AP World Unit 1 Cramming Notes

🧭 Unit 1: The Global Tapestry (c. 1200–1450)

This unit is the “setting the stage” unit. It’s all about what life looked like across different regions before Europeans started crossing oceans. Every region had their own thing going on — empires rising, religions spreading, cities booming. So let’s hit the MAJOR civilizations, belief systems, and themes FAST and HARD. 💪

🔶 1. China: Song Dynasty (1200–1279)

🌟 KEY THEMES: Confucianism, Bureaucracy, Innovation, Economic Power

• Government: Merit-based bureaucracy → Civil service exam based on Confucianism = “smart = power.”

• Social structure: Based on Confucianism. Filial piety (respect for parents) reinforced patriarchy.

• Economy: Champa rice, Grand Canal = big population growth + urbanization.

• Tech: Gunpowder, paper, printing, compass = W.

• Religion: Neo-Confucianism (Confucianism + Daoism + Buddhism).

✅ TLDR: The Song were smart, rich, organized, and Confucian. They were #1 in Asia before the Mongols showed up.

🔷 2. Dar al-Islam (Islamic World)

🌍 REGIONS: Abbasid Caliphate, Delhi Sultanate, Al-Andalus (Spain)

• Abbasid Caliphate (Middle East): Fragmented but culturally rich. Think science, philosophy, House of Wisdom in Baghdad.

• Delhi Sultanate (India): Muslim rule in Hindu-majority land = conflict + cultural blend.

• Al-Andalus (Spain): Muslim Spain = major center of learning + religious tolerance (sometimes).

• Islamic Innovations: Math (algebra), medicine, translations of Greek works, architecture.

✅ TLDR: Islam spread through trade, war, and cultural excellence, influencing Africa, Europe, and Asia.

🔶 3. South & Southeast Asia

• India: Still Hindu-dominated but Delhi Sultanate = Islamic rule starting in 1206.

• Bhakti Movement (Hindu): Emotional devotion to gods → helped bridge Hindu-Islamic gap.

• Sufism (Islam): Mystical and spiritual Islam, super convert-friendly = spread Islam.

• SE Asia: Influenced by India (Hinduism & Buddhism). Powerful states = Khmer Empire (Cambodia) with Angkor Wat.

✅ TLDR: India = tension but blending. SE Asia = Indianized, Buddhist & Hindu kingdoms.

🟣 4. Africa

🌍 West Africa: Ghana → Mali → Songhai

• Mali Empire: Got rich off gold-salt trade.

• Mansa Musa: FLEXED on his Hajj, showing off Mali’s wealth + spread Islam.

• Swahili Coast: East Africa = Indian Ocean trade → Islamic + African culture mix.

• Great Zimbabwe: Southern Africa, built massive stone structures, controlled trade routes.

✅ TLDR: Africa was powerful, wealthy, and connected to global trade (trans-Saharan & Indian Ocean).

🟢 5. Europe

• Feudalism: Lords, vassals, peasants = decentralized but stable-ish.

• Manorialism: Local self-sufficient villages = economic life.

• Catholic Church = CENTER of life, power, and education.

• Crusades: Failed religious wars, but boosted trade and knowledge exchange with Muslims.

• High Middle Ages = universities, Gothic architecture, more urbanization.

✅ TLDR: Europe = decentralized but slowly reconnecting to the world via Crusades + trade.

🟤 6. Americas

• Maya (declined earlier), Aztec (Mexico), Inca (Andes):

  • Aztecs: Tributary empire, human sacrifices, Tenochtitlán = mega city.

  • Inca: Mita system (labor tax), quipus for record-keeping, built ROADS in the mountains.

• Isolated from Afro-Eurasia → no wheel, no large animals, less disease resistance.

✅ TLDR: Highly advanced but isolated civilizations with strong govs + complex societies.

🌐 7. Trade Routes and Diffusion

Trade = religion + tech + disease + ideas move.

• Silk Roads: Luxury goods (silk, spices), Buddhism spreads, cities grow (Samarkand).

• Indian Ocean: BULK goods, monsoon winds, Swahili coast cities, Islam spreads.

• Trans-Saharan: Gold, salt, camels, Islam spreads into Mali.

✅ TLDR: Trade = connects the world. Goods + culture = spread like wildfire 🌍🔥

📌 SUPER QUICK THEMES TO LOCK IN

✏ WHAT TO BE READY TO EXPLAIN

• Confucianism's influence on Song China

• How Islam spread (trade + Sufis + conquest)

• Role of trade routes in cultural diffusion

• Similarities/differences in empires’ use of religion/government

• Isolated vs. connected regions (Americas vs. Afro-Eurasia)

WHAP CED

Topic 1.1 — Developments in East Asia from 1200-1450 (Continuity and Change)

Learning Objective:

• Explain the systems of government employed by Chinese dynasties and how they developed over time

Historical Developments:

• Empires and states in Afro-Eurasia and the Americas demonstrated continuity, innovation, and diversity in the 13th century. This included the Song Dynasty of China, which utilized traditional methods of Confucianism and an imperial bureaucracy to maintain and justify its rule

Learning Objective:

• Explain the effects of Chinese cultural traditions on East Asia over time

Historical Developments:

• Chinese cultural traditions continued, and they influenced neighboring regions

• Buddhism and its core beliefs continued to shape societies in Asia and included a variety of branches, schools, and practices

Learning Objective:

• Explain the effects of innovation on the Chinese economy over time

Historical Developments:

• The economy of Song China became increasingly commercialized while continuing to depend on free peasant and artisanal labor

• The economy of Song China flourished as a result of increased productivity capacity, expanding trade networks, and innovations in agriculture and manufacturing

