World History Review Flashcards

Timeline of Main Events (c. 1200-1450)

  • East Asia:
    • Song Dynasty reigns, utilizing Neo-Confucianism and the Civil Service Exam.
    • Champa rice is grown for food.
    • These practices spread to Korea and Japan.
  • Dar al-Islam:
    • The Caliphate system (specifically the Abbasids) ends, giving way to sultanates.
    • Focus on contributions to math, science, and medicine.
    • Sufism gains converts.
  • South and Southeast Asia:
    • Buddhism and Hinduism influence the region.
    • Sufism attracts converts.
  • The Americas:
    • Inca Empire centralizes power through a road system and mita labor.
    • Aztec Empire centralizes power through human sacrifice and uses chinampas (lake farms).
  • Africa:
    • Mali and the trans-Saharan trade flourish.
    • Great Zimbabwe and the Swahili coast are important for state building.
  • Europe:
    • Feudalism is prevalent, with serfs working on manors in a decentralized government system.

Connectivity through Trade Routes

  • Silk Road:
    • Connects East and West.
    • Trading cities like Kashgar and Samarkand emerge.
    • Luxury goods (silk, porcelain) and economic innovations (banking houses, flying cash) are traded.
  • Indian Ocean Trade:
    • Maritime Silk Road.
    • Same trade cities, luxury goods, and technology exchanged.
    • Diaspora communities (e.g., Chinese in Malacca) emerge.
    • Admiral Zheng He makes voyages.
    • Monsoon winds are crucial for navigation.
  • Trans-Saharan Trade:
    • Reconnects Dar al-Islam to sub-Saharan Africa.
    • Trades salt and gold, and spreads Islam.
    • Ibn Battuta travels this route.
    • Mansa Musa makes his famous Hajj.

Consequences of Trade

  • Environmental impacts:
    • Spread of the bubonic plague.
    • Champa rice.
    • Citrus fruits.
  • Cultural impacts:
    • Spread of religions (Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam).
    • Travel writers (Marco Polo, Ibn Battuta).
    • Gunpowder, algebra, and the compass spread.
  • The Mongols:
    • Mongol Empires turn into khanates.
    • They expedite the exchange of ideas, technologies, and diseases across the trade routes.

Rise of Land-Based Empires (Gunpowder Empires): c. 1450-1750

  • Manchus (Qing Dynasty):
    • Invade China and establish the final Chinese empire.
    • Maintain Neo-Confucianism, the Civil Service Exam, and the dynasty system.
    • Implement the Q haircut and centralize power through the Banner System.
  • Ottomans:
    • Conquer Constantinople (1453) and rename it Istanbul.
    • Sunni Muslim.
    • Clash with the Shia Safavids.
    • Utilize the Devshirme system for military and bureaucracy (Janissaries).
    • Practice tax farming.
  • Mughals:
    • Islamic group ruling a Hindu majority in India.
    • Religiously tolerant (Akbar the Great is an example).
    • Build monumental architecture like the Taj Mahal.
  • Safavids:
    • Shia Empire located between the Sunni Ottomans and Mughals.
  • Other Land-Based Powers:
    • Aztecs and Incas (from Unit 1).
    • Songhai replaces Mali in West Africa.
    • Tokugawa Japan establishes a military shogunate, eventually implementing Sakoku (locked country) policy.

Belief System Changes

  • Protestant Reformation:
    • European Christian split initiated by Martin Luther around 1500.
  • Sikhism:
    • New religion based on the teachings of Guru Nanak in the Mughal Empire, blending Hindu and Islamic beliefs.

Rise of Maritime Empires

  • Enabled by technological advancements:
    • Portuguese and Spanish caravels.
    • Dutch fluyts.
    • Islamic astrolabes.
    • Chinese compasses.
    • Latin sails.
    • Knowledge of winds.
  • Portuguese:
    • First European maritime empire.
    • Prince Henry seeks a route around Africa and means to spread Christianity.
    • Establish a school for navigators.
    • Reach Brazil and India (1498).
    • Engage in trade and the transatlantic slave trade.
  • Spanish:
    • Focus on the Americas.
    • Establish viceroyalties.
    • Conquer the Aztecs and Incas.
    • Implement the encomienda system.
    • Extract cash crops (sugar, coffee) and silver (Potosi).
    • Spread Catholicism (Bartolomé de las Casas, Our Lady of Guadalupe).
  • Trading Post Empires:
    • European empires establish small trading posts rather than taking over vast territories (except in the Americas).
  • Joint-Stock Companies:
    • Government-sponsored monopolies that allowed investment and spread risk.
    • Examples include the British East India Trading Company (dominates South Asia) and the Dutch VOC (dominates modern-day Indonesia and the spice trade).
  • Columbian Exchange:
    • Massive exchange of plants, animals, and diseases across the Atlantic.
    • Has significant impact on both the Old and New Worlds.
  • Resistance to Empires:
    • Revolts of the enslaved (Queen Nanny in Jamaica).
    • Resistance against Europeans in Africa (Anna Nzinga in Angola).
    • Local group resistance (Hindu Marathas against the Mughals, Cossacks against the Russian Empire).
    • Tokugawa Japan's Sakoku policy against foreigners.
  • Social System Changes:
    • Caste system in the Americas.
    • Banner system in China.
    • Millets in the Ottoman Empire.
    • Social changes due to the slave trade in Africa and the Americas.
    • Coerced labor systems (chattel slavery, encomienda system).

