AP World History Unit 4

Caravel

A small, highly maneuverable sailing ship developed by the Portuguese. Its combination of square and lateen sailsallowed it to sail fast and into the wind, making long-distance ocean exploration possible.

Manila Galleons

Spanish trading ships that made round-trip voyages across the Pacific between Manila (Philippines) and Acapulco (Mexico). They were the main link for exchanging American silver for Chinese luxury goods.

Lateen Sail

A triangular sail that allowed ships to tack (sail against the wind). Originally used by Arab sailors in the Indian Ocean, its adoption by Europeans was a "technological transfer" that enabled Atlantic crossings.

Compass

A navigational instrument that shows direction relative to the geographic cardinal directions. Improved by the Chinese and spread to Europe, it allowed for accurate navigation far from the sight of land.

Columbian Exchange

The massive global transfer of plants, animals, diseases, and people between the Old World (Afro-Eurasia) and the New World (the Americas) following Columbus's voyages in 1492.

Smallpox

A highly contagious Old World disease that decimated indigenous populations in the Americas (up to 90% mortality). This "Great Dying" created a labor shortage that led to the rise of the Atlantic Slave Trade.

Cash Crops

Crops grown for sale on the global market rather than for subsistence. Examples include sugar, tobacco, and cotton. Sugar, in particular, drove the demand for enslaved labor in the Caribbean and Brazil.

Asante

A powerful West African kingdom (modern Ghana) that grew wealthy by trading gold and enslaved people for European firearms. It is an example of an African state that flourished through maritime trade.

Vasco da Gama

The first Portuguese explorer to reach India by sea (1498). His voyage opened a direct route to the spice trade, bypassing the Ottoman-controlled land routes.

Bartolomeu Dias

The Portuguese explorer who first sailed around the Cape of Good Hope (the southern tip of Africa) in 1488, proving that a sea route to Asia was possible.

Trading Post Empire

A type of empire (pioneered by the Portuguese) that aimed to control trade routes by capturing strategic ports rather than conquering large territories.

Christopher Columbus

An Italian explorer funded by Spain who "discovered" the Americas while searching for a western route to Asia. His voyages initiated the permanent contact between the Eastern and Western Hemispheres.

Conquistador

Spanish soldiers and explorers (like Cortés and Pizarro) who led military expeditions in the Americas, leading to the fall of the Aztec and Inca Empires.

Mit’a System

An adaptation of the original Incan labor system. The Spanish forced indigenous men to work in silver mines (like Potosí) for several months a year under brutal conditions.

Encomienda System

A Spanish labor system that granted settlers the right to "demand" labor or tribute from indigenous people in exchange for "protection" and Christian instruction. It was essentially a form of coerced labor.

Repartimiento System

A later Spanish system that replaced the Encomienda. It was intended to be more "regulated" and limited in hours, but it remained a system of forced labor used mainly for government projects.

Hacienda System

Large self-sufficient landed estates in the Spanish colonies. They utilized indigenous labor to produce food and goods for local markets, creating a rigid social hierarchy.

Casta System

A racial hierarchy in the Spanish Americas (Peninsulares, Creoles, Mestizos, Mulattoes) used to organize society and determine an individual's rights and tax obligations based on their "blood" or ancestry.

Chattel Slavery

A system of labor where individuals are legally considered "property" to be bought and sold. This became the dominant labor system in the Americas for plantation agriculture.

Plantation Economy

An economic system based on large-scale agricultural production of cash crops (like sugar) for export. It relied heavily on coerced labor and was central to the Atlantic trade network.

Mercantilism

An economic theory that drove European empire-building. It emphasized maximizing exports and accumulating gold/silver. Colonies existed solely to provide raw materials and a market for the mother country.

Joint- Stock Company

A business where investors pool their money to fund voyages and share the risks and profits (e.g., Dutch East India Company/VOC). These companies acted like "states within states" with their own armies.

Syncretic Beliefs

The blending of different religious traditions. In the Americas, this occurred when African or Indigenous traditions mixed with Christianity (e.g., Santería or the Virgin of Guadalupe).

Voodoo (Vodun)

A syncretic religion developed by enslaved people in Haiti. It combines West African spiritual traditions with elements of Roman Catholicism.

Maroon Society

Communities formed by escaped enslaved people in the Caribbean and Brazil (e.g., Palmares). They maintained their own cultures and often fought to defend their freedom from colonial authorities.

Zheng He

A Ming Dynasty admiral who led "Treasure Fleets" in the Indian Ocean. Note: China eventually stopped these voyages, allowing European maritime powers to dominate the region later.

Astronomical Charts

Maps of the stars and galaxies used by mariners to determine their location at sea. The improvement of these charts (using data from Islamic and Asian sources) was a key technological transfer that made transoceanic travel safer and more accurate.

Measles

An Old World respiratory disease brought to the Americas by Europeans. Along with smallpox, it contributed to the Great Dying, destroying indigenous social structures and making European conquest easier.

