WHAP Causes and Effects Dates

632 - Rise of Islam

• Cause: The teachings spread by Prophet Muhammad, who claimed to be the final messenger of Allah and educated people on the five pillars of Islam. This unified Arabian tribes.

• Effect: Rapid expansion of Islamic territories across the Middle East and North Africa, introduction of the caliph as a leader, and a split between Sunni and Shia Muslims regarding caliphate succession.

750 - Start of Abbasid Caliphate

• Cause: Discontent under the Umayyad caliphates rule.

• Effect: This caused the capital to be shifted to Baghdad leading to the golden age of islam.

960 - Start of the Song Dynasty in China

• Cause: After the fall of the Tang dynasty, China needed a stable government

• Effect: Led to political and technological innovations, including woodblock printing.

1095 - 1st Crusade

• Cause: Persecution of Christian pilgrims by Seljuk Turks, appeal to Pope Urban II.

• Effect: Tensions between Christians and Muslims, cultural exchange between Europe and the Middle East.

12th century - Rise of Feudalism in Japan

• Cause: Political chaos and conflicts after the Heian period led to need for local lords.

• Effect: Creation of rigid social hierarchy and powerful samurai class.

1206 - Chinggis Khan begins Mongol conquests

• Cause: United Mongolian tribes and focused on resource-rich lands.

• Effect: Expansion and revitalization of trade across Eurasia, establishment of Pax Mongolica.

1258 - Mongols sack Baghdad

• Cause: Desire to control key trade cities and assert power.

• Effect: End of the Abbasid caliphate and golden age of Islam, Mongols adopted some Islamic culture.

1271-1295 - Marco Polo's Travels

• Cause: Pax Mongolica created safer travel routes for merchants.

• Effect: Increased European curiosity about Asia, introduction of navigation and cartography ideas.

1279-1368 - Yuan (Mongol) Dynasty in China

• Cause: Continued Mongol conquests by Kublai Khan.

• Effect: Cultural synthesis, use of Chinese culture to legitimize rule, no intermarriage among elites.

1320-1340 - Spread of Bubonic Plague

• Cause: Originated in Asia, spread via trade routes.

• Effect: Massive population decline in Europe and Asia, labor revolts for higher wages as there were less people to work.

1324 - Mansa Musa's pilgrimage

• Cause: Spread of Islam into West Africa, Mansa Musa's devotion.

• Effect: Increased cultural and economic exchanges between West Africa and the Islamic world, Timbuktu became a learning center.

14th & 15th C - Italian Renaissance

• Cause: Rediscovery of classical texts and humanism.

• Effect: Flourishing of art, literature, and science, spread of ideas through printing press.

1400 - Swahili states flourish

• Cause: Increased trade connections and innovations in transportation.

• Effect: Cultural blending and economic prosperity through trade.

1405-1433 - Zheng He's Voyages

• Cause: Diplomatic mission to expand Ming dynasty's power.

• Effect: Prestige for Chinese government, opening of new markets, sharing of maritime technology.

1438 - Rise of Inca Empire

• Cause: Unification of tribes under Pachacuti, military conquest, agricultural advancements.

• Effect: Organized government, infrastructure developments like Machu Picchu and a large road network, united Andean peoples

1453 - Ottomans capture Constantinople

• Cause: Innovations in military technology, desire for strategic location.

• Effect: Rise of Istanbul as a major political and cultural center, end of Byzantine Empire.

1480s - Height of Aztec Empire

• Cause: Establishment of tribute systems supporting Tenochtitlán.

• Effect: Flourishing of Aztec culture, construction of Templo Mayor.

1492 - Columbus sailed the ocean blue/Reconquista of Spain

• Cause: Completion of the Reconquista under Ferdinand and Isabella.

• Effect: Columbian Exchange, increase in slave trade, diseases impact on Native populations.

1498 - Vasco da Gama reaches India

• Cause: Maritime innovations and the desire for trade routes.

• Effect: Establishment of Portuguese trading posts, control over spice trade.

1521 - Cortez conquered the Aztecs

• Cause: Arrival of Cortez and diseases like smallpox.

• Effect: Fall of the Aztec Empire, establishment of New Spain.

1526 - Founding of the Mughal Empire

• Cause: Babur sought to establish control over fragmented India.

• Effect: Cultural synthesis, construction of monuments like Taj Mahal.

1545 - Discovery of silver at Potosi

• Cause: Spanish control of resources in the Americas.

• Effect: Economic boom, rise of global trade networks.

1600 - Beginning of the British East India Company

• Cause: Competition for spice trade in India.

• Effect: Foundation of British colonial rule in India.

1607 - Foundation of Jamestown

• Cause: Desire for wealth in the New World.

• Effect: First permanent English settlement in North America.

1640s - Beginning of Japanese isolation

• Cause: Tokugawa shogunate's desire to limit foreign influence.

• Effect: Sakoku policy led to isolation and preservation of Japanese culture.

1644 - End of Ming/Beginning of Qing Dynasty

• Cause: Internal issues within the Ming dynasty allowed for invasion.

• Effect: Establishment of the last imperial dynasty of China.

1652 - Dutch Boers colonize South Africa

• Cause: Need for supply stations during maritime travel.

• Effect: Beginning of European settlement and tensions with indigenous peoples.

