The Great Land-Based Empires & The Columbian Exchange

AP World Unit 2 Assessment

Significance of the Ottoman Empire

The Ottoman Empire was significant for its extensive influence over Southeast Europe, Western Asia, and North Africa, from its founding in 1299 until its dissolution in 1922, shaping the political, cultural, and commercial landscapes of these regions.

Importance of Devshirme

The Devshirme system was important as it allowed the Ottoman Empire to recruit and convert young boys from Christian families, transforming them into loyal soldiers and bureaucrats who would serve the empire diligently.

Role of Janissaries

Janissaries were significant as elite infantry units formed from the Devshirme system, known for their unwavering loyalty to the Sultan and their vital contributions to the military strength and success of the Ottoman Empire.

Significance of Women in the Ottoman Empire

Women in the Ottoman Empire held a significant yet complex role, often limited to domestic responsibilities but also actively engaged in economic, political, and social spheres. They influenced palace politics and participated in community welfare, illustrating the diverse roles women played.

Significance of the Safavid Empire

The Safavid Empire was significant for establishing Twelver Shia Islam as the state religion of Persia, unifying the region under a distinct religious identity and influencing the cultural and political landscape of Iran.

Significance of Ismail I

Ismail I was the founder of the Safavid Empire, known for establishing Twelver Shia Islam as the state religion and unifying Persia, which significantly shaped the region's cultural and political identity.

Significance of the Mughal Empire

The Mughal Empire was significant for its role in establishing a unified Indian subcontinent and promoting cultural and religious diversity, particularly through its contributions to art, architecture, and administration.

Significance of Akbar

Akbar was significant as one of the greatest Mughal emperors, known for his policy of religious tolerance, administrative reforms, and efforts to integrate diverse cultures within his empire.

Significance of Aurangzeb

Aurangzeb was the last of the great Mughal emperors, known for expanding the empire to its greatest territorial extent but his reign marked a decline due to religious intolerance and overextension.

Significance of Manzabars

Manzabars were significant as a military and administrative hierarchical system in the Mughal Empire that helped in the coordination of the military and governance.

Significance of Sikhism

Sikhism emerged during the Mughal Empire as a distinct religion, promoting unity, equality, and social justice, influencing the cultural landscape of India.

Significance of the Ming Dynasty

The Ming Dynasty was significant for its cultural and economic achievements, as well as for restoring Chinese rule after the Mongol Yuan Dynasty, laying the foundations for modern Chinese society.

Significance of Zheng He's Expeditions

Zheng He's expeditions were significant for expanding Chinese maritime trade, establishing diplomatic relations, and demonstrating Ming China’s naval prowess.

Significance of the Russian Empire

The Russian Empire was significant for its vast territorial expansion and its emergence as a major European power, influencing geopolitics, culture, and economy in Eurasia.

Significance of Cossacks

Cossacks were significant as frontier warriors in the Russian Empire, playing a vital role in expansion, military campaigns, and as agents of Russian culture in newly acquired territories.

Significance of the Fur Trade

The fur trade was significant for the economic development of the Russian Empire, driving exploration and settlement in Siberia while integrating indigenous populations into the trade.

Significance of Peter the Great & Westernization

Peter the Great was significant for his efforts to modernize Russia through Westernization, reforming the military, government, and culture, which transformed Russia into a major European power.

Significance of the Conquest of Siberia

The conquest of Siberia was significant for the expansion of Russian territory, resource extraction, and the establishment of a Russian presence in the Far East, influencing trade and indigenous peoples.

Significance of Christopher Columbus

Christopher Columbus was significant for his voyages across the Atlantic Ocean, which led to the widespread awareness of the Americas in Europe and initiated the age of exploration and colonization.

The Columbian Exchange: Food, Animals, and Diseases

The Columbian Exchange refers to the vast transfer of plants, animals, and diseases between the Old World and the New World, profoundly affecting economies, diets, and populations on both sides.

The Great Dying

The Great Dying describes the massive population decline of Indigenous peoples in the Americas due to diseases brought by Europeans, leading to significant demographic and cultural changes.

Spanish Reconquista

The Spanish Reconquista was significant for marking the centuries-long campaign to reclaim the Iberian Peninsula from Muslim rule, culminating in 1492, which set the stage for Spain's exploration and colonization.

Encomienda System

The Encomienda system was significant as it allowed Spanish colonists to demand labor and tribute from Indigenous peoples, establishing a form of feudalism in the Americas and contributing to exploitation.

Bartolomé de las Casas

Bartolomé de las Casas was significant for advocating for the rights of Indigenous peoples in the Americas, criticizing the encomienda system, and promoting more humane treatment.

