AP World History Flashcards

Unit 1: 1200-1450

  • Theme: Environment, Culture, Governance, Economic Systems, Society, Tech & Innovation

  • Agricultural Intensification: Terracing was used to intensify agriculture.

  • Deforestation: Occurred due to farming, shipbuilding, and urban development.

  • Monsoons: Facilitated trade in the Indian Ocean.

  • Nomadic-Sedentary Interactions: Interactions between nomadic and sedentary populations.

  • Confucianism: Used to establish imperial legitimacy in China.

  • Islamic Intellectual Traditions: Spread across various regions.

  • Religious Architecture: Development of mosques and temples.

  • Preservation of Greco-Roman Ideas: Preservation and continuation of Greco-Roman knowledge.

  • Major Players: Song China, Delhi Sultanate, Mali, Aztec Empire.

  • Chinese Imperial Exam System: Used to select bureaucrats.

  • Islamic States Post-Abbasid: Seljuks and Delhi Sultanate.

  • European Feudalism: Characterized by weak monarchies.

  • Mongol Indirect Rule: Mongols exerted control through indirect rule.

  • Agricultural Production: Relied on both free and coerced labor.

  • Long-Distance Luxury Trade Networks: Extensive trade in luxury goods.

  • Commercial Tools: Credit and banking systems developed.

  • Regional Trade Organizations: Hanseatic League and Mediterranean trade networks.

  • Rigid Social Hierarchies: Limited social mobility.

  • Patriarchal Systems: Prevalent across most societies.

  • Rising Urban Merchant Class: Growing influence of merchants in urban centers.

  • Religious Communities: Monasteries and madrasas.

  • Champa Rice: Led to population growth due to higher yields.

  • Naval Technology: Compass, astrolabe, and improved ships.

  • Early Gunpowder Weapons: Emergence of early forms of gunpowder weaponry.

  • Spread of Paper and Printing: Facilitated the spread of knowledge.

Unit 2: 1200-1450

  • Theme: Environment, Culture, Governance, Economic Systems, Society, Tech & Innovation

  • Mongol Pastoral Land Management: Mongols managed pastoral lands.

  • Disease Spread: Black Death spread through trade networks.

  • Environmental Knowledge: Utilized for navigation.

  • Urban Environmental Challenges: Faced by trade centers.

  • Diaspora Communities: Led to cultural diffusion.

  • Religious Syncretism: Sufism in Africa and Asia.

  • Exchange of Art, Architecture, and Cuisine: Cross-cultural exchanges.

  • Cross-Cultural Scholarly Networks: Networks of scholars across cultures.

  • Major Players: Mongols, Byzantine Empire, Mali.

  • Pax Mongolica: Safe trade due to Mongol rule.

  • Tributary and Vassal Relationships: System of relationships based on tribute and vassalage.

  • Maritime Port-City Networks: Networks of port cities.

  • Postal Systems: Linked territories.

  • Major Trade Routes: Silk Road and Indian Ocean trade routes.

  • Commercial Innovations: Paper money and banking.

  • Specialized Export Production: Production of specific goods for export.

  • State Trade Involvement: States involved in trade through taxation and infrastructure.

  • Merchant Status: Increased in trade-oriented societies.

  • Cosmopolitan Ports: Malacca and Venice.

  • Labor Specialization: Development of guilds.

  • New Elites: Emerged from trade wealth.

  • Navigation Tools: Compass and maps.

  • Ship Designs: Junks, dhows, and caravels.

  • Trade Infrastructure: Caravanserai.

  • Spread of Gunpowder Weapons: Gunpowder weapons.

Unit 3: 1450-1750

  • Theme: Environment, Culture, Governance, Economic Systems, Society, Tech & Innovation

  • Mining Expansion: Silver and gold mining expanded.

  • Plantation Land Conversion: Land converted for plantations.

  • Timber Harvesting: For ships and fuel.

  • Fur Trade: Led to animal depletion.

  • Monumental Imperial Architecture: Taj Mahal.

  • Religious Justification for Rule: Used to legitimize rule.

  • Artistic Patronage: By courts.

  • Religious Conflict and Accommodation: Various forms of religious interaction.

  • Major Players: Ottoman, Safavid, Mughal, Qing, Spanish, Portuguese Empires.

  • Centralized Empires: Ottoman, Mughal, and Qing.

  • Bureaucratic Administration Systems: Developed by empires.

  • Professional Military Forces: Standing armies.

  • Imperial Expansion: Via gunpowder technology.

  • Silver Trade Networks: Global networks.

  • Mercantilist Policies: Emerge in Europe.

  • Joint-Stock Companies: Rise of joint-stock companies.

  • Tax Farming and Revenue Systems: Methods of revenue collection.

  • Elite Warrior Classes: Samurai and Janissaries.

  • Casta System: In Spanish colonies.

  • Social Mobility: Through imperial service.

  • Urban-Rural Social Divides: Increasing divides between urban and rural populations.

