AP World History: Exploration, Maritime Empires, Golden Age of Islam, and Middle Ages Europe

Comprehensive practice flashcards covering European exploration, maritime empires, the Golden Age of Islam, and Middle Ages Europe.

What were the primary motives driving European exploration in the 15th and 16th centuries?

To gain direct access to Asian luxuries (bypassing Muslim merchants after the collapse of the Mongols increased prices), colonize Atlantic islands (Azores, Madeiras, Canaries) suitable for growing cash crops, and spread Christianity.

What key navigational and maritime technologies did Western Europe adopt from China and Islamic civilizations?

From China: the stern rudder and magnetic compass. From Islam: the lateen sail and the astrolabe.

What ship design shown here was utilized by 15th-century Portuguese navigators, and what sail features did it combine?

The caravel, which combined lateen sails for maneuverability and square topsails for speed.

How did Hernan Cortes and Francisco Pizarro accomplish their conquests of the Aztec and Inca Empires?

Hernan Cortes conquered the Aztecs in 1521 with 600 Spanish soldiers, and Francisco Pizarro conquered the Inca in 1533 with fewer than 200 Spanish soldiers, motivated by "God, gold, and glory" and aided by "guns, germs, and steel."

How severely did smallpox affect the Native American population of Mexico between 1518 and 1593?

The estimated Native American population of Mexico plummeted from 25 million in 1518 to under 2.5 million by 1593.

What were the financial realities of Spain's silver mining economy in New Spain?

Silver was the "Heart of the Empire," extracted using coercive labor (encomiendas, mita, Indian slaves). Less than 50% of the silver remained in Spain, treasure imports never exceeded 25% of Spain's national revenue, and the Spanish government occasionally went bankrupt.

How was the Spanish administrative hierarchy structured in New Spain?

Governance was managed by a central bureaucracy called the Council of Indies, overseeing two Viceroyalties (Mexico City and Lima) and ten Audiencias, with local magistrates enforcing laws, collecting taxes, and assigning required labor.

What was the purpose of the Treaty of Tordesillas?

Signed in 1494, it divided the non-Christian world between Spain and Portugal along a specified meridian.

What were the main social classes in the Spanish American Sociedad de Castas hierarchy?

From highest to lowest status: Peninsulares, Creoles, Mestizos, Mulattos, Native Indians, and Black Slaves.

What made sugar plantations central to Portuguese Brazil in the 17th century?

Brazil dominated global sugar production with 150 plantations in 1600, expanding to 300 by 1630; by 1700, 150,000 enslaved Africans worked on plantations, making up 50% of Brazil's total population.

What economic and political shifts occurred in Brazil during its late 17th-century gold rush?

Gold discovered inland in 1695 triggered a gold rush utilizing enslaved labor (150,000 slaves by 1775) and exporting 3 tons of gold per year from 1735 to 1760; ranching expanded, and Rio de Janeiro became the colony's new capital.

What demographic and social features characterized British North American colonies?

Colonies operated under salutary neglect with low mortality rates (average life expectancy of 70 years), nuclear child-centered families averaging 6 children, and an enslaved population that made up 23% of the total population by 1700.

What were the founding details and chartered powers of the Dutch East India Company (V.O.C.)?

Founded in 1602 with a 21-year spice trade monopoly, the V.O.C. was granted sovereign powers to wage war, negotiate treaties, establish colonies, and mint coins; it established its regional headquarters at Batavia (Jakarta) in 1619.

What are the fundamental tenets of mercantilism?

An economic theory holding that global wealth (gold and silver) is finite, a country prospers by maintaining a favorable balance of trade (maximizing exports and minimizing imports), and states must control trade through colonial exploitation and chartered joint-stock monopolies.

How did the Atlantic System (Triangle Trade) operate between Europe, Africa, and the Americas?

Europe exported manufactured goods to Africa and the Americas; Africa supplied enslaved people to the Americas; the Americas shipped raw materials (cotton, tobacco, indigo, sugar) and precious metals (gold and silver) to Europe.

What major contributions were made by key figures of the Scientific Revolution?

Copernicus proposed the heliocentric theory; Kepler derived the laws of planetary motion; Galileo used the telescope to prove the heliocentric model; Newton defined the laws of motion, gravity, and calculus; Harvey proved the circulation of blood; Bacon established the scientific method.

How did King Louis XIV exemplify absolute monarchy in France?

