AP WORLD SEM 2 FINIAL

Akbar

The most famous emperor of the Mughal Empire in India (ruled 1556–1605). He is best known for expanding the empire, his religious tolerance, abolishing the jizya tax on non-Muslims, and creating a blended Indo-Islamic culture.

Colombian Exchange

The massive global transfer of plants, animals, diseases, and people between the Eastern Hemisphere (Old World) and Western Hemisphere (New World) following Christopher Columbus's voyages in 1492.

Cortes

The Spanish conquistador who led the expedition that caused the fall of the Aztec Empire and brought large portions of mainland Mexico under Spanish rule in the early 16th century.

Encomienda

A Spanish colonial labor system that granted conquerors the right to forcibly employ groups of Native Americans. In theory, it was a reciprocal relationship where Spaniards protected and Christianized the natives, but in practice, it was brutal forced labor.

Galleons

Large, multi-decked sailing ships used primarily by European states (especially Spain) from the 16th to 18th centuries for war and trade, famously used to transport silver from the Americas to Asia and Europe.

Martin Luther

A German monk who initiated the Protestant Reformation in 1517 by publishing his 95 Theses. He challenged the corruption of the Catholic Church, particularly the sale of indulgences, and argued that salvation is achieved by faith alone.

Janissaries

Elite infantry units that formed the Ottoman Sultan's household troops and bodyguards. They were recruited from Christian boys through the devshirme system, converted to Islam, and trained to be fiercely loyal to the Sultan.

Mercantilism

An economic theory dominant in Europe from the 16th to 18th centuries based on the idea that a nation's wealth and power were best served by increasing exports, limiting imports, and accumulating gold and silver. It heavily relied on colonies to provide raw materials and buy manufactured goods.

Middle Passage

The brutal middle leg of the Transatlantic Triangular Trade network, in which millions of forcibly enslaved Africans were densely packed onto ships and transported across the Atlantic Ocean to the Americas.

Pizarro

The Spanish conquistador who led the expedition that conquered the Inca Empire in South America in the 1530s, capturing and executing the Inca Emperor Atahualpa.

Potosi

Located in modern-day Bolivia, it was the site of the world's largest silver mine during the Spanish colonial era. The silver extracted here fueled global trade but cost the lives of countless indigenous and African laborers.

Potato

A root vegetable native to the Americas. Following the Columbian Exchange, it became a staple crop in Europe, leading to a massive population boom due to its high caloric value and ease of growth in poor soil.

Taj Mahal

A magnificent white marble mausoleum commissioned in 1632 by the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan to house the tomb of his favorite wife, Mumtaz Mahal. It represents the pinnacle of Mughal architecture.

Tokugawa

The final traditional shogunate (military government) of Japan (1603–1867), founded by Tokugawa Ieyasu. It is characterized by a strict social hierarchy, internal peace, and a policy of severe isolationism (sakoku).

Triangle Trade

A three-way system of trade during the 17th–19th centuries. Europe sent manufactured goods (like guns and cloth) to Africa; Africa sent enslaved people to the Americas (the Middle Passage); and the Americas sent raw materials (like sugar, tobacco, and cotton) back to Europe.

Zheng He

A Chinese mariner, explorer, diplomat, and fleet admiral during the early Ming Dynasty. He led seven massive naval expeditions across the Indian Ocean to display China's wealth and power and collect tribute.

The First Industrial Revolution

Beginning in Great Britain in the late 18th century, this period saw a shift from manual labor to machine-based manufacturing. Key developments included the steam engine, textile factories, and the widespread use of coal and iron.

The Second Industrial Revolution

Occurring in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, this phase was characterized by rapid industrialization centered around steel, electricity, chemicals, petroleum, and internal combustion engines.

Boxer Rebellion

An anti-foreign, anti-colonial, and anti-Christian uprising in China around 1900, led by the "Boxers" (Society of Righteous and Harmonious Fists). It was eventually crushed by an eight-nation international military alliance.

Communism/Marxism

An economic and political ideology based on the ideas of Karl Marx, advocating for a classless society in which all property and the means of production are publicly owned, achieved through a working-class revolution against the capitalist bourgeoisie.

Congress of Vienna

A meeting of European ambassadors from 1814 to 1815 aiming to restore long-term peace to Europe after the Napoleonic Wars. It redrew Europe's political map and sought to restore conservative monarchies to power.

Crimean War

A conflict (1853–1856) in which Russia lost to an alliance of France, the Ottoman Empire, the United Kingdom, and Sardinia. It arose from disputes over the protection of Christian shrines in the Holy Land and exposed Russia's industrial backwardness.

