Tokugawa Shogunate, the last feudal Japanese military government.

1644 to 1912

Qing Dynasty, the last imperial dynasty of China.

15th and 16th Centuries

Columbian Exchange, the transfer of plants, animals, culture, and diseases between the Americas, West Africa, and the Old World.

16th to 19th Centuries

Triangular Trade, a multilateral system of trading between the Americas, Europe, and Africa.

16th to 19th Centuries

Atlantic Slave Trade, the transportation of African people to the colonies of the New World.

17th Century

Emergence of Joint-stock companies as a way to finance colonial ventures.

1765 and 1783

American Revolution, colonists in British America rejecting British monarchy and founding the United States.

Late 1700s

French Revolution, a period of social and political upheaval in France.

1791 and 1804

Haitian Revolution, slaves against French colonial rule in Saint-Domingue.

Late 18th and Early 19th Centuries

Latin American independence movements, revolutions resulting in independent countries in Latin America.

About 1760 to Sometime Between 1820 and 1840

Industrial Revolution, transition to new manufacturing processes in Europe and the United States.

1848

Publication of the Communist Manifesto by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels.

1857

Sepoy Rebellion, a revolt of Indian sepoys against the British East India Company.

1884-85

Berlin Conference, European powers discussing and formalizing claims to territory in Africa.

Late 19th and Early 20th Centuries

European imperialism, colonial expansion by European powers, the United States, and Japan.

1868

Meiji Restoration, restoration of imperial rule to Japan.

1858 to 1947

British Raj, rule by the British Crown on the Indian subcontinent.

1880-1881 and 1899-1902

Boer War, wars between the British Empire and the two independent Boer republics.

Between 1899 and 1901

Boxer Rebellion, anti-foreign uprising in China.

1914 to 1918

World War I, a global war fought primarily in Europe.

1917

Russian Revolution, a period of political and social revolution in the Russian Empire.

1919

Treaty of Versailles, the peace treaty that brought World War I to an end.

1920

Founding of the League of Nations as a result of the Paris Peace Conference.

1929 to About 1939

Great Depression, an economic slump in North America, Europe, and other industrialized areas.

1939 to 1945

World War II, a global war pitting the Axis powers against the Allied powers.

1945

Creation of the United Nations to maintain international peace and security.

1947

Partition of India into two independent dominion states, India and Pakistan.

1949

Chinese Communist Revolution, establishment of the People's Republic of China.

1950 to 1953

Korean War, between North Korea and South Korea.

Mid-1950s to 1975

Vietnam War, in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia.

1989

Fall of Berlin Wall, symbolizing the end of the Cold War.

1991

Collapse of USSR, marking the end of the Cold War.

April to June 1994

Rwandan Genocide, mass slaughter in Rwanda.

Early 21st Century

Global financial crisis, a severe worldwide economic crisis.

December 2015

Paris Climate Agreement, an international treaty to combat Anthropogenic Climate Change.

Late 2

An ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by a severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2).