Little Ice Age

The Little Ice Age was significant for its impact on global climates during the late medieval period and early modern period, leading to agricultural challenges in Europe and affecting populations.

New Laws of 1542

The New Laws of 1542 were significant as they aimed to protect the rights of Indigenous peoples in the Spanish colonies by limiting the abuses of the encomienda system and promoting better treatment.

Significance of Navigational Technologies

Navigational technologies, such as the compass and astrolabe, were significant for enabling long-distance sea travel, improving maritime trade routes, and facilitating the Age of Exploration.

Significance of the Caravel

The caravel was significant as a small, maneuverable ship developed by the Portuguese that allowed for exploration along the coasts of Africa and into the Atlantic, enhancing maritime exploration during the 15th century.

Significance of Mercantilism

Mercantilism was significant as an economic theory and practice that promoted governmental regulation of a nation's economy to augment state power, influencing colonial policies and trade.

Significance of Joint-Stock Companies

Joint-stock companies were significant for allowing multiple investors to pool resources for expeditions and trade, facilitating exploration and colonization while spreading financial risk.

Significance of the Portuguese Trading-Post Empire

The Portuguese trading-post empire was significant for establishing a global network of trade posts and forts that dominated trade routes in the Indian Ocean and influenced global commerce.

Significance of the British East India Company

The British East India Company was significant as a powerful trading corporation that played a crucial role in establishing British colonial rule in India and controlling trade in the region.

Significance of the Dutch East India Company

The Dutch East India Company was significant for being one of the world's first multinational corporations, paramount in the spice trade, and instrumental in establishing Dutch dominance in the East Indies.

Significance of the Silver Trade

The silver trade was significant for its role in facilitating global trade networks, particularly between the Americas and Asia, leading to increased wealth for European empires and profound economic shifts.

Significance of Japanese Trade & Expulsion of Europeans

Japanese trade and the expulsion of Europeans were significant for shaping Japan's isolationist policies during the Edo period, impacting foreign relations and trade in East Asia.

Significance of the Spanish Philippines

The Spanish Philippines were significant as a vital hub for trade across the Pacific, connecting Asia with the Americas and contributing to the global trade network.

Significance of Potosí

Potosí was significant for its massive silver mines, which became a primary source of wealth for the Spanish Empire in the Americas and influenced global commerce and trade patterns.

Significance of Francis Xavier

Francis Xavier was significant as a co-founder of the Jesuit order and an influential missionary in Asia, particularly in promoting Christianity in India and Japan during the 16th century.

Significance of the Islamic Slave Trade

The Islamic Slave Trade was significant for facilitating the movement of millions of Africans into various parts of the Islamic world, influencing economies, cultures, and demographics across Africa, the Middle East, and beyond.

Significance of Prince Henry the Navigator

Prince Henry the Navigator was significant for his role in promoting early Portuguese exploratory efforts along the West African coast, advancing maritime knowledge, and laying the groundwork for the Age of Exploration.

Significance of Portuguese Maritime Exploration

Portuguese maritime exploration was significant for establishing sea routes to India and the Americas, enhancing global trade networks, and marking the beginning of European overseas expansion.

Significance of Vasco de Gama

Vasco de Gama was significant as the first European to reach India by sea, opening up new trade routes for spices and other goods, which had a profound impact on global trade and European imperial ambitions.

Significance of European Slave Factories

European slave factories were significant as they served as trading posts for the capture and export of enslaved Africans, becoming critical nodes in the transatlantic slave trade.

Significance of the Middle Passage

The Middle Passage was significant for being the brutal sea journey undertaken by enslaved Africans from Africa to the Americas, marked by inhumane conditions and high mortality rates.

Significance of Sugar Plantations

Sugar plantations were significant for driving the demand for slave labor in the Americas, leading to the establishment of an extensive system of slavery that fueled European economies.

Significance of Maroon Societies

Maroon societies were significant as communities of escaped enslaved individuals who formed their own societies, preserving African cultural heritage and resisting colonial oppression.

Significance of the Great Circuit

The Great Circuit refers to the Atlantic trade routes that connected Europe, Africa, and the Americas, facilitating the exchange of goods, enslaved persons, and resources in a triangular trade system.

Significance of the First Maroon War

The First Maroon War was significant as a conflict between the British and Maroon communities in Jamaica, highlighting the struggle for freedom and autonomy among formerly enslaved individuals.

Significance of Plantation Agriculture

Plantation agriculture was significant for its role in the production of cash crops like sugar, tobacco, and cotton, which were critical to the economies of the Americas and fueled the transatlantic slave trade.