Charles Darwin

An English naturalist who published On the Origin of Species in 1859, introducing the scientific theory of evolution through the process of natural selection.

Captain James Cook

A British explorer, navigator, and cartographer who made three famous voyages to the Pacific Ocean, mapping New Zealand, the eastern coast of Australia, and Hawaii for the British Empire

Karl Marx

A German philosopher and economist who co-authored The Communist Manifesto (1848). His critiques of capitalism formed the basis of Marxism and modern communist movements.

Napoleon

A French military and political leader who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and crowned himself Emperor of the French. He conquered much of Europe before his final defeat at Waterloo in 1815.

Otto Von Bismarck

A conservative Prussian statesman who masterminded the unification of Germany in 1871 through a series of successful wars and served as its first Chancellor, utilizing a pragmatic political philosophy known as Realpolitik.

Romanov Family

The ruling royal dynasty of Russia from 1613 until the Russian Revolution in 1917, when Tsar Nicholas II was forced to abdicate, ending over 300 years of imperial rule.

Simon Bolivar

A Venezuelan military and political leader, known as "El Libertador," who played a leading role in the establishment of Venezuela, Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Panama as sovereign states independent of Spanish rule.

Taiping Rebellion

A massive, bloody civil war in China (1850–1864) led by Hong Xiuquan, who claimed to be the younger brother of Jesus. It was fought against the ruling Qing Dynasty and resulted in an estimated 20–30 million deaths.

Tanzimat Reforms

A series of modernization and modernization efforts in the Ottoman Empire between 1839 and 1876. They aimed to secure the empire's territorial integrity against nationalist movements and foreign powers by introducing Western-style legal, educational, and military systems

Toussaint L’Ouverture

The best-known leader of the Haitian Revolution (1791–1804). A former enslaved man, his military and political leadership transformed an island-wide slave revolt into a successful movement that established Haiti as the first free Black republic.

1918 Influenza / Spanish Flu

A deadly global influenza pandemic that lasted from 1918 to 1920, infected roughly one-third of the world's population, and killed an estimated 17 to 50 million people toward the end of World War I.

Apartheid

A system of institutionalized racial segregation and discrimination that existed in South Africa from 1948 until the early 1990s, ensuring political, social, and economic dominance by the white minority.

Bollywood

The popular name given to the Mumbai-based, Hindi-language film industry in India. It is one of the largest centers of film production in the world and a major symbol of globalized cultural exchange.

Bolsheviks

A radical faction of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party, led by Vladimir Lenin, that seized power during the October Revolution of 1917, ultimately establishing the Soviet Union.

Coca-Cola

An American carbonated soft drink company that expanded globally in the 20th century, frequently cited as a prime symbol of American cultural imperialism, globalization, and consumer culture.

Fidel Castro

A Cuban communist revolutionary and politician who overthrew the Batista dictatorship in 1959 and ruled Cuba as a one-party communist state for nearly five decades, famously aligning with the Soviet Union during the Cold War.

Global Warming

The long-term heating of Earth's climate system observed since the pre-industrial period, primarily driven by human activities, especially fossil fuel burning, which increases heat-trapping greenhouse gas levels in Earth's atmosphere

Globalization

The process of interaction and integration among people, companies, and governments worldwide, driven by international trade, investment, and advancements in information technology.

Great Leap Forward

An economic and social campaign led by Mao Zedong and the Chinese Communist Party from 1958 to 1962, aiming to rapidly transform China from an agrarian economy into a socialist society through rapid industrialization and collectivization. It resulted in a catastrophic famine that killed tens of millions.

Greenpeace

An independent global campaigning network founded in 1971 that uses non-violent creative confrontation to expose global environmental problems and force solutions for a green and peaceful future.

Iron Curtain

A political, military, and ideological barrier erected by the Soviet Union after World War II to seal off itself and its dependent eastern and central European allies from open contact with the West and other non-communist areas.

NATO

An intergovernmental military alliance established in 1949 by Western nations (including the US, Canada, and Western European countries) to provide collective defense against the threat of Soviet expansion during the Cold War.

Satellite States

Sovereign nations that are formally independent but under heavy political, economic, and military influence or control from another country. During the Cold War, this referred to the Eastern European nations aligned with the Soviet Union.

Tiananmen Square

Student-led demonstrations for democracy, free speech, and a free press in Beijing, China, in the spring of 1989. The protests were violently suppressed by the Chinese government using military force, resulting in a large, unconfirmed number of civilian casualties.

Treaty of Versailles

The peace treaty signed in 1919 that officially ended World War I. It imposed harsh financial reparations, territorial losses, and military restrictions on Germany, which created economic instability and resentment that contributed to the rise of World War II.