World History AP Test Units 19-21 Notes

China (Qing Dynasty)

  • Qing Dynasty (1644-1911):
    • Followed the downfall of Ming China.
    • Focused on money-making through:
      • Traditional methods: porcelain and silk.
      • New resources: salt deposits.
      • Columbian Exchange.
  • Tea Importance (Late 1700s/Early 1800s):
    • Great Britain's high demand led to significant imports.
    • Trade imbalance due to insufficient exports from Britain.
  • Opium Trade:
    • British introduced opium from South Asia to China.
    • Opium dens and addiction spread, affecting the working class and causing financial strain.
  • Opium Wars (1839-1842):
    • Qing government's plea to stop opium exports was rejected by Britain.
    • Treaty of Nanjing (1842): China ceded Hong Kong to Britain.
      • Hong Kong allowed easy British access to China until 1997.
    • Extraterritoriality: British merchants in China were subject to British laws, not Chinese laws.
  • Taiping Rebellion (1853-1864):
    • Peasant revolt against the Qing Dynasty.
    • Dowager Empress Cixi (r. 1861-1908) suppressed the rebellion and maintained power until her death.
  • Self-Strengthening Movement:
    • Initiated by Empress Cixi to modernize China.
    • Establishment of factories and school systems.
    • European involvement in modernizing the economy.
  • Open Door Policy (1899):
    • Established by the U.S. to protect China from colonization by diluting foreign influence.
  • Boxer Rebellion (1899-1901):
    • Rebellion by the Boxers, opposing the Open Door Policy and foreign influence.
    • The Boxers attacked foreigners at the ports.

Ottoman Empire

  • Decline:
    • Began after the death of Suleiman the Magnificent.
    • Factors: instability, internal rebellions, lack of powerful rulers.
  • Selim III (r. 1789-1807):
    • Attempted to modernize the empire.
    • Overthrown for trying to reform the Janissaries.
  • Mahmud II (r. 1808-1839):
    • Successfully reformed the Janissaries by staging a fake rebellion to justify their removal.
  • Tanzimat Reforms:
    • Began during the end of Mahmud’s reign.
    • Focused on modernization: industrialization, spread of information, and education.
    • Slogan: “Gaining Liberty through modernization.”
  • First Ottoman Constitution (1876):
    • Faced opposition from royalists and loyalists who benefited from the monarchy.
  • Abdul Hamid (r. 1878-1908):
    • Nullified the constitution and became an absolute ruler.
  • Young Turks:
    • Opposed Abdul Hamid's policies and advocated for the return of the 1876 constitution.
  • World War I (1914-1918):
    • Ottoman Empire joined the Central Powers (Germany).
    • Successfully prevented Allied powers from sending weapons to Russia.
  • Mustafa Kemal (1881-1938):
    • Modernized the Ottoman Empire after its surrender in 1918.
    • Led the War of Independence (1919-1922) against the Sultan and European powers.
  • Republic of Turkey (1923):
    • Formed after the removal of the Sultan.
    • Mustafa Kemal became the first president, known as Ataturk (“father of the Turks”).
    • Replaced the government system with a parliamentary republic.
    • Instituted secularism.
    • Replaced the Arabic script with the Latin alphabet (1928).
    • Granted women the right to vote and run for public office (1934).

Russia

  • Expansion and Diversity:
    • Continued growth after Peter and Catherine the Great.
    • Increased diversity led to challenges in communication and dissemination of ideas.
  • Nicholas I (r. 1825-1855):
    • Promoted Russification: enforced the Russian language throughout Russia.
    • Pan-Slavism: aimed to unite Slavic people as allies, not necessarily integrate them into Russia.
  • Alexander II (r. 1855-1881):
    • Edict of Emancipation (1861): Freed privately owned serfs.
      • Serfs received 50% of the land, nobles were compensated by the government.
      • Peasants had 49 years to pay the government for the land.
    • State-owned serfs were freed by 1866.
  • Nihilism:
    • Philosophy advocating the destruction of the current government to create a better one.
  • Nicholas II (r. 1894-1917):
    • Continued censorship and arrests.
    • Persecution of Jews.
    • Bloody Sunday (January 22, 1905): Soldiers killed unarmed strikers, triggering the Revolution of 1905.
    • October Manifesto (1905): Promised reforms but were not fulfilled.

