AP World History Breakdown Study Guide (Periods 1-4)

PERIOD 1 ($1200$-$1450$): GLOBAL TAPESTRY AND NETWORKS OF EXCHANGE

• Global Overview and "Ages": This period sees a Golden Age in the Middle East, Africa, and Asia, while Western Europe is characterized by the "Dark Ages."
• Hindu Caste System and South East Asia: State building in South East Asia relied heavily on Hinduism and Buddhism to consolidate power. The caste system governed social structure in Hindu societies.
• Feudalism: A decentralized structure of society categorized by classes: Kings, Nobles, Peasants, and Serfs.
• Islam and Regional Unity: Islam created a system of shared beliefs and promoted the use of Arabic as a common language, uniting the regions of Afro-Eurasia and facilitating trade.
• Religious Expansion: Major religions including Christianity, Islam, and Buddhism used missionaries to seek converts, which significantly weakened localized indigenous religions.

CHINA: ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENTS AND DYNASTIES

• Key Technological and Economic Advancements:     * Grand Canal: Promoted interregional trade within China.     * Gunpowder and Guns: Military technologies that originated in China.     * Champa Rice: A drought-resistant rice variety from Vietnam that led to a massive increase in the Chinese population.     * Coal: Facilitated the production of iron goods.     * Public Works: Extensive construction of roads and canals fueled more trade.     * Literacy: A localized paper spike occurred, which eventually spread from China to the West.     * Tribute System: A system where Japan, Korea, and Vietnam paid taxes (often in the form of gifts) to the Chinese emperor.     * Economic Tools: Use of paper money and large-scale iron and steel production.
• Confucianism: Principles used to justify political rule, emphasizing Filial Piety.
• Song Dynasty:     * Governance: Re-emerged the civil service examination (which started in the Han) to create a meritocratic bureaucracy.     * Social Hierarchy: Emperor at the top, followed by Scholar Gentry, Nobility, Peasants, and Merchants.     * Cultural Practices: Foot binding was a notable social practice.
• Yuan Dynasty:     * Origins: Established by Mongol nomads led by Kublai Khan.     * Governance: Maintained the existing government system but prohibited intermarriage between Chinese and Mongols.     * Infrastructure: Centralized the bureaucracy, rationalized the tax system, and rebuilt the Grand Canal.     * Culture and Diplomacy: Created novels and utilized foreigners like Marco Polo to staff the government bureaucracy.     * Decline: Overthrown in $1368$ following revolts; utilized bank houses and paper money.

STATE BUILDING AND CULTURAL VARIATIONS

• Japan: Practiced Shintoism. The feudal hierarchy involved an Emperor and Shogun ruling over landowners known as Daimyo. Land was protected by Samurai who followed the Bushido code. While Buddhism spread, Japan rejected Confucianism.
• Korea: Heavily influenced by China; adopted Confucianism, Buddhism, and the civil service exam. However, Korea lacked social mobility or unity due to the power of the aristocracy.
• Vietnam: Actively resisted total assimilation into Chinese culture.
• Africa: Societies were often clan-based and unified through trade routes such as the Trans-Saharan and Indian Ocean routes.
• Swahili Coast: City-states on the Eastern coast of Africa united through trade and Bantu roots. Zimbabwe was notable for being protected by a wall.
• Mali ($1200$-$1400$): Replaced Ghana. Mansa Musa built mosques and libraries in Timbuktu and famously traveled the Trans-Saharan trade routes for his Hajj (pilgrimage to Mecca), exposing his extreme wealth.

THE MONGOL EMPIRE

• Nature of Rule: Pastoral people from the Central Asian steppe who provided political stability and safety (Pax Mongolia), leading to increased trade along the Silk Roads.
• Empire Characteristics: The largest land-based empire in history; emphasized centralization and consolidation of power. Genghis Khan united the tribes using horses and bows; he was known for showing no mercy.
• The Four Khanates:     * Yuan Dynasty/Great Khanate: Mongol rule in China.     * Ilkhanate: Captured Baghdad and ended the Abbasid caliphate (Golden Age of Islam); the Mongols here converted to Islam.     * Khanate of the Golden Horde: Ruled over Russia. Local rulers could stay in power but paid tribute. This long Mongol rule delayed Russia’s industrialization.     * Chagatai Khanate: Located in Central Asia near the Mongol origins; saw the least amount of change.
• Social Policies: Religiously tolerant and relatively fair to women. Facilitated the transfer of Greco-Roman and Islamic medical knowledge to the West.

EUROPEAN DEVELOPMENTS AND THE CRUSADES

• Feudalism: Monarchs granted land to Lords; Vassals owed service to Lords for living on the property. Knights protected wealth and power.
• Agricultural Innovation: Introduction of the Three-field system.
• Christianity and Education: Catholicism provided a social organization separate from the state. Literate people were mostly monks or church-affiliated until the invention of the printing press by Gutenberg in $1440$.
• Conflict and Change:     * Struggle for Power: Tension occurred between Church and State (notably in France and the Holy Roman Empire).     * The Crusades: Military campaigns to retake the Holy Land. They attacked Orthodox Christians at Constantinople and lost in Jerusalem. While weakening church power, the Crusades introduced Europeans to Islamic Math and Science.     * Renaissance ($1300$-$1600$): A rebirth of cultural, political, and economic activity, promoting art, literature, and philosophy.     * British Developments: Forced signing of the Magna Carta to control taxation and trials. The $100$ Years War between England and France increased nationalism and competition for resources.

