AP World History 1-4 Study Guide

What major developments characterized the period from c. 1200 to c. 1450 CE in Afro-Eurasia?

This era saw significant state-building and expansion:

1. East Asia: Song Dynasty's technological and cultural flourishing.
2. Islamic World: Expansion of Islamic empires (e.g., Abbasid, Mamluk Sultanate) and intellectual advancements.
3. South/Southeast Asia: Rise of various states like the Vijayanagara Empire and various maritime empires.
4. Africa: Growth of states like Mali and Great Zimbabwe, facilitated by trade.

Describe the impact of the Silk Roads, Indian Ocean Trade, and Trans-Saharan Trade networks during Unit 2 (c. 1200-c. 1450).

These networks facilitated the exchange of:

1. Goods: Luxury items, raw materials.

2. Technology: Compass, astrolabe, gunpowder.

3. Cultures/Religions: Buddhism, Islam, Christianity spread.

4. Diseases: The Black Death traveled along these routes, especially the Silk Roads.

Identify major land-based empires of Unit 3 (c. 1450-c. 1750 CE) and their methods of consolidation.

Key land-based empires include:

1. Ottoman Empire: Used Janissaries, a centralized bureaucracy, and religious tolerance (millet system) to expand and consolidate power.
2. Safavid Empire: Twelver Shi'ism as a unifying force, engaged in conflict with Ottomans.
3. Mughal Empire: Centralized administration, zamindar system, and religious tolerance under Akbar (later reversed).
4. Qing Dynasty (China): Expanded territory, used Manchu elites, Confucian bureaucracy, and the Canton System to control trade.
5. Russia: Expanded eastward, used serfdom, and absolute monarchy (e.g., Peter the Great's Westernization).

Explain the significance of the Columbian Exchange and the development of maritime empires during Unit 4 (c. 1450-c. 1750 CE).

1. Columbian Exchange: The widespread transfer of plants, animals, culture, human populations, technology, diseases, and ideas between the Americas, West Africa, and the Old World in the 15th and 16th centuries. It led to demographic shifts (e.g., indigenous population decline due to disease, new staple crops to Afro-Eurasia) and new economic systems.
2. Maritime Empires: European powers (Portugal, Spain, Dutch, France, Britain) established vast overseas empires, driven by mercantilism, new navigation technologies (caravel, fluyt), and the desire for wealth. This led to a globalized economy, the Atlantic slave trade, and coerced labor systems like the encomienda and hacienda systems.