  • Gunpowder Weapons and Tactics: Influence on warfare.

  • Fortress Design: Evolved due to gunpowder.

  • Spread of Printing: Gutenberg's printing press.

  • Scientific Instruments: Improved.

Unit 4: 1450-1750

  • Theme: Environment, Culture, Governance, Economic Systems, Society, Tech & Innovation

  • Columbian Exchange: Exchange of crops and animals.

  • Disease Devastation: Smallpox and measles.

  • Indigenous Population Collapse: Resulting from disease.

  • Plantation Ecosystems: Reshaped lands.

  • Religious Syncretism: Vodou and Santería.

  • Forced Conversions: In the Americas.

  • Cultural Mixing: African, European, and American cultures.

  • Scientific Revolution: Begins in Europe.

  • Major Players: Spain, Portugal, Ottoman, Ming/Qing Empires.

  • European Colonial Systems: Emerged in the Americas.

  • Direct vs. Indirect Rule: Colonial governance strategies.

  • Maritime Control: Of strategic ports.

  • Professional Standing Armies: Maintained by European powers.

  • Plantation System: Sugar and cotton.

  • Atlantic Slave Trade: Expanded significantly.

  • Silver Flows: Potosí silver mines.

  • Encomienda/Hacienda Labor Systems: Forms of coerced labor.

  • Racial Hierarchies: Formalized in colonies.

  • Slavery: Expanded dramatically.

  • Casta System: In the Americas.

  • New Colonial Elites: Emerged in colonies.

  • Ship Designs: Caravel and galleon.

  • Navigation Tools: Compass, astrolabe, and maps.

  • Printing Technology: Spread knowledge.

  • Agricultural Technology: Sugar mills and cotton gins.

Unit 5: 1750-1900

  • Theme: Environment, Culture, Governance, Economic Systems, Society, Tech & Innovation

  • Coal Mining and Industrial Pollution: Increased pollution due to industrialization.

  • Urban Expansion and Sanitation Issues: Problems associated with rapid urbanization.

  • Raw Material Extraction: Intensified to support industrial production.

  • Deforestation: For fuel and agriculture.

  • Enlightenment: Reason over religion.

  • Nationalism: Rise of national identities.

  • Scientific Worldview: Spread of scientific thinking.

  • Romanticism: Challenged rationalism.

  • Major Players: UK, France, US, Japan.

  • Revolutions: Toppled monarchies in France and the US.

  • Nation-States and Constitutions: Formation of nation-states with constitutions.

  • Colonial Control: Expanded by European powers.

  • Meiji Reforms: Modernization of Japan.

  • Industrial Capital: Shifted from Asia to Europe.

  • Banking and Stock Market Expansion: Growth of financial systems.

  • Free Trade Ideology: Adam Smith and David Ricardo.

  • Wage Labor: Replaced older labor systems.

  • New Classes: Industrial workers and bourgeoisie.

  • Women's Movements: Emergence of suffrage movements.

  • Abolition Movements: Grew to end slavery.

  • Urbanization: Accelerated during the Industrial Revolution.

  • Industrial Revolution: Transformed economies and societies.

  • Steam Power: Revolutionized industry.

  • Railways and Steamships: Reduced distances.

  • Telegraph: Enabled instant communication.

  • Mass Production Techniques: Developed to increase output.

Unit 6: 1750-1900

  • Theme: Environment, Culture, Governance, Economic Systems, Society, Tech & Innovation

  • Colonial Resource Extraction: Accelerated extraction of resources from colonies.

  • Plantation Monoculture: Expansion of single-crop plantations.

  • Hunting for Commodities: Ivory and furs.

  • Land Redistribution: To colonizers.

  • Resistance: To European cultural dominance.

  • Cultural Nationalism: In colonized areas.

  • Scientific Racism: Used to justify imperialism.

  • Anti-Colonial Intellectual Movements: Emerged to resist colonialism.

  • Major Players: Britain, Russia, US.

  • High Imperialism: Scramble for Africa.

  • Colonial Administration Systems: Standardized.

  • Technology Gap: Maintained European dominance.

  • Indigenous Resistance Movements: Various forms of resistance.

  • Chartered Companies: Dutch VOC.

  • Resource Extraction: Rubber and cotton.

  • Cash Crop Plantations: Reliance on cash crops.

  • Global Market Integration: Increased integration.

  • More Roles for Women: As men often migrated.

  • Coerced and Semi-Coerced Labor: Slavery, convicts, and migrants.

  • Social Reform Movements: Emerged to address social issues.

  • Labor Unions: Regarding bad working conditions.

  • Industrial Technology: Spread unevenly.

  • Military Technology Gap: Widened between colonizers and colonized.

  • Transport Networks: Railways and canals.

  • Medical Advances: Germ theory.

Unit 7: 1900-Today

  • Theme: Environment, Culture, Governance, Economic Systems, Society, Tech & Innovation

  • War Destruction: Bombing and chemicals.

