AP World History Period 2 Notes

Unit 3 | Land-Based Empires

💡 Big Ideas:
Empires continued to expand by conquering territory
Gunpowder weapons play increasing role in warfare
Governments focus on centralized rule with a monarch and bureaucracy

3.1 | European, East Asian, and Gunpowder Empires

Empires: Russia, Ottomans, Safavid, Mughal, and Qing Dynasty
Europe
Monarchs centralize power (very unchecked, absolutism)
Beginning of the Age of Exploration
Printing Press → Higher Literacy Rates
Religious Conflicts
Russia
Ivan the Great kicks out the Mongols
Begins to expand to the Pacific
Begin to consider Westernizing
Qing China
Defeated the Ming Dynasty → Manchu invaders
Expands Territory
Dynastic Patterns
Muslim Gunpowder Empires
Ottomans → Ruled from Istanbul/Constantinople
- Sunni
- Ruled by Suleiman
Safavids → Ruled from Isfahan
- Shi’a
- Ruled by Shah Abbas I
Mughals → Ruled India
- A Sunni minority among Hindus
- Tolerant
- Ruled by Akbar

3.2 | Empires: Administration

Similarities among Empires
Centralized Powers
Bureaucracy
Taxes
Armies
Supported by Religious Beliefs
Europe
Monarchy based on the Divine Rights of Kings
England develops Constitutional Monarchy
Absolute Monarchy in France (Divine Right)
- Louis XIV (14) → Built Versailles
Russia
Tsar (King) ran an absolutist empire
Boyars (Nobles) → Serfs worked for them
Ottomans
Absolutism
Devshirme System → Young boys taken from the Balkans and Educated to remain loyal to the Sultan
- Created Janissaries → Elite “core” of military; projection of power
Japan
Feudalism
- Controlled fiefdoms → Served by Samurai
- Emperor was a figurehead, real power held by Shogunate
Mughals
Very Tolerant
Zamindars (Tax Collectors)
Art used to represent power
St. Petersburg
Taj Mahal
Suleymaniye Mosque

3.3 | Belief Systems

Europe
Protestant Reformation → Christian reform movement led by Martin Luther’s 95 Thesis (Criticized Church)
- Opposed Indulgences
Catholic vs. Protestant (Decision of what to make territories)
- 30 Years War
Russia
Absolutist Tsar → Head of Church and Government
Gunpowder Empires
Ottomans → Sunni
- Mostly Tolerant
Safavids → Shi’a
- No Tolerance
Mughal → Sunni
- Very Tolerant
- Sikhism → Creation of Din-i Ilahi (Hindu + Islam)

3.4 | Comparisons in Empires

Military
All empires had well-trained, organized, and ready armies
- European wars over Reformation
- Safavids went to war with Ottomans and Mughals to spread Shi’a Islam
Centralized Bureaucracies
China → Civil Service Exam
Ottomans → Devshirme System
Songhai → Officials educated in Madrasas (schools) — Started by Mansa Musa
Taxation
Mughal Zamindars → Tax Collectors from Peasant Farmers
Ottoman Tax Farming → Collector paid sum for whole areas
Aztec Tribute System → Set up taxes in conquered regions

Unit 4 | Transoceanic Interconnections

💡 Big Ideas:
Various empires expanded using gunpowder weapons and centralized governments
Age of Exploration begins due to new tech and economic motivations
Entire world is connected — Columbian Exchange + 1st Global Trade Network

4.1 | Technological Innovations

New Technology helps Europeans begin the Age of Exploration in the 1400s
Technologies
Magnetic Compass (China) — Helped sailors follow routes
Astrolabe (Muslims) — Used to plot positions on a map
Lateen Sails (Arab Sailors) — Triangular sails better sailing into the wind
Cartography → Map Making
New Ships — Sturdier, Multi-mast Ships to survive harsher conditions

4.2 | Exploration: Causes and Events

Spain and Portugal begin to explore the Atlantic to find an oceanic route to Asia for economic reasons (Trade)
Portugal
Henry the Navigator starts school to train explorers and sponsor voyages
Bartholomeu Diaz sails to South Africa (1488)
Vasco de Gama sails to India (1498)
- Sets up trading posts on African Coasts, India, and Brazil
Spain
Christopher Columbus → Sails across the Atlantic to the Americas (1492)
Ferdinand Magellan sails around the world (1522)
- Sets up colonies in the new world
England, France, and the Dutch (Netherlands) join in
Motivations for Oceanic Exploration
Trade Routes → Direct access to Asian goods/spices
Land and Resources (Gold and Silver)
Spread Christianity (Missionaries)

4.3 | Columbian Exchange

Biological exchange of plants, animals, diseases, and people between the Old and new world
Environmental and Demographic impacts
New World impacted by new diseases (50% Died)
Smallpox, Measles, etc.
Plants → Crops planted in new locations, alter diets of people
Corn, Potatoes, and Beans into the Old World
Wheat, Sugarcane, and Bananas into the New World
Animals → Introduced to Old and New World
Horses used for military, farm work, and transportation
Cash Crops led to the migration of African Slaves into the New World
Sugar and Cotton slave labor

4.4 | Maritime Empires are Established

European nations create empires using weapons, germs, and coerced labor to compete for wealth and prestige
Conquistadors conquered the Aztecs (Cortes; 1521) and Incas (Pizarro; 1533)
England and France compete for North American colonies (7 Years’ War; 1756)
Changes in Labor Systems
Old Systems
- Serfdom (tied to land)
New Systems
- Indentured Servants (work for passage to the new world)
- Mit’a/Encomiendas (Amerindians worked for Europeans)
- Chattel Slavery (forced movement of Africans)
- Middle Passage (Journey of African Slaves across the Atlantic)

4.5 | Maritime Empires Maintained and Developed

Commercial Revolution
Gold and Silver Economies
Joint-Stock Companies (ie. BEIC)
Triangular Slave System → Atlantic Trade Network
- Goods to Africa from Europe for Slaves to America for Goods to Europe
Politics
Colonial Governments
- Viceroys in New Spain → Established control over indigenous people, laws, languages, etc.
- Regional Governors → Had to be kept loyal to the home-crown
Religions
Religious syncretism develops in colonies
- Vodun and Santeria — Blending of African and Christian Beliefs