SOUTH ASIA, AMERICAS, AND ISLAMIC FRAGMENTS

• Delhi Sultanate: A Central Asian Turkish Muslim Kingdom that conquered Northern India. Conversions to Islam occurred; non-Muslims paid the Jizya (tax).
• The Americas:     * Inca: Located in the Andes Mountains; utilized a united monarchy, used llamas, had a state-led economy with the Mita System, built roads, and used Quipus for recording numbers.     * Mississippian: Known for earth mounds and matrilineal social structure.     * Maya: Organized into city-states with trade routes; declined due to internal conflict and food shortages.     * Aztec: Capitol at Tenochtitlán. Built Chinampas (floating gardens). Used human sacrifice to the sun god, was militaristic, promoted education, and utilized a Tributary system.
• Abbasid Caliphate: Helped spread Islam from Spain to India. Fell to Mongol power. The House of Wisdom in Baghdad was a center for translation and library studies. Mamluks (slave soldiers) eventually seized control of Egypt and Syria.

NETWORKS OF EXCHANGE: COMPARISON AND CONTRAST

• Silk Roads: China to Europe through Central and Southwest Asia. Traded Silk, Porcelain, Gunpowder, and Textiles. Tech: Saddles, Caravanserai. Religions: Buddhism, Neo-Confucianism, Islam.
• Indian Ocean Trade: Focused on common goods in bulk. Relied on Monsoon winds. Featured diasporic communities (Arabs/Persians in East Asia, Chinese in Southeast Asia). Goods: Gold, Ivory, Fruit, Textiles, Pepper, Rice. Tech: Astrolabe, Compass, Sternpost rudder, Lateen sail, Dhow ships.
• Trans-Saharan Trade: North Africa to Sub-Saharan Africa. Goods: Horses, Salt, Gold, Slaves. Tech: Saddle. Religion: Islam. Used Cowrie shells as currency.
• Similarities Across Routes: Depended on large states (e.g., Mongols), promoted safety for merchants, facilitated exchange of cultural goods and missionaries, and led to the rise of trading cities like Timbuktu, Calicut, and Srivijaya.
• Consequences of Trade:     * Cultural: Growth of Zen Buddhism and the Swahili language (fusion of Bantu and Islam).     * Environmental: Spread of Champa Rice and Bananas; spread of diseases like the Black Death/Bubonic Plague (killed up to $75\%$) and Syphilis. Surviving workers in Europe negotiated for better wages.

PERIOD 2 ($1450$-$1750$): LAND-BASED EMPIRES AND TRANSOCEANIC INTERCONNECTIONS

• Shift in Power: Gunpowder technology improved, making wars more decisive. Large land-based empires expanded into the room left by the collapse of nomadic empires. Religions were used to solidify absolute rule.
• Key Dates:     * $1453$: Ottoman Conquest of Constantinople.     * $1471$: Completion of the Sun Temple in Cuzco (Inca).     * $1517$: Martin Luther publishes the $95$ Theses (Protestant Reformation).     * $1526$: Guru Nanak founds the first Sikh community.     * $1600$: Tokugawa Shogun unifies Japan.     * $1644$: Qing Dynasty founded.     * $1682$: Palace of Versailles completed.     * $1707$: Death of Emperor Aurangzeb (weakens Mughal Empire).
• Maritime Empires: Wealth was derived from overseas trade and colonies. European states utilized new ships: Fluyt, Caravel, and Carrack (small, fast, merchant-focused). Tech included Astronomical charts, Astrolabes, and the Magnetic Compass.

GOVERNMENT AND LABOR IN THE AMERICAS AND EUROPE

• Political Justifications: "Divine Right of Kings" in Europe; "Mandate of Heaven" in China.
• Spanish Labor Systems:     * Encomienda System: Conquistadors forced natives to work in exchange for "protection."     * Haciendas: Large plantations owned by Spanish landowners.     * Mita System: Adopted from the Inca for silver mining in Potosi and Zacatecas (coerced labor for private gain).
• Treaty of Tordesillas: Divided the Americas; Brazil went to Portugal, the rest to Spain.
• European Rivalries: The British drove the French out of Canada and India during the $7$ Years War. The Dutch established a trading post empire in Southeast Asia, utilizing a stock exchange and national currency.

