AP European History Comprehensive Study Guide

Key Exam Details

• Program Overview: The Advanced Placement (AP) Program® allows high school students to pursue college-level studies. Colleges utilize AP scores to determine eligibility for advanced placement and/or course credit.

• Exam Themes and Distribution: Each of the following themes accounts for approximately $10 ext{--} 15 ext{ percent}$ of the exam questions:     * Renaissance and Exploration ($c. 1450 ext{--} c. 1648$ )     * Age of Reformation ($c. 1450 ext{--} c. 1648$)     * Absolutism and Constitutionalism ($c. 1648 ext{--} c. 1815$)     * Scientific, Philosophical, and Political Developments ($c. 1648 ext{--} c. 1815$)     * Conflict, Crisis, and Reaction in the Late $18 ext{th}$ Century ($c. 1648 ext{--} c. 1815$)     * Industrialization and Its Effects ($c. 1815 ext{--} c. 1914$)     * Nineteenth-Century Perspectives and Political Developments ($c. 1815 ext{--} c. 1914$)     * Twentieth-Century Global Conflicts ($c. 1914 ext{--} ext{present}$)     * Cold War and Contemporary Europe ($c. 1914 ext{--} ext{present}$)

• Essay Requirements: The exam includes a document-based question (DBQ) and a long essay question (LEQ) which require students to:     * Provide a strong thesis.     * Place the topic in its historical context.     * Offer compelling evidence.     * Show logical analysis and reasoning.

Renaissance and Exploration

• People of Interest:     * Renaissance: Petrarch, Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Raphael, Erasmus, Machiavelli.     * New Monarchs: Charles VII, Louis XI, Francis I (France); Henry VII, Henry VIII (England); Ferdinand of Aragon, Isabella of Castile (Spain).     * Explorers: Christopher Columbus, John Cabot, Ferdinand Magellan.     * Technological Pioneers: Johannes Gutenberg.

• Key Concepts:     * Humanism: The intellectual underpinning of the Renaissance which shifted focus from divine contemplation to the consideration of humanity within a divinely appointed universe. The Italian Renaissance emphasized classical texts, while Northern Renaissance scholars (e.g., Erasmus) combined classical texts with early Christian works, paving the way for the Reformation, Scientific Revolution, and Enlightenment.     * New Monarchies: Emerged in Western Europe in the late $15 ext{th}$ century. These monarchs engaged in state-building (England, Spain, France) to lay foundations for modern states.     * Mercantilism: An economic theory advocating for increased exports and reduced imports through protectionism to maximize the accumulation of wealth (coffers).

• Key Terms:     * Vernacular: The native language of a locality; its use allowed authors to reach a broader audience than Latin.     * "Living off their own": Medieval tradition where monarchs funded peace-time activities with private income and only taxed for war.     * Intercursus Magnus: Henry VII’s beneficial trade deal with Burgundy for English merchants.     * Columbian Exchange: The transfer of goods, culture, people, and diseases between the Old and New Worlds following Columbus.     * Putting-out system: Entrepreneurs delivered materials to workers outside towns to bypass guild regulations.     * Joint-stock company: Formed by "adventurers" pooling money to fund enterprises; returns were proportional to investment.

• Timeline of Key Events:     * $1345$: Petrarch discovers Cicero’s letters to Atticus.     * $c. 1450$: Gutenberg press begins working on the Gutenberg Bible.     * $1477$: Death of Charles the Bold returns Burgundy to Louis XI of France.     * $1479$: Castile and Aragon unite under Ferdinand and Isabella.     * $1485$: Henry VII ending the Wars of the Roses.     * $1492$: Funding of Christopher Columbus’s first voyage.     * $c. 1500$: Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo active in Florence.     * $1511$: Publication of In Praise of Folly by Erasmus.     * $1518$: Hispaniola Smallpox outbreak.     * $1532$: The Prince by Niccolò Machiavelli is published.     * $1550 ext{s}$: Portuguese transport enslaved Africans to Brazil.     * $1560 ext{s}$: Spanish begin the convoy system for American trade.

• Classical Revival details: The revival began in North Italian city-states (Florence, Venice) due to prosperity. Petrarch’s discovery of Cicero’s letters changed the ideal of life from contemplation to participation (the "Renaissance man"). Leonardo da Vinci typified this through architecture, engineering, science, and art.