Revolutions (Unit 5): c. 1750 - Present

  • Political Revolutions:
    • Inspired by Enlightenment ideas of natural rights and reason.
    • American Revolution (against taxation without representation).
    • French Revolution (against absolute monarchy, Louis XVI).
    • Haitian Revolution (slave revolt against the French).
    • Latin American Revolutions (led by Bolívar against Spain).
  • Rise of Nationalism:
    • Idea that a nation (people with shared beliefs) should govern the state.
  • Industrial Revolution:
    • Begins in Great Britain (access to resources, capital, urban areas).
    • Spreads to the United States and Europe.
    • Based on the factory system and mass production.
    • Technological Innovations:
      • Steam engine (James Watt).
      • Internal combustion engine (fossil fuels).
      • Railroads.
      • Telegraph.
    • Decline in production in Asia as European factories grow.
    • Governments attempt to industrialize:
      • Meiji Restoration (Japan) is successful.
      • Self-Strengthening Movement (Qing China) is less successful.
      • Egypt (Muhammad Ali) nationalizes its cotton industry.
    • Growth of Capitalism (Adam Smith, laissez-faire). End of mercantilism.
    • Rise of transnational businesses (Unilever, HSBC).
    • Social Changes:
      • Women's push for equality.
      • Emergence of a working class.
      • Karl Marx's ideas about worker revolution.

Effects of Industrialization and Imperialism (Unit 6)

  • Industrial powers turn trading posts into empires.
  • Excuses for expansion:
    • Racist policies.
    • Religious civilizing missions.
    • Social Darwinism.
  • Real reasons:
    • Economic access to raw materials and markets.
  • Major Empires:
    • American, British, Japanese, Russian, French.
  • Settler Colonies:
    • Small populations settle and attempt to replace indigenous culture (e.g., British in Australia).
  • Key Events:
    • Berlin Conference (divides Africa).
    • Sepoy Mutiny (India, leads to British Raj).
    • Century of Humiliation (China: Opium Wars, Taiping Rebellions, Sino-Japanese Wars, Boxer Rebellions).
  • Economic Dominance:
    • Industrial powers economically control areas without physical takeover (e.g., Banana Republics in Latin America, British and French in China during Opium Wars).
  • Export Economies:
    • Focus on raw materials like cotton, rubber, palm oil, guano.
  • Resistance to Imperialism:
    • Sepoy Mutiny (India).
    • Tupac Amaru (Peru).
    • Xhosa Cattle Killing Movement (South Africa).
    • Most resistance is unsuccessful against industrial powers.
  • Migrations:
    • Consequences of industrialization. Growth of cities and global travel.
    • People move to cities (London, New York, Buenos Aires).
    • Push factors:
      • Irish Potato Famine.
      • Chinese Century of Humiliation.
    • Pull factors:
      • Job opportunities.
    • Formation of migrant enclaves (Little Italy, Chinatown).
    • Resistance to migration (Chinese Exclusion Act, White Australia Policy).

Global Conflicts and Changes (Unit 7)

  • Decline of Old Empires:
    • Qing, Russian, Ottoman Empires decline/fall.
    • China becomes a republic.
    • Russians overthrown by Bolsheviks.
    • Ottomans broken up after WWI.
  • World War I:
    • Causes include imperialism, alliance systems, nationalism (Serbian nationalism and assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand).
    • Total War:
      • Utilization of national resources for victory.
      • Propaganda and Media Restrictions: Governments mobilize populations.
      • New Military Tactics:
        • Machine guns, gas, tanks, Zeppelins lead to high casualties.
  • Inter-War Period:
    • Great Depression:
      • Governments (US, Soviet Union) intervene in economies.
    • Growing Tensions:
      • Empires continue to grow, increasing resistance.
    • Rise of Dictatorships:
      • Italy, Spain, Germany.
  • World War II:
    • Catalysts include aggression of totalitarian states (Nazi Germany, Empire of Japan).
    • Total War, propaganda, new military technology (firebombing).
    • Atomic Bombs:
      • Change the game and end the war in 1945.
    • Mass Atrocities:
      • Holocaust (mentioned by name).
      • Armenian Genocide.
      • Cambodian communist genocide as other examples.