Significance of the Hacienda System

The hacienda system was significant in colonial Latin America as it described large estates operated by landowners who exploited Indigenous and mestizo labor, shaping social hierarchies and economies.

Significance of Creoles

Creoles were significant as a social class in colonial Latin America, consisting of people of European descent born in the Americas, who often sought political power and influence, leading to independence movements.

Significance of Peninsulares

Peninsulares were significant as the highest social class in colonial Spanish America, consisting of Spanish-born individuals who held top administrative and political positions, reinforcing colonial hierarchies.

Significance of Mestizos

Mestizos were significant as a mixed-race group in colonial Latin America, representing the blending of Indigenous and European cultures, which shaped the region's demographics and cultural identity.

Significance of Mulattoes

Mulattoes were significant as a mixed-race group, typically of African and European descent, playing a key role in the social and cultural fabric of colonial societies, often facing discrimination.

Significance of Settler Colonies

Settler colonies were significant for their establishment of permanent European populations in the Americas, leading to profound demographic changes, land displacement of Indigenous peoples, and the spread of European cultures.

Significance of Pueblo Revolts

The Pueblo Revolts were significant for demonstrating Indigenous resistance to Spanish colonial rule in New Mexico, leading to the brief expulsion of Spanish settlers and influencing colonial policies.

Significance of Metacom's (King Philip's) War

Metacom's War was significant as one of the deadliest conflicts between Native Americans and European settlers in New England, leading to a dramatic decline in Indigenous populations and reshaping colonial relations.

Significance of the Casta System

The casta system was significant for its hierarchical classification of racial groups in colonial Latin America, determining social status, economic opportunities, and legal rights based on race.

Significance of the Protestant Reformation

The Protestant Reformation was significant as a religious movement in the 16th century that challenged the practices and beliefs of the Catholic Church, leading to the formation of new Protestant denominations and significant changes in European society, culture, and politics.

Significance of Indulgences

Indulgences were significant as a practice in the Catholic Church that involved the selling of forgiveness of sins, which became a major point of contention during the Protestant Reformation and led to Martin Luther's 95 Theses.

Significance of Martin Luther

Martin Luther was significant for his role as a key figure in the Protestant Reformation, known for his criticisms of the Catholic Church and for promoting the belief that salvation comes through faith alone.

Significance of Salvation by Faith

Salvation by faith is significant as a core tenet of Protestant beliefs, emphasizing the idea that faith in Jesus Christ is the only means by which individuals can attain salvation, contrasting with the Catholic emphasis on works and sacraments.

Significance of Calvinism

Calvinism was significant for its theological system developed by John Calvin that introduced doctrines such as predestination, influencing various Protestant denominations and shaping religious and political thought in Europe.

Significance of the Counter Reformation

The Counter Reformation was significant for its Catholic revival movement that sought to address the issues raised by the Protestant Reformation, reaffirm the authority of the Church, and implement internal reforms.

Significance of the Council of Trent

The Council of Trent was significant as a key event in the Counter Reformation that addressed Church doctrine, reform of clerical life, and the response to Protestant teachings, solidifying Catholic beliefs.

Significance of the Jesuits

The Jesuits, or Society of Jesus, were significant for their role in the Counter Reformation as educators and missionaries, contributing to the spread of Catholicism and promoting intellectual and spiritual renewal.

Significance of Matteo Ricci

Matteo Ricci was significant as a Jesuit missionary in China, known for his efforts to introduce Christianity to the Chinese elite and promoting cultural exchange during the late 16th and early 17th centuries.

Significance of Wahhabi Islam

Wahhabi Islam was significant for its role in the revival of a strictly monotheistic interpretation of Islam originating in the 18th century, influencing modern Islamic thought and leading to the establishment of the Saudi state.

Significance of King Henry VIII & the Anglican Church

King Henry VIII was significant for his break with the Catholic Church and the establishment of the Anglican Church, fundamentally altering the religious landscape of England and influencing the course of the Reformation.

Significance of Puritans

Puritans were significant as a religious group that emerged from the Anglican Church seeking to purify its practices and beliefs, later contributing to the settlement of New England and the shaping of American religious and social norms.

Significance of the Inquisition

The Inquisition was significant for its role in maintaining Catholic orthodoxy, characterized by the persecution of heretics and enforcement of religious conformity, particularly during the Counter Reformation.

Significance of the Thirty Years War

The Thirty Years War was significant as a devastating conflict in Europe fought primarily between Catholic and Protestant states, leading to significant political and territorial changes and impacting the balance of power in Europe.