Unit 1 ( 1.1 - 1.7 ) AP Exam Study!!

Africa: West Africa

Mali Empire ( Mansa Musa’s haji ) —> wealth from gold-salt trade

Africa: East Africa

Swahili Coast city-states —> Indian Ocean trade, Islam

Africa: Sub - Saharan

Kin-based societies; stateless governance

The Americas: Mesoamerica 

Aztecs ( mexica ): 

Tribute System —> Conquered people forced to pay tribute, surrender land, perform military service 

Human Sacrifice —> repayment for gods for creating the world 

The Americas: Andes

Inca Empire —>

• Mit’a labor system: mandatory public service/ agriculture and other forms of labor

• Road networks: Carpa Nan, 25 miles used by gov and military

• Terrace farming: waru waru, raised beds that redirected rain to prevent erosion and store water for dry climates

The Americas: What did Mesoamerica and Andes have in common?

Built large states without animals or the wheel

Europe: Feudalism

decentralized political organization on a system of exchange of land for loyalty

1) Monarch ( gave fiefs to lords becoming vassals )

2) Lords ( gave fiefs to knight and land/protection to peasants )

3) Vassals ( a person who owes service to another person of higher status )

4) Knights ( vassals of lords and pledge to fight for king/lord

5) Peasants ( serfs, tied to land and payed tribute through labor/crops

Europe: Manorial system

Self sufficient estates and defense

• Produced everything that people needed —> limiting trade and contact with outsiders

Europe: Roman Catholic Church

Dominant Institution:

Shaped politics and learning —> Universities and reading, art, power in feudal system

Europe: Crusades 

Military campaigns in the middle east —> 1095 to 1200s: 

Contact with Islamic world —> cultural exchange and increased demand for Middle Eastern goods 

East Asia: Song Dynasty ( 960 - 1279 ) & inventions

• Champa Rice → Abundance of Food —> Population grew

• Gun powder → First guns ( china to Eurasia by traders on Silk Roads )

• Printing → Woodblock printing & Books —> Spread of farming efficiently and more availably / producing to books and literature + seafaring navigation

• Compass → used In maritime navigation

East Asia: Song Dynasty ( 960 - 1279 ) & Sytems

Neo - Confucianism ( 770 / 840 ) :

• Syncretic system ( Daoism & Buddhism )

• ETHICS

Civil Service Exam:

• Knowledge of confucian texts

• Doing well = Highly desired job in bureaucracy

East Asia: Korea

Strong Chinese Influence:

• Confucian ( elite ) and Buddhist ( peasants ) beliefs

East Asia: Japan

Feudalism system with samurai:

1) Daimyo ( privilige/land )

2) Samurai ( protectors )

3) Serfs ( peasants/economic dependency )

• Buddhism

South & Southeast Asia: South Asia —> Regional Hindu Kingdoms

Vijayanagara ( 1300 - 1500 ): A Hindu state in South India

Rajput ( Northern india ): ruled by leaders of various clans often at war with each other —> showed diversity and regionalism in South Asia

South & Southeast Asia: South Asia —> Arrival & influence of Islam

Delhi Sultante & cultural blending:

• Attracted low caste Hindus

• Biggest converts were Buddhism ( corruption in religion )

• Caste system stayed strong

South & Southeast Asia: South Asia —> Bhakti Movement 

• Devotion to Hindu Gods 

• similar to Sufi muslims: inner reflection

• Spread Buddhism 

South & Southeast Asia: Southeast Asia —> Powerful states along trade routes

Srivijaya (Maritime empire 670 / 1025): Hindu kingdom + navy and prospered through charging fees for ships traveling 

Khmer Empire ( 802 - 1431 ): Hindu and Buddhist empire that gained its power through it complex irrigation and drainage system 

South & Southeast Asia: Southeast Asia —> Angkor Wat

Cultural/religious architecture —> Buddhist temple

Dar al-Islam ( Middle East ): Abbasid Caliphate

Fragmenting after 1200 —> regional power rose and led by Arabs, Persians, and turkic people —> spread of goods and ideas

Dar al-Islam ( Middle East ): New Islamic states

1) Delhi Sultanate ( India )

2) Seljuk Turks ( Middle East )

3) Mamluk Sultanate ( Egypt ) 

Dar al-Islam ( Middle East ): Cultural & Intelectual innovations

House of Wisdom in Bagdad: Preservation of Greek and Indian texts

Innovations: Math ( algebra ), medicine, and astronomy

Dar al-Islam ( Middle East ): Religion & Society

Spread of Islam through trade, missionaries ( sufis: adapted to cultures religions and traditions gaining converts ), and conquest