Malaria

A mosquito-borne disease that spread from Afro-Eurasia to the Americas via the Columbian Exchange. It thrived in tropical plantation environments, affecting both enslaved populations and European colonizers.

Queen Nzinga

The ruler of Ndongo (modern Angola) who led a decades-long military resistance against Portuguese expansion. She famously allied with the Dutch and utilized clever diplomacy to protect her people from the slave trade.

Signares

Powerful, wealthy Afro-European women in the 17th and 18th centuries (primarily in Senegal) who married European merchants. They played a critical role as "middlemen" in the Atlantic trade, accumulating significant property, enslaved people, and political influence, demonstrating how the Atlantic System created new social hierarchies and opportunities for female agency.

Ferdinand Magellan

The explorer whose expedition (for Spain) was the first to circumnavigate the globe. Although he died in the Philippines, his voyage proved the world was much larger than previously thought and connected the Atlantic to the Pacific.

Hernán Cortés

The Spanish conquistador who led the expedition that caused the fall of the Aztec (Mexica) Empire. He succeeded by utilizing superior weaponry, disease, and alliances with indigenous groups who hated Aztec rule.

Francisco Pizarro

The Spanish conquistador who conquered the Inca Empire in South America. By capturing the Sapa Inca (Atahualpa) and exploiting an internal civil war, he secured vast amounts of silver for Spain.

Potosí

Located in modern-day Bolivia, it was the site of the world’s largest silver mine. It became the engine of the Spanish economy and the "global currency" (silver) that linked the Americas, Europe, and China.

Swahili Arabs

Merchants of the East African coast who blended Bantu and Arab cultures. They remained powerful players in the Indian Ocean trade, often competing with the Portuguese for control of coastal city-states.

Omani Merchants

Traders from the Arabian Peninsula who challenged Portuguese dominance in the Indian Ocean. They eventually expelled the Portuguese from Muscat and Zanzibar, establishing their own maritime empire.

Gujarati Merchants

Inhabitants of Western India who were famous for their role as middlemen in trade. They transported textiles and spices between the Middle East and Southeast Asia, maintaining their influence despite European entry into the ocean.

Javanese Merchants

Traders from the island of Java (Indonesia) who dominated the local spice trade. They are a key example of indigenous maritime power that persisted even as the Dutch East India Company (VOC) tried to monopolize the region.

The Fronde

A series of civil wars in France (1648–1653) where the nobility rose up against the growing power of the monarchy. Its failure paved the way for the absolute monarchy of Louis XIV.

King Philip’s War

(Metacom’s War, 1675–1678) A massive conflict between English settlers and indigenous groups (led by Metacom) in New England. It was the "last stand" of many native groups against British colonial encroachment.

Bourgeoisie

The middle class who own the means of production (factories, banks, land) in a capitalist society. During the Industrial Revolution, they rose to political and economic power, often clashing with the traditional nobility and the working class.

Proletariat

The industrial working class. In Marxist theory, these are the individuals who do not own the means of production and must sell their labor for a wage. They often faced poor living and working conditions in growing urban centers.

Karl Marx

A German philosopher who co-authored The Communist Manifesto. He argued that history is a series of class strugglesand predicted that the proletariat would eventually overthrow the bourgeoisie to create a classless society.

Socialism

An economic and political theory advocating that the community or government should own and regulate the means of production. It emerged as a critique of the inequalities produced by laissez-faire capitalism.

Communism

The final stage of socialism in Marxist theory, characterized by a stateless, classless society where all property is publicly owned and each person works and is paid according to their abilities and needs.

Meiji Restoration

(1868) The political revolution that ended the Tokugawa Shogunate and restored imperial rule to Japan. It launched a period of rapid state-sponsored industrialization and Westernization to prevent foreign colonization.

Zaibatsu

Large, family-controlled banking and industrial monopolies in Japan (e.g., Mitsubishi). They were central to the Meiji-era economy, often receiving government support to build Japan's industrial and military strength.

Self- Strengthening Movement

A late 19th-century Chinese reform effort to modernize the military and industry while maintaining traditional Confucian values. It largely failed due to internal resistance from conservative officials and foreign interference.

Sergei Witte

The Russian Finance Minister who oversaw the country's industrialization in the 1890s. He promoted the construction of the Trans-Siberian Railroad and sought foreign investment to modernize Russia's economy.

Labor Union

An organization of workers formed to negotiate for better wages, shorter hours, and safer working conditions. Their rise was a direct response to the harsh realities of factory life during the Industrial Revolution.

First Industrial Revolution

(c. 1760–1850) Characterized by the shift from hand production to machines, the use of steam power, and the rise of the textile industry. It began in Great Britain due to its coal and iron deposits.

Second Industrial Revolution

(c. 1870–1914) A later phase focused on steel, chemicals, electricity, and precision machinery. It led to the development of the internal combustion engine, the telephone, and the lightbulb.