AP WORLD HISTORY — KNOWT NOTES Unit 3 & Unit 4 (1450–1750)

UNIT 3: LAND-BASED EMPIRES

(Questions 1–9)

1. Gunpowder Weapons and Imperial Expansion

• Gunpowder weapons (cannons, muskets) changed warfare

• Fortified cities became vulnerable to artillery

• States that controlled gunpowder technology expanded territory

Key Example

• Ottoman capture of Constantinople (1453)

  • Large cannons breached defensive walls

  • Demonstrates state-funded military innovation

AP Focus

• Emphasis is on state use of technology, not invention

2. Military Expansion and State Centralization

• Growth of standing armies increased state expenses

• States raised taxes to fund armies

• Expansion of bureaucracies to manage revenue and administration

Cause-and-Effect
Gunpowder → Larger armies → Higher costs → Increased taxation → Centralized states

Examples

• France and England significantly expanded military size

• Ottoman Empire already centralized, so change was less dramatic

3. Religion as Political Legitimacy

• Rulers used religion to justify authority

• Religious conflict often reflected political rivalry

Ottoman–Safavid Conflict

• Ottomans (Sunni Islam) vs Safavids (Shia Islam)

• Religious differences used to legitimize warfare

AP Tip

• Religion = tool of state power, not personal belief

4. Limits of Central Authority: Local Elites

• States lacked resources to directly govern all regions

• Compromised with local elites for stability and revenue

Example

• Russian Cossacks

  • Maintained local control

  • Provided military service

  • Swore loyalty to the tsar

Big Idea

• State-building relied on negotiation, not absolute control

UNIT 4: TRANSOCEANIC INTERCONNECTIONS

(Questions 1–18)

5. Columbian Exchange and Disease

• Diseases like smallpox devastated Indigenous American populations

• Europeans had greater immunity due to long-term exposure

Contemporary Beliefs

• Europeans interpreted survival as divine favor

• Disease explained through religion, not science

AP Skill

• Identify divine providence in sources

6. Economic Motives for Expansion

• European states sought wealth through trade and colonization

• Risk reduced through joint-stock companies

Example

• Dutch West India Company

  • Sought profit through trade and slavery

  • Encouraged conflict if it benefited commerce

Key Point

• African states were active participants, not passive victims

7. Atlantic Slave Trade

• Plantation economies required massive labor forces

• Enslaved Africans used due to labor demands and disease resistance

Outcomes

• Enormous wealth for a small planter elite

• Brutal systems of control justified as necessary

Example

• Barbados

  • High population density

  • Extreme inequality

  • Wealth concentrated among landowners

HIGH-YIELD CONNECTIONS (TESTED CONSTANTLY)

• Gunpowder → empire expansion

• Military growth → taxation and bureaucracy

• Religion → legitimacy and control

• Trade → imperial competition

• Slavery → economic foundation of colonies

• Disease → demographic collapse and conquest justification

ONE-SENTENCE SYNTHESIS

From 1450 to 1750, states expanded power through gunpowder warfare, centralized administration, religious legitimacy, and global trade systems that relied heavily on coerced labor and exploitation.

MCQ DECISION RULE (USE EVERY TIME)

Choose the answer that:

• Explains a process, not an event

• Shows cause-and-effect

• Connects to state power or global systems
  Avoid answers that are:

• Too modern

• Moralized

• Narrow or isolated