Japan

  • Weakening Shogunate:
    • Restricted foreign influence by closing ports, diminishing the shogunate's popularity.
  • Mutsuhito (r. 1867-1912):
    • Eliminated the shogunate and centralized control.
    • Meiji Reforms: Modernized military, government, and education.
    • Rapid industrialization.
  • Military Modernization:
    • Developed a modern military with 500,000 soldiers and advanced technology by 1890.
  • Sino-Japanese War (1894-1895):
    • Japan pushed China out of Korea, violating an earlier treaty.
    • China ceded Taiwan to Japan.
  • Russo-Japanese War:
    • Japan offered Russia control of Manchuria in exchange for non-interference in Korea, but Russia refused.
    • Japan won the war and gained some land.
  • Annexation of Korea (1910):
    • Japan fully annexed Korea.

World War I (The Great War)

  • Rise of Alliances:
    • Series of alliances contributed to the start of the war.
    • Unification of small European nations into Germany and Italy (1871).
  • Congress of Berlin (1878):
    • Focused on the Balkan Peninsula, characterized by unstable governments and economies.
  • Serbia and Bosnia:
    • Serbia was recognized as an independent kingdom.
    • Austria-Hungary gained control over Bosnia, leading to tensions due to differing ethnic backgrounds (Bosnia was Slavic, Austria was not).
  • Three Emperors’ League (1881):
    • Germany, Russia, and Austria-Hungary.
    • Neutrality pact: members would not assist if another was attacked.
  • Triple Alliance (1882):
    • Germany, Austria, and Italy.
    • Defensive pact.
  • Reinsurance Treaty (1887):
    • Russia and Germany.
    • Ensured neutrality if either was attacked.
  • Triple Entente (1907):
    • Russia, England, and France.
    • Defensive pact.
  • Franz Ferdinand (1863-1914):
    • Archduke of Austria-Hungary, assassinated on June 28, 1914, in Sarajevo.
  • Gavrilo Princip (1894-1918):
    • Serbian nationalist and member of the Black Hand, assassinated Franz Ferdinand.
  • Austrian Ultimatum:
    • Austria gave Serbia a one-month ultimatum with demands, including suppressing anti-Austrian publications and allowing Austrians to try Princip.
    • Serbia rejected the fourth demand, leading to Austria's declaration of war on July 28, 1914.
  • Declaration of War:
    • Austria declared war on Serbia on July 28, 1914.
    • Germany declared war on Russia on August 1, 1914, and on France on August 3, 1914.
  • Schlieffen Plan (August 1914):
    • German plan to quickly defeat France and then focus on Russia.
    • Involved invading Belgium, which prompted Britain to declare war on Germany on August 4, 1914.
  • Central Powers:
    • Germany, Austria-Hungary, Bulgaria, and the Ottoman Empire.
  • Allied Powers:
    • Britain, France, Russia, Italy, and other countries.
  • Technology:
    • First major war with widespread use of factories for weapon manufacturing.
    • Key technologies: machine guns, tanks, airplanes, U-boats, and poison gas.
  • Trench Warfare:
    • Brutal conditions: prolonged war, water accumulation, dead bodies, and disease.
    • Poison gas used extensively, causing many deaths.
  • Major Battles:
    • Tannenberg (August 1914): German victory over Russia, establishing the Eastern Front.
    • Marne River (September 1914): French and German battle near Paris, establishing the Western Front.
    • Gallipoli (Feb 1915-Jan 1916): Allied forces against the Central Powers, won by the Central Powers, solidifying Russian and Ottoman demise.
    • Verdun (Feb 1916-Dec 1916): High casualties, epitomizing the worst of trench warfare.
  • U.S. Enters the War (1917):
    • Entered three years after the start, bringing new technology.
    • HMS Lusitania (May 1915): German U-boat attack on a British passenger ship, increasing anti-German sentiment in the U.S.
    • Zimmermann Note (January 1917): German proposal to Mexico to ally against the U.S., intercepted by the British, prompting the U.S. to declare war in April 1917.
  • 1918:
    • Treaty of Brest-Litovsk (March): Russia surrendered to Germany.
    • Treaty of Neuilly-sur-Seine (September): Bulgaria surrendered.
    • Armistice of Mudros (October): Ottomans surrendered.
    • Armistice of Villa Giusti (November 3): Austria surrendered.
    • Armistice of Compiegne (November 11): Germany surrendered, ending the war.
  • Paris Peace Conference (January 1919):
    • Held at the Palace of Versailles, excluding Russia.
    • The U.S. initially sought justice for Germany, while Europeans focused on land replenishment.
  • Treaty of Versailles (June 1919):
    • Germany accepted full responsibility for WWI and had to pay reparations, leading to inflation.
  • League of Nations (1920):
    • Established to maintain peace without military force.
  • Treaty of Berlin (1921):
    • Official ending of war between the U.S. and Germany. This was because Congress rejected the Treaty of Versailles. Also it was to maintain trade relations with Germany. It reiterated all rights and claims described in the Treaty of Versailles. 14 points were also discussed and accepted.