AP WORLD

STUDY GUIDE - SEMESTER 1 EXAM - APWH

Overview

  • This study guide summarizes the essential historical developments, key concepts, and AP themes for Units 1–4 (1200–1750).

  • It highlights the most important ideas and examples needed for success on a midterm and the AP exam.

  • Utilize this information to practice:

    • Comparison

    • Causation

    • Continuity & Change reasoning

1. How to Use This Study Guide

Focus on Big Ideas

  • Study patterns, connections, and overarching developments—not just individual facts.

Connect Content to AP Themes

  • Constantly relate content to:

    • GOV (Governance)

    • ECN (Economics)

    • SOC (Social structures)

    • CUL (Culture)

    • ENV (Environment)

    • TEC (Technology)

Use Historical Reasoning Practice

  • Focus on:

    • Comparison

    • Causation (Cause & Effect)

    • Continuity & Change over Time (CCOT)

Use Specific Evidence

  • Support arguments with concrete examples:

    • Mansa Musa

    • Caravanserai

    • Confucian bureaucracy

    • Millet system

    • Columbian Exchange crops

    • Joint-stock companies

2. High-Yield Topics for Each Unit

UNIT 1 (1200–1450) High-Yield Topics

  • Song Dynasty:

    • Gunpowder

    • Champa rice

    • Confucian bureaucracy

  • Dar al-Islam:

    • Expansion

    • Cultural & scientific advancements

  • Mali Empire:

    • Mansa Musa

    • Gold-salt trade

  • Aztec vs. Inca systems:

    • Tribute vs. Mit’a

  • Feudal Europe & Catholic Church power

UNIT 2 (1200–1450) High-Yield Topics

  • Silk Roads:

    • Luxury goods

    • Mongol protection

  • Indian Ocean Network:

    • Monsoon winds

    • Swahili Coast

  • Trans-Saharan:

    • Gold-salt trade

    • Islam

  • Mongols:

    • State building

    • Diffusion

    • Plague

  • Diffusion:

    • Gunpowder

    • Paper

    • Crops

UNIT 3 (1450–1750) High-Yield Topics

  • Gunpowder Empires:

    • Ottoman

    • Safavid

    • Mughal

  • State centralization:

    • Bureaucracy

    • Tax farming

  • Legitimizing power:

    • Architecture

    • Religion

  • Ming/Qing government traditions

  • Russian expansion & serfdom

UNIT 4 (1450–1750) High-Yield Topics

  • Maritime technology:

    • Caravel

    • Compass

    • Astrolabe

  • Columbian Exchange:

    • Crops

    • Animals

    • Diseases

  • Atlantic slave trade & Middle Passage

  • Mercantilism & joint-stock companies

  • Global silver trade:

    • Potosí → China

3. Essential Vocabulary & Key Terms

UNIT 1 Key Terms

  • Champa rice

  • Neo-Confucianism

  • Commercial economy

  • Caliphate

  • Sufism

  • Bhakti Movement

  • Feudalism

  • Chinampas

  • Mit’a system

UNIT 2 Key Terms

  • Caravanserai

  • Monsoon winds

  • Diasporic communities

  • Lateen sail

  • Bills of exchange

  • Pax Mongolica

  • Yam system

  • Diffusion

  • Black Death

UNIT 3 Key Terms

  • Gunpowder empires

  • Devshirme

  • Janissaries

  • Millet system

  • Zamindars

  • Shia/Sunni Islam

  • Absolutism

  • Serfdom

  • Mandate of Heaven

UNIT 4 Key Terms

  • Caravel

  • Astrolabe

  • Columbian Exchange

  • Mercantilism

  • Joint-stock company

  • Encomienda

  • Hacienda

  • Casta system

  • Silver drain

  • Middle Passage

  • Triangular trade

4. Units 1–4 Key Developments

UNIT 1 — Global Tapestry (1200–1450) Key Developments

  • Song innovations

  • Neo-Confucianism

  • Commercial economy

  • Dar al-Islam science & trade

  • Mali Empire

  • Aztec & Inca systems

  • Feudal Europe

Themes & Reasoning

  • GOV: Bureaucracy in Song China

  • SOC: Patriarchy in most societies

  • Comparison: Song vs. European centralization

  • Causation: Agricultural innovations → population growth

UNIT 2 — Networks of Exchange (1200–1450) Key Developments

  • Silk Roads

  • Indian Ocean trade

  • Trans-Saharan trade

  • Mongol Empire

  • Diffusion of technologies, crops, and disease

Themes & Reasoning

  • ECN: Expansion of long-distance trade

  • ENV: Spread of plague

  • Comparison: Indian Ocean vs. Silk Roads

  • Causation: Mongol conquest → increased connectivity

UNIT 3 — Land-Based Empires (1450–1750) Key Developments

  • Ottoman, Safavid, Mughal empires

  • Ming/Qing China

  • Russian expansion

Themes & Reasoning

  • GOV: Centralization through bureaucracy & military

  • CUL: Religion legitimizes rule

  • Comparison: Gunpowder empires’ administration

  • CCOT: Continuity in Chinese bureaucracy

UNIT 4 — Transoceanic Interconnections (1450–1750) Key Developments

  • Maritime exploration

  • Columbian Exchange

  • Atlantic slave trade

  • Global economy

  • Silver trade

Themes & Reasoning

  • ECN: Birth of global economy

  • ENV: Disease and ecological change

  • SOC: New racialized social structures in the Americas

  • Causation: Maritime technology → European expansion

5. SAQ Skill Tips

AP Exam Skill Tips

  1. Use specific evidence (e.g., devshirme, caravanserai).

  2. Answer all parts clearly with explanation.

  3. Follow prompt verb ("explain" = how/why).

  4. Go straight to your answer—no thesis needed.

  5. Be precise, not narrative.

  6. Connect to AP themes when possible.

  7. Choose the best evidence you know.

📅 6. Timeline: Units 1–4 (1200–1750)
1200–1300

  • 1200 — Start of APWH period

  • 1206 — Genghis Khan unifies Mongols

  • 1230s–1250s — Mali Empire rises

  • 1258 — Mongols sack Baghdad

  • 1271–1295 — Marco Polo’s travels

  • 1299 — Ottoman Empire founded

1300–1400

  • 1324 — Mansa Musa’s pilgrimage

  • 1347–1351 — Black Death spreads

  • 1368 — Ming Dynasty established

1400–1500

  • 1405–1433 — Zheng He’s voyages

  • 1453 — Ottomans conquer Constantinople

  • 1492 — Columbus reaches Americas

1500–1600

  • 1501 — Safavid Empire founded

  • 1517 — Protestant Reformation

  • 1521 — Fall of Aztec Empire

  • 1533 — Fall of Inca Empire

  • 1556–1605 — Reign of Akbar

  • 1571 — Potosí silver boom begins

1600–1700

  • 1600 — British East India Company

  • 1602 — Dutch East India Company

  • 1618–1648 — Thirty Years’ War

  • 1644 — Qing Dynasty established

1700–1750

  • 1700s — Atlantic slave trade peaks

  • 1703–1721 — Peter the Great reforms Russia

1750

  • End of Unit 4