Known as the Sun King ("L'État c'est moi"), Louis XIV ruled for over 72 years, centralized control over the nobility at the Palace of Versailles (whose annual upkeep consumed 25% of France's income), revoked the Edict of Nantes, and controlled trade via mercantilism under Jean Baptiste Colbert.

What was the significance of the English Bill of Rights of 1689?

Drafted following the Glorious Revolution, it established parliamentary supremacy over the monarchy, guaranteed trial by jury, affirmed habeas corpus, and established a constitutional (parliamentary) monarchy in England.

What were key milestones in the life of Prophet Muhammad and the establishment of Islam?

Prophet Muhammad (c. 570–632 C.E.) began receiving Quranic revelations in 610 C.E., led the Hijra from Mecca to Medina in 622 C.E., and conquered Mecca in 630 C.E.

What are the Five Pillars of Islam?

Shahada (the creed), Salat (prayer), Sawm (fasting), Hajj (pilgrimage), and Zakat (almsgiving).

Who were the Four Rightly-Guided Caliphs in Islamic history?

Abu Bakr (d. 634), Umar (d. 644), Uthman (d. 656), and Ali (d. 661), whose succession debate led to the Sunni-Shia split.

What was the House of Wisdom, and when was it established?

Founded by Caliph Harun al-Rashid and opened by Abbasid Caliph al-Ma'mun around 800 C.E. in Baghdad, the House of Wisdom served as a major library, translation center, and school during the Golden Age of Islam.

What scientific and medical advancements were produced during the Golden Age of Islam?

al-Razi authored the Treatise on Measles and Smallpox; Ibn Sina (Avicenna) authored The Canon of Medicine; al-Haytham laid the foundations for modern optics; and Muslim scientists constructed symmetrical planetary orbits.

What prominent architectural landmarks were constructed during the Golden Age of Islam?

The Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem, Al-Masjid an-Nabawi in Medina, Masjid al-Haram in Mecca, the Alhambra in Granada, and the Mezquita de Córdoba in Spain.

Who were the three major Frankish rulers, and what were their primary achievements?

Clovis I (466–511) united the Franks and converted to Christianity; Charles Martel (688–741) defeated Muslim forces at the Battle of Tours in 732; Charlemagne (742–814) centralized authority and led a temporary revival of learning.

How did external invasions in early medieval Europe lead to the establishment of feudalism?

Invasions by Vikings, Magyars, and Muslims completed the destruction of centralized rule in Western Europe, driving European lords to build a system of military and political relationships (feudalism) to protect land.

What were the mutual land and service obligations under European feudalism?

Kings and higher lords granted land (fiefs) to vassals (nobles) in exchange for loyalty and military service; vassals granted land to knights bound by a code of chivalry in exchange for military support.

What were the obligations of serfs under the manorial system?

Serfs were legally bound to the land, required to work their lord's land 3 days a week, cultivated small personal plots, paid fees, and performed tasks such as weaving and building in exchange for protection.

What was the Investiture Conflict between secular monarchs and the Papacy?

A struggle for authority over church appointments, exemplified by Pope Gregory VII declaring the Church infallible and capable of deposing secular emperors such as Holy Roman Emperor Henry IV.

What was the Spanish Reconquista, and when did it end?

A centuries-long military campaign by Christian kingdoms to recapture Muslim Spain (Al-Andalus), ending in 1492 with the conquest of Granada and the expulsion of Jews and Muslims from Spain.

How did Western Europe's population grow during the High Middle Ages (800–1300 CE)?

Driven by improved climate and agricultural advances (heavy plows, watermills, horse collar, horseshoe, and three-field crop rotation), population grew from 29 million in 800 CE to 44 million in 1100 CE, reaching 79 million by 1300 CE.

What was the constitutional significance of the Magna Carta signed in 1215?

Signed by King John of England, it established that the monarch must obtain parliamentary approval for changes in taxation, creating the foundation for a parliamentary system.

How did the arrival of the Bubonic Plague in October 1347 impact Western Europe?

Arriving on a Crimean ship in Messina, the plague killed 25 million people (1/4 to 1/3 of Europe's population), creating acute labor shortages that raised wages, increased worker mobility, and undermined serfdom.

What military technologies emerged during the Hundred Years War (1337–1453) to transform European warfare?

Crossbows, longbows, pikes, firearms, and cannons made traditional castles and armored knights obsolete, allowing monarchs to maintain permanent standing militaries.