Cold War and Decolonization (Unit 8)

  • Cold War:
    • Post-WWII split between two ideologies: US (capitalism, democracy) and Soviets (dictatorship, communism).
    • Alliances:
      • NATO (US).
      • Warsaw Pact (Soviet).
      • Non-Aligned Movement (India, Egypt, Ghana).
    • Proxy Wars:
      • Conflicts between US and Soviet proxies (Vietnam, Afghanistan).
  • China:
    • Turns communist after WWII under Mao Zedong.
    • Great Leap Forward mirrors Stalin's five-year plans with devastating effects.
  • End of Cold War (1991):
    • Fall of the Soviet Union due to Afghan War, economic failures, and US dominance.
  • Decolonization:
    • Anti-imperialist movements lead to the end of most empires.
    • United Nations: Guarantees states the right to self-determination.
    • Methods:
      • Non-violence (Kwame Nkrumah in Ghana, Gandhi in India).
      • Violence (Algeria, Vietnam).
    • Consequences of New Borders:
      • Conflicts (India, Israel).
    • Economic Growth in Newly Independent States:
      • Tanzania, Egypt, India.

Globalization and Connectivity (Unit 9)

  • Technology:
    • Planes, radio, cell phones, container ships increase global connection.
  • Energy Sources:
    • Petroleum, nuclear, solar, wind.
  • Birth Control:
    • Allows women to control reproductive rights.
  • Green Revolution:
    • Increases crop production to feed a growing population.
  • Medical Advancements:
    • Antibiotics and vaccines combat diseases.
  • Persistent Diseases:
    • Alzheimer's, HIV/AIDS.
    • Pandemics (1918 Spanish Flu).
  • Environmental Impact:
    • Release of greenhouse gases leads to climate change.
  • Economic Policies:
    • Push for free market policies (Deng Xiaoping in China, Chile).
  • Regional Trade Networks:
    • NAFTA, ASEAN.
  • Cultural Globalization:
    • Bollywood, World Cup.
  • International Institutions:
    • UN formed to maintain peace after WWII.

Cast of Characters

  • Admiral Zheng He: Famous Chinese Admiral who made voyages along the Indian Ocean trade route.
  • Ibn Battuta: Traveler who journeyed along the trans-Saharan trade route.
  • Mansa Musa: Ruler of Mali known for his wealthy pilgrimage (Hajj) along the trans-Saharan trade route.
  • Akbar the Great: Mughal emperor known for his religious tolerance.
  • Martin Luther: Figure who initiated the Protestant Reformation around 1500.
  • Guru Nanak: Founder of Sikhism in the Mughal Empire.
  • Prince Henry (the Navigator): Portuguese figure who sought a route around Africa and a means of spreading Christianity, establishing a school for navigators.
  • Bartolomé de las Casas: Priest who advocated for indigenous peoples in the Spanish Americas and helped spread Catholicism.
  • Our Lady of Guadalupe: Figure whose arrival in 1531 is mentioned in the context of Spanish Catholicism in the New World.
  • Queen Nanny: Leader of a revolt of enslaved people in Jamaica.
  • Anna Nzinga: Figure who resisted European arrivals in Angola.
  • Louis XVI: Absolute monarch of France who was overthrown during the French Revolution.
  • Bolívar: Leader of multiple revolutions against Spain in Latin America.
  • James Watt: Improved the steam engine, a key innovation of the Industrial Revolution.
  • Adam Smith: Figure associated with the rise of capitalism and laissez-faire economic policies.
  • Karl Marx: Figure who championed the plight of the new working class and envisioned a worker revolution.
  • Tupac Amaru: Figure who led resistance against empires in Peru.
  • Archduke Franz Ferdinand: Austrian figure whose assassination by Serbian nationalists was a cause of World War I.
  • Kwame Nkrumah: Figure who led a non-violent independence movement in Ghana.
  • Gandhi: Figure who led a non-violent independence movement in India.
  • Mao Zedong: Leader of China after it turned communist, implementing policies like the Great Leap Forward.
  • Deng Xiaoping: Figure who pushed for free market policies in China in the later period.