1683 - Unsuccessful Ottoman siege of Vienna

• Cause: Desire to expand into Europe.

• Effect: Decline of Ottoman power in Europe.

18th century - The Enlightenment

• Cause: Response to absolutism and growing discontent with monarchies.

• Effect: Rise of democratic ideas, influence on revolutions.

1756-1763 - Seven Years War

• Cause: Territorial disputes between Britain and France.

• Effect: Significant territorial gains for Britain and increased debt.

1767 - Invention of the Spinning Jenny

• Cause: Growing demand for textiles during the Industrial Revolution.

• Effect: Revolutionized the textile industry, leading to urbanization.

1776 - American Revolution

• Cause: Colonial discontent with British taxation and desire for independence.

• Effect: Establishment of the United States as an independent nation.

1789 - French Revolution

• Cause: Social inequality and economic hardship.

• Effect: Overthrow of the monarchy and rise of radical political factions.

1804 - Haitian Independence

• Cause: Successful slave revolt against French colonial rule.

• Effect: Haiti became the first independent black republic.

1807 - British Abolition of Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade

• Cause: Moral opposition to slavery and changing economic interests.

• Effect: Marked a step towards ending slavery.

1820s - Independence in Latin America

• Cause: Enlightenment ideas and weakening of Spain.

• Effect: Establishment of new nations, leading to political instability.

1839 - 1st Opium War in China

• Cause: British trade of opium and social issues in China.

• Effect: Treaty of Nanking ended with ceding Hong Kong to Britain.

1848 - Marx & Engels Write Communist Manifesto

• Cause: Response to inequalities from industrial capitalism.

• Effect: Foundational text for socialist movements worldwide.

1853 - Commodore Perry Opens Japan

• Cause: U.S. desire for trade relations.

• Effect: Rapid modernization of Japan.

1857 - Sepoy Mutiny

• Cause: Indian soldiers' discontent with British rule.

• Effect: Dissolution of the British East India Company.

1861 - End of Russian Serfdom

• Cause: Need for modernization and economic reform.

• Effect: Greater mobility for former serfs and social changes.

1885 - Berlin Conference - Division of Africa

• Cause: Competition among European powers for territory.

• Effect: Partitioning of Africa, leading to exploitation and conflict.

1893 - New Zealand Grants Women Suffrage

• Cause: Growing movement for women's rights.

• Effect: Precedent for women's suffrage globally.

1898 - Spanish-American War

• Cause: American imperialist ambitions and desire to liberate Cuba.

• Effect: Acquisition of territories and emergence of U.S. as a global power.

1905 - Russo-Japanese War

• Cause: Competition over territories in East Asia.

• Effect: Establishment of Japan as a major world power.

1914 - WWI

• Cause: Complex alliances and assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand.

• Effect: Massive loss of life and political changes in Europe.

1917 - Russian Revolution

• Cause: Discontent with Tsarist regime and military failures in WWI.

• Effect: Establishment of communist government and civil war.

1929 - Stock Market Crash

• Cause: Speculative investments and economic imbalances.

• Effect: Triggered the Great Depression.

1939 - German Blitzkrieg in Poland

• Cause: Adolf Hitler's expansionist policies.

• Effect: Beginning of World War II in Europe.

1941 - Pearl Harbor

• Cause: Surprise attack by Japan to cripple U.S. Pacific Fleet.

• Effect: U.S. entry into World War II.

1945 - Creation of the United Nations

• Cause: Need for international cooperation post-WWII.

• Effect: Critical role in international diplomacy.

1947 - Independence & Partition of India

• Cause: Nationalist movements seeking self-rule.

• Effect: Creation of India and Pakistan.

1948 - Birth of Israel

• Cause: Zionist movement's goal for a Jewish homeland.

• Effect: Immediate conflict with Arab nations, ongoing tensions.

1949 - Chinese Communist Revolution

• Cause: Discontent with the Nationalist government.

• Effect: Establishment of the People's Republic of China.

1950-1953 - Korean War

• Cause: North Korea's invasion to unify under communism.

• Effect: Stalemate, Korea remains divided.

1956 - Nationalization of Suez Canal

• Cause: Desire for control over trade route.

• Effect: Highlighted decline of colonial influence.

1959 - Cuban Revolution

• Cause: Discontent with Batista's regime and economic inequality.

• Effect: Establishment of a communist government in Cuba.

1979 - Iranian Revolution

• Cause: Widespread dissatisfaction with the Shah's regime.

• Effect: Establishment of an Islamic Republic.

1989 - Fall of Berlin Wall

• Cause: Discontent with communist rule in East Germany.

• Effect: Symbolized end of the Cold War.

1991 - Fall of USSR/1st Gulf War

• Cause: Economic stagnation and nationalist movements within the USSR.

• Effect: Emergence of independent states and U.S. military power demonstrated.

1994 - Genocide in Rwanda/1st All Race Elections in S. Africa

• Cause: Ethnic tensions and political instability in Rwanda, suffrage movement in South Africa.

• Effect: Mass killings in Rwanda, transition toward democracy in South Africa.

2001 - 9/11 Attacks

• Cause: Orchestrated by al-Qaeda as a response to U.S. policies in the Middle East.

• Effect: Significant changes in U.S. policies and global counterterrorism focus.