• Foundations of the State: New monarchs curbed aristocracies (Henry VII abolished private armies; Louis XI recovered land; Spanish reined in Castilian nobles). They raised revenue via taxes, monopolies (England), and selling offices (France). They established permanent armed forces and controlled subject beliefs (Concordat of Bologna in France, conversion/expulsion in Spain).

• Technological and Global Expansion: Printing mass-produced ideas, making state control difficult. Gunpowder changed military tactics/fortifications. Caravels facilitated exploration driven by the desire to bypass the Venetian spice trade.

• Labor and Slavery: European participation in slavery began with Iberian sailors in West Africa. The collapse of the native New World population ($80 ext{--} 95 ext{ percent}$ decline between $1492$ and $1642$ due to smallpox) led to the Triangular Trade. Between $10 ext{--} 12 ext{ million}$ people were transported; approximately half were moved in the $18 ext{th}$ century. Trans-Atlantic crossing casualty rates were $15 ext{--} 25 ext{ percent}$.

• Commercial Revolution: Wealth from the New World created a bourgeoisie class. Trade refocused on the Atlantic, eclipsing the Hansa and Venice. Europe's population rose by nearly $27 ext{ percent}$ during the $16 ext{th}$ century.

Age of Reformation

• People of Interest:     * Protestant Reformers: Luther, Calvin, Zwingli, Müntzer.     * Catholic Reformation: Loyola, Borromeo.     * Popes: Leo X, Paul III, Pius V.     * Political Leaders: Charles V, Henry VIII, Henry of Navarre (Henry IV).

• Key Concepts and Terms:     * Justification by Faith Alone: Salvation through faith without charitable works (Lutheran belief).     * Predestination: God decided the "Elect" from the outset (Calvinist belief).     * Indulgences: Payments for sin redemption; seen as Church corruption.     * Anabaptists: Believed in adult baptism and complete separation of Church and State.     * Edict of Nantes ($1598$): Granted restricted tolerance to French Huguenots.

• Timeline:     * $1517$: Luther's $95$ Theses.     * $1525$: German Peasants’ War (led by Thomas Müntzer; condemned by Luther).     * $1529$: Lutheran princes protest the Edict of Speyer (origin of "Protestant").     * $1536$: Calvin's Institutes of the Christian Religion.     * $1545 ext{--} 63$: Council of Trent sets the Catholic Reformation.     * $1555$: Peace of Augsburg ("whose land, their religion").     * $1618 ext{--} 48$: Thirty Years’ War ended by Peace of Westphalia.

• Religious and Political Conflict: The Catholic Reformation (via the Council of Trent) reaffirmed traditional teachings (faith and charity) and the Papacy while forbidding Indulgence sales. The Jesuits (Ignatius Loyola) propagated faith through teaching. Charles V and Francis I backed the established order, while German princes used Protestantism to assert power against the Emperor. The Peace of Westphalia ($1648$) recognized Calvinism and introduced the concept of the sovereign state.

• Daily Life: Public morality in Calvinist Geneva included modest dress and repression of public drinking/cards. Persecution for witchcraft was widespread among both Catholics and Protestants.

• Mannerism and Baroque Art: Mannerism used unnatural poses and exaggerated body parts. The Baroque responded with naturalistic forms, dramatic events, and large-scale architecture (Versailles) to generate awe and support absolutism.

Absolutism and Constitutionalism

• Practitioners: Charles I, Louis XIV, Pym, Cromwell (Oliver), Peter the Great.

• Theorists: Bodin, Grotius, Hobbes, Bishop Bossuet, Locke.

• Key Concepts:     * Absolutism: Monarches had absolute authority (not necessarily absolute power due to bureaucratic limits).     * Balance of Power: States forming blocs to ensure no single state prevails (Hugo Grotius).     * Divine Right of Kings: Monarchs chosen by God.     * Frondes ($1649 ext{--} 1652$): Rebellions against French centralization.     * Enclosure Movement: Landowners surrounding common land for monopoly.     * Agricultural Revolution: Techniques from the Netherlands (four-crop rotation, seed drill, selective breeding) that increased output and moved labor to urban areas.

• Timeline:     * $1625$: Grotius’s The Law of War & Peace.     * $1639 ext{--} 1653$: Wars of the Three Kingdoms (English Civil Wars).     * $1651$: Hobbes’s Leviathan.     * $1661$: Louis XIV rules without a chief minister.     * $1688$: The Glorious Revolution.     * $1689$: Locke’s Two Treatises of Government.     * $1756$: The Diplomatic Revolution.     * $1756 ext{--} 1763$: Seven Years’ War.