Illustrative Examples:

• Cultural traditions:

  • Filial piety in East Asia

  • Influence of Neo-Confucianism and Buddhism in East Asia

  • Confucian traditions of both respect for and expected deference from women

  • Chinese literary and scholarly traditions and their spread to Heian Japan and Korea

• Branches of Buddhism:

  • Theravada

  • Mahayana

  • Tibetan

• Technological innovations:

  • Champa rice

  • Transportation innovations, like the Grand Canal expansion

  • Steel and iron production

  • Textiles and porcelains for export

Topic 1.2 — Developments in Dar al-Islam from 1200 to 1450 (Causation)

Learning Objective:

• Explain how systems of belief and their practices affected society in the period from 1200 to 1450

Historical Developments:

• Islam, Judaism, Christianity, and the core beliefs and practices of these religions continued to shape societies in Africa and Asia

Learning Objective:

• Explain the causes and effects of the rise of islamic states over time

Historical Developments:

• As the Abbasid Caliphate fragmented, new Islamic political entities emerged, most of these were dominated by Turkic peoples. These states demonstrated continuity, innovation, and diversity

• Muslim rule continued to expand to many parts of Afro-Eurasia due to military expansion, and Islam subsequently expanded through the activities of merchants, missionaries, and Sufis

Learning Objective:

• Explain the effects of intellectual innovation in Dar al-Islam

Historical Developments:

• Muslim states and empires encouraged significant intellectual innovations and transfers

Illustrative Examples:

• New Islamic political entities:

  • Seljuk Empire

  • Mamluk sultanate of Egypt

  • Delhi sultanates

• Innovations:

  • Advances in mathematics (Nasir al-Din al-Tusil)

  • Advances in literature (‘A’ishah al-Ba’uniyyah)

  • Advances in medicine

• Transfers:

  • Preservation and commentaries on Greek moral and natural philosophy

  • House of Wisdom in Abbasid Bagdad

  • Scholarly and cultural transfers in Muslim and Christian Spain

Topic 1.3 — Developments in South and Southeast Asia from 1200 to 1450 (Comparison)

Learning Objective:

• Explain how the various belief systems and practices of South and Southeast Asia affected society over time

Historical Developments:

• Hinduism, Islam, and Buddhism, and their core beliefs and practices, continued to shape societies in South and Southeast Asia

Learning Objective:

• Explain how and why various states of South and Southeast Asia developed and maintained power over time

Historical Developments:

• State formation and development demonstrated continuity, innovation, and diversity, including the new Hindu and Buddhist states taht emerged in South and Southeast Asia

Illustrative Examples:

• Beliefs and practices:

  • Bhakti movement

  • Sufism

  • Buddhist monasticism

• Hindu/Buddhist states:

  • Vjayanagara Empire

  • Srivijaya Empire

  • Rajput kingdoms

  • Khmer Empire

  • Majapahit

  • Sukhothai kingdom

  • Sinhala dynasties

Topic 1.4 — State Building in the Americas (Continuity and Change)

Learning Objective:

• Explain how and why states in the Americas developed and changed over time

Historical Developments:

• In the Americas, as in Afro-Eurasia, state systems demonstrated continuity, innovation, and diversity, and expanded in scope and reach

Illustrative Examples:

• State systems in the Americas:

  • Maya city-states

  • Mexica

  • Inca

  • Chaco

  • Mesa Verde

  • Cahokia

Topic 1.5 — State Building in Africa (Continuity and Change)

Learning Objective:

• Explain how and why states in Africa developed and changed over time

Historical Developments:

• In Africa, as in Eurasia and the Americas, state systems demonstrated continuity, innovation, and diversity and expanded in scope and reach

Illustrative Examples:

• State systems in Africa:

  • Great Zimbabwe

  • Ethiopia

  • Hausa kingdoms

Topic 1.6 — Developments in Europe from 1200 to 1450 (Causation)

Learning Objective:

• Explain how the beliefs and practices of the predominant religions in Europe affected European society

Historical Developments:

• Christianity, Judaism, Islam, and the core beliefs and practices of these religions continued to shape societies in Europe

Learning Objective:

• Explain the causes and consequences of political decentralization in Europe from 1200 to 1450

Historical Developments:

• Europe was a politically fragmented and characterized by decentralized monarchies, feudalism, and the manorial system

Learning Objective:

• Explain the effects of agriculture on social organization in Europe from 1200 to 1450

Historical Developments:

• Europe was largely an agricultural society dependent on free and coerced labor, including serfdom

Topic 1.7 — Comparison in the Period from 1200 to 1450 (Comparison)

Learning Objective:

• Explain the similarities and differences in the processes of state formation of 1200 to 1450

Main Key Concepts:

• State formation and development demonstrated continuity, innovation, and diversity in various regions

  • As the Abbasid Caliphate fragmented, new Islamic political entities emerged, most of which were dominated by Turkic peoples. These states demonstrated continuity, innovation, and diversity

  • Empires and states in Afro-Eurasia and the Americas demonstrated continuity, innovation, and diversity in the 13th century. This included the Song Dynasty of China, which utilized traditional methods of Confucianism and an imperial bureaucracy to maintain and justify its rule

  • State formation and development demonstrated continuity, innovation, and diversity, including the new Hindu and Buddhist states that emerged in South and Southeast Asia

  • In the Americas, as in Afro-Eurasia, state systems demonstrated continuity, innovation, and diversity, and expanded in scope and reach

  • In Africa, as in Eurasia and the Americas, state systems demonstrated continuity, innovation, and diversity, and expanded in scope and reach