  • Agricultural Mechanization: Increased use of machinery.

  • Resource Depletion: Accelerated.

  • Pollution: From industrialization.

  • Mass Media and Propaganda: Used to influence public opinion.

  • Nationalist Mobilization: For war.

  • Cultural Responses: To total war.

  • Artistic Movements: Reflected trauma.

  • Major Players: Axis vs. Allies, Colonizers vs. Colonized.

  • Total War: Mobilized entire societies.

  • WWI & WWII: Reshaped global power.

  • Revolutions: Mexican and Russian.

  • Rise of Fascism and Totalitarianism: Political ideologies.

  • War Economies: Rationing and production.

  • Depression: Led to government intervention.

  • Competing Economic Systems: Communism vs. capitalism.

  • Military-Industrial Complex: Grew significantly.

  • Women's Roles: Transformed during wars.

  • Mass Conscription: And civilian casualties.

  • Genocide: And mass atrocities.

  • Population Displacements: Significant migrations and displacements.

  • Military Technology: Advanced rapidly.

  • Mass Production Techniques: Increased output.

  • Transportation: Aircraft and vehicles.

  • Communications: Radio and radar.

Unit 8: 1900-Today

  • Theme: Environment, Culture, Governance, Economic Systems, Society, Tech & Innovation

  • Nuclear Testing and Contamination: Environmental and health impacts.

  • Green Revolution: In agriculture.

  • Resource Depletion: Continued.

  • Environmental Movements: Began to address environmental issues.

  • Cold War Propaganda: And cultural competition.

  • Decolonization: Led to cultural nationalism.

  • Youth/Counterculture Movements: Emerged in response to social norms.

  • Mass Media: Globalized.

  • Major Players: US, USSR, China, India.

  • Decolonization: In Africa and Asia.

  • Cold War: NATO and Warsaw Pact.

  • Proxy Wars: Korea and Vietnam.

  • UN Expansion: Increased membership and influence.

  • Great Depression: Economic crisis.

  • Bretton Woods System: International financial system.

  • State Planned vs. Market Economies: Competing economic models.

  • Communist 5-Year Plans: And the Great Leap Forward.

  • Capitalism vs. Communism: Ideological conflict.

  • Oil Politics: Influence of OPEC.

  • Civil Rights Movements: In the US and South Africa.

  • Liberation Movements: Fought for independence.

  • Urbanization: In newly independent states.

  • Mass Higher Education: Expansion of access to education.

  • Space Race: Sputnik and Apollo programs.

  • Nuclear Proliferation: Spread of nuclear weapons.

  • Computerization: Emergence of computers.

  • Cyberwarfare: Espionage.

  • Television: Became a dominant form of media.

Unit 9: 1900-Today

  • Theme: Environment, Culture, Governance, Economic Systems, Society, Tech & Innovation

  • Climate Change Awareness: Growing concern.

  • Global Pandemics: HIV/AIDS and COVID-19.

  • Global Pollution: Environmental degradation.

  • Biodiversity Loss: Threat to ecosystems.

  • Digital Culture and Internet: Transformed communication and information.

  • Global Pop Culture: Music, film, and TV.

  • Religious Fundamentalisms: Rose in various parts of the world.

  • Cultural Homogenization vs. Local Identity: Tension between global and local cultures.

  • Major Players: US, China, EU.

  • International Institutions: Increased role in global affairs.

  • New Security Threats: Terrorism and cyberattacks.

  • Democratic Movements: Pro-democracy movements.

  • Restructure and more robust alliances: Example UN

  • Information Warfare: Surveillance.

  • Neoliberal Globalization: Economic policies.

  • Digital Economy: Knowledge economy.

  • Global Inequality: Persists.

  • Multinational Corporations: Dominate global markets.

  • Feminism: Focused on equal rights.

  • Civil Rights: Continued struggle for civil rights.

  • LGBTQ Movement: Advocacy for LGBTQ rights.

  • Protests: 1968 and 1989.

  • Mass Migration: Increased migration flows.

  • Digital Communities: Online communities.

  • Internet & Digital Revolution: Major technological transformation.

  • Mobile/Wireless Communication: Became widespread.

  • Biotechnology: Genetic engineering.

  • Renewable Energy Technologies: Development of sustainable energy.

  • Global Air Travel: Increased connectivity.

Dates to Know:

  • 1200s: Mongols

  • 1324: Mansa Musa

  • 1347: Plague

  • 1453: Fall of Constantinople

  • 1492: Columbus

  • 1502: First slaves to the Americas

  • 1750: Industrial Revolution

  • 1868: Meiji Restoration

  • 1885: Berlin Conference

  • 1914-1918: World War I

  • 1917: Russian Revolution

  • 1939-1945: World War II

  • 1945: UN established

  • 1945-1991: Cold War

  • 1950-1960: Civil Rights Movement

  • 1983: Internet invented