• British Developments: Charles I’s attempt at absolute rule via "ship money" led to the English Civil War (he was defeated in $1646$). The Glorious Revolution and Bill of Rights curtailed monarchy.

• International Relations: After $1648$, balance of power replaced religion as the primary cause of war. The Diplomatic Revolution ($1756$) saw Austria/France align against Prussia/Britain. This led to the "fiscal-military state" specialized in raising funds for larger armies.

Scientific, Philosophical, and Political Developments

• Scientific Revolution Figures: Bacon, Kepler, Galileo, Boyle, Descartes, Newton.

• Philosophers and Economists: Voltaire, Rousseau, Diderot, D’Alembert, Quesnay, Turgot, Smith, Malthus.

• Concepts:     * Scientific Method: Objective observation (outlined by Francis Bacon in Novum Organum, $1620$).     * Heliocentrism: Earth orbits the Sun (Copernicus, Galileo).     * Deism: Belief in a Supreme Being deduced through reason.     * General Will: Community views protecting individual rights (Rousseau).     * Invisible Hand: Individual actions benefiting society via market regulation (Adam Smith).

• Enlightened Despots: Frederick the Great, Joseph II, Catherine the Great (responsible for improving subject lives).

• Demographics: The $18 ext{th}$ century saw a population rise of approximately $70 ext{ million}$ ($58 ext{ percent}$).

• Consumer Revolution: Emergence of a middle class with disposable income, interested in Neoclassicism (inspired by Pompeii).

• Timeline:     * $1543$: Copernicus publshes heliocentric theory.     * $1633$: Galileo condemned by the Inquisition.     * $1660$: Royal Society in London founded.     * $1751$: First volume of Diderot’s Encyclopédie.     * $1776$: Smith’s The Wealth of Nations.     * $1798$: Malthus’s An Essay on the Principle of Population.

Conflict, Crisis, and Reaction in the Late 18th Century

• French Revolution Figures: Louis XVI, Mirabeau, Talleyrand, Danton, Robespierre, Napoleon.

• Key Concepts:     * Legitimacy: Concept of the rightful king’s authority.     * Liberalism: The masses should be free but not necessarily empowered.     * Nationalism: Sense of community binding citizens.

• Factions: Girondins (left-wing), Jacobins (radical left-wing), Sans-Culottes (urban poor; "without culottes").

• Key Events: Levée en Masse ($1793$ mobilization), Reign of Terror, Thermidorean Reaction (execution of Robespierre).

• British Power: Dominance after the Seven Years’ War and the Napoleonic Wars. The Royal Navy controlled the seas while France focused on land.

• Romanticism: Emotional reaction to Enlightenment rationality. Involved an idealization of the past and nature. Examples: Johann Herder (nationalism), Friedrich Schiller, Beethoven, Franz Schubert.

Industrialization and Its Effects

• Terms: Chartism (democratic radicalism), Zollverein (German customs union), Carbonari (Italian secret unification society), Luddites (resisted machines).

• Movements: Utopian Socialism (Owen, Fourier, Saint-Simon), Marxism (class conflict progression).

• Timeline:     * $1815$: Congress of Vienna.     * $1834$: founding of the Zollverein.     * $1835$: Railway networks begin spreading from Britain.     * $1848$: Communist Manifesto; Revolutions of $1848$.

• Impacts: Factories replaced home work; hours increased, environments were unhealthy. Migration outstripped housing, leading to squalor and disease. Railways reduced transportation costs by $67 ext{ percent}$.

• Concert of Europe: Post-Waterloo cooperation to avoid war. The Troppau Protocol ($1822$) institutionalized anti-revolutionary activity (though Britain/France didn't sign).

Nineteenth-Century Perspectives and Developments

• Concepts: Syndicalism (union activism), Autocracy (divine right in Russia), Realpolitik (self-interest), Social Darwinism (survival of the fittest via Herbert Spencer), New Imperialism.

• Unifications:     * Italy: Cavour (house of Savoy) used the Crimean War to woo France; relied on Prussia for final steps.     * Germany: Bismarck used short wars (Denmark, Austria, France) to create a federal solution centered on Prussian conservatism.

• Nationalism and Zionism: Political right utilized antisemitism (Dreyfus Affair) to gain populist support. First Zionist Congress ($1897$).

