AP World History Modern - Unit 3: Land-Based Empires (1450-1750) Test Prep Notes (copy)
AP World History Modern - Unit 3: Land-Based Empires (1450-1750)
Introduction to Unit 3
Time Period: 1450 to 1750 CE, often referred to as "Land-Based Empires."
Context: This period runs concurrently with Unit 4 (Maritime Empires).
Key Dates and Shifts:
1453: Fall of the Byzantine capital, Constantinople, to the Ottomans. This event signifies the end of one era and the beginning of a new one.
1492: Christopher Columbus's voyage, marking the joining of the Americas into the Afro-Eurasian world, a major theme for Unit 4.
Three Big Themes for Unit 3:
State Building and Expansion: How these empires originated and grew.
Political Centralization: How empires maintained and consolidated their power.
Belief Systems: How various belief systems helped unify diverse populations within these empires.
Document Analysis Skill (HAPPY): Acronym used for analyzing primary and secondary sources, useful for DBQs and stimulus-based multiple-choice questions.
Empires Covered: European states, Russia, Ottoman, Safavid, