AP World History Modern Speed Review

AP World History Modern Speed Review

This is a comprehensive review of AP World History Modern, designed to cover the entire course quickly. A speed review sheet is recommended for tracking areas needing review.

Unit 1: The Global Tapestry (1200-1450)

An overview of different peoples and cultures across six AP regions.

  • East Asia:

    • Song Dynasty reigns supreme.

    • Governance through Neo-Confucianism and the civil service exam.

    • Buddhism as main belief system.

    • Abundant food supply due to Champa rice, spreading to Korea and Japan.

  • Dar al-Islam (The World of Islam):

    • The caliphate system declines post-Abbasids due to Mongol influence.

    • Rise of Turkic sultanates (Islamic Kingdoms).

    • Contributions to math, science, medicine, and intellectual fields.

  • South and Southeast Asia:

    • Influence of Buddhism and Hinduism on the region.

    • Sufism: Mystical branch facilitating converts throughout Dar al-Islam.

  • The Americas:

    • Inca Empire: Centralized power via road system and Mita labor system.

    • Aztec Empire: Centralized power via human sacrifice; Chinampas (lake farms).

  • Africa:

    • State-building focus.

    • Mali and Trans-Saharan trade.

    • Great Zimbabwe and Swahili Coast.

  • Europe:

    • Feudalism: Serfs working on manors; decentralized system.

Unit 2: Networks of Exchange (1200-1450)

Focuses on connections between regions from Unit 1.

  • Trade Routes:

    • Silk Road: East meets West; trading cities like Kashgar and Samarkand emerge. Focus on luxury goods, banking houses, and flying cash.

    • Indian Ocean Trade: Maritime Silk Road; same trade cities, luxury goods, and technology exchange. Diaspora (communities living away from homeland) and Admiral Zheng He's voyages.

      • Monsoon winds knowledge required for trade.

    • Trans-Saharan Trade: Connects Dar al-Islam to Sub-Saharan Africa; trade in salt and gold; spread of Islam; travelers like Ibn Battuta; Mansa Musa's Hajj.

  • Consequences of Trade:

    • Environmentally: Bubonic plague, Champa rice, citrus fruits.

    • Culturally: Religions (Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam), travelers (Marco Polo, Ibn Battuta), gunpowder, algebra, compass.

  • The Mongols:

    • Empires turned into Khanates.

    • Facilitated exchange of ideas, technologies, and diseases.

Unit 3: Land-Based Empires (1450-1750)

Covers the