EMPIRE ADMINISTRATION AND CONSOLIDATION

• Land-Based Power: Most states focused on land expansion, with exceptions like the Ottomans, Ming, and French supporting naval expeditions.
• Ming/Qing China: Ming conducted the Zheng He treasure voyages but later turned isolationist. Qing (Manchu) reintroduced civil service exams and used imperial portraits to legitimize rule.
• Mughal Empire: Bureaucrats (Zamindars) collected taxes. Akbar the Great abolished the Jizya and expanded rights for women. The Taj Mahal was built as a display of resources.
• Ottoman Empire: Consolidated power via the Devshirme system (Christian boys converted into Janissaries). Used Tax Farming.
• Safavid Empire: Utilized Ghulams (loyal slave soldiers). Engaged in religious conflict with the Sunni Ottomans (Safavids were Shia).
• Songhai: Controlled trade routes and used court rituals to display power.
• Tokugawa Shogunate (Japan): Banned Christianity and contact with foreigners to preserve culture.

CULTURAL AND BIOLOGICAL EXCHANGES

• Columbian Exchange: The exchange of animals, people, food, and disease between the Eastern and Western hemispheres.     * To Americas: Horses, pigs, rice, wheat, smallpox ($90\%$ population loss).     * To Afro-Eurasia: Corn, potatoes, cacao, tomatoes.
• Mercantilism: Economic system based on the belief in fixed world wealth (gold/silver). Required heavy exports and raw materials from colonies.
• Social Hierarchies:     * Casta System (Latin America): Peninsulares, Criollos, Castas.     * Ottoman: Millet system (religious zones).     * Qing: Restrictive policies on Han Chinese.
• Atlantic Slave Trade: Characterized by Chattel Slavery (treating humans as property) for cash crops. Most slaves were sent to Brazil via the Middle Passage.

PERIOD 3 ($1750$-$1900$): REVOLUTIONS AND INDUSTRIALIZATION

• The Industrial Revolution: Global shift from agrarian to machine manufacturing. Lead by England due to coal, iron, and waterways. Featured mechanization (Spinning Jenny, Water Wheel), steam engines, and interchangeable parts.
• Economic Theories:     * Capitalism (Adam Smith): Invisible hand, "Laissez-Faire" (government hands off), no limit to wealth.     * Communism (Karl Marx): Classless society; Proletariats (working class) should control production. Marx proposed Socialism as an intermediate step.
• Enlightenment Thinkers:     * John Locke: Natural rights (Life, Liberty, Property); Social Contract.     * Montesquieu: Checks and balances.     * Voltaire: Religious freedom.     * Rousseau: Expanded social contract.
• Revolutions and Resistance:     * American Revolution: Against the British (No taxation without representation).     * French Revolution: National Assembly, Declaration of Rights of Man, execution of Louis XVI.     * Haitian Revolution: Most successful slave rebellion against the French.     * Latin America: Led by Simon Bolivar against Spanish rule.     * Balkans: Sought independence from the Ottomans.     * Native Resistance: Cherokee (Trail of Tears), Xhosa (cattle killing in South Africa).
• Societal Impacts: Rise of the Middle Class, Labor Unions (seeking minimum wage and $5$-day weeks), Feminism (Seneca Falls Convention, $1848$), Abolitionism, and universal education.
• Imperialism: Scramble for Africa (Berlin Conference); justified by Social Darwinism (survival of the fittest applied to nations).

PERIOD 4 ($1900$-PRESENT): GLOBAL CONFLICT, COLD WAR, AND GLOBALIZATION

• World War I:     * Causes (MAIN): Militarism, Alliances, Imperialism, Nationalism. Sparked by the murder of the Archduke of Austria-Hungary.     * Allies: Britain, France, Russia, USA. Central Powers: Germany, Austria-Hungary, Italy.     * Outcome: Treaty of Versailles; Germany forced to pay reparations and accept the War Guilt Clause.
• World War II:     * Causes: Hitler’s invasion of Poland; Japan’s aggression in China/Korea.     * Axis: Germany, Italy, Japan. Allies: France, Britain, Russia, USA.     * Outcome: Japan surrendered after the Hiroshima and Nagasaki nuclear attacks ($1945$).
• Genocides: Armenian Genocide (Ottomans killed $600,000$-$1,000,000$ Christians); Holocaust (Hitler killed $6,000,000$ Jews).
• The Cold War: Ideological battle between Capitalism (US) and Communism (Soviet Union). Featured Proxy Wars (Korea, Angola) and an Arms Race. Ended with the collapse of the Soviet Union due to corruption, inflation, and reforms (Perestroika and Glasnost) under Gorbachev.
• Decolonization:     * India: Non-violent resistance led by Gandhi; resulted in the split of Pakistan and India.     * Algeria: Fought a war for independence against the French.     * China: Qing overthrown by Sun Yat-sen ($1911$); eventually became Communist.
• Globalization and Modernity:     * Economy: Shift to knowledge work and multinational corporations (MNCs like Google/McDonalds). Manufacturing moved to low-wage countries (Vietnam, Mexico).     * Environment: Green Revolution (GMOs) increased birth rates but caused pollution/deforestation. Focus on Climate Change (Kyoto Protocol, Paris Agreement).     * Rights Movements: Civil Rights ($1964$/$1965$), end of Apartheid (Nelson Mandela), and elimination of discrimination against women.     * Culture: Spread of Pop Culture via Radio, TV, and the Internet; Global sports such as the Olympics ($2016$ viewed by half the world) and World Cup.