• Second Industrial Revolution: Post-$1848$ innovation expansion.

• Imperialism: Motivated by jingoism and Social Darwinism. Enabled by technology (Quinine, Maxim gun). Berlin Conference ($1884 ext{--} 1885$) regulated the division of Africa.

• Art: Impressionism (momentary light) and Cubism (multiple perspectives).

Twentieth-Century Global Conflicts

• WWI Causes: Alliance system, arms race, Social Darwinism, nationalism. Russia exited via Treaty of Brest-Litovsk ($1818$). U.S. entry in $1817$ shifted the tide.

• Russian Revolution: February Revolution (replaced Czar with Kerensky); Bolshevik Revolution (Lenin's slogan "Peace, Land & Bread"). Created the U.S.S.R. as a pariah state.

• Interwar Period: Treaty of Versailles embittered Germany. League of Nations weakened by U.S. absence. The Great Depression ($1929$) caused high unemployment and political extremism (Hitler/Mussolini).

• World War II: Began Sept $1, 1939$. Operation Barbarossa failed. Holocaust progressed from resettlement to extermination.

• Culture: Dadaism (absurdity), Surrealism (dreamlike), and monumentality in fascist/communist art.

Cold War and Contemporary Europe

• Concepts: Containment, Decolonization, De-Stalinization, Brezhnev Doctrine (right to intervene in satellites), Détente, Glasnost/Perestroika.

• Marshall Plan ($1948$): Aid to rebuild Europe to combat Communism; Soviets countered with COMECON ($1949$).

• Blocs: NATO ($1949$) vs. Warsaw Pact ($1955$).

• Post-Communist Europe: Discontent (Prague Spring, Hungarian Uprising) culminated in the fall of the Berlin Wall and the $1989 ext{--} 1991$ collapse. Solidarity (Gdansk) shifted the power dynamic.

• European Union: Treaty of Maastricht ($1993$) created the single market. Evolution to Lisbon Treaty ($2009$).

• Feminism: First wave (enfranchisement); second wave ($1960 ext{s}$ legal equality); third wave ($1970 ext{s}$ class/race); fourth wave (online media). Liechtenstein was the last European country to grant women the vote ($1984$).

• Intellectual Life: Existentialism (Jean-Paul Sartre, The Chips are Down) emphasized human responsibility. Postmodernism (Cobra movement) rejected progress concepts.

Questions & Discussion

• Q: What was the relationship between Columbus and Queen Isabella in the Wells Collection image?     * A: Columbus sought a westward route to Asia financed in part by Isabella. Neither knew of the Americas at the time. (Correct: A)

• Q: How was Isabella’s role characteristic of political changes?     * A: She was a "new monarch" who consolidated state economic/political power. (Correct: D)

• Q: What was the long-term impact of Columbus’s voyages?     * A: New crops (potatoes/maize) enhanced diets and increased food supply. (Correct: B)

• Q: In what context can Robert Kett’s 1549 letter be placed?     * A: The English Reformation; it addressed church official control over land. (Correct: D)

• Q: What was Kett’s central concern?     * A: Protecting peasant access to common lands against enclosure. (Correct: C)

• Q: What is the relationship between state and religion in the Edict of Fontainebleau (1685)?     * A: The state has the right to regulate religious belief/practice as it chooses (Louis XIV’s absolutism). (Correct: C)

• Q: Ramifications of Fontainebleau?     * A: Economic difficulty as Protestant craftsmen (skilled labor) fled France. (Correct: A)

• Q: How does Kant define enlightenment?     * A: Acceptance of the freedom to use reason to guide behavior independently. (Correct: C)

• Q: Influence on the Haitian Constitution of 1801?     * A: Emergence of representative democracy in Europe. (Correct: A)

• Q: Who controlled the Convention in 1794 during the abolition call?     * A: The Jacobins. (Correct: B)

• Q: What prompted child employment rules in the 1876 Act?     * A: The Industrial Revolution and factory labor. (Correct: C)

• Q: Historical event in William Howard Russell's 1858 document?     * A: The Crimean War (Russia vs. Ottoman Empire, France, Britain, and Sardinia).

• Q: Origin of the Nuremberg Laws?     * A: Law for the Protection of German Blood and German Honour ($1935$). (Correct: C)

• Q: Goal of Emmeline Pankhurst’s movement?     * A: Female suffrage (the right to vote) in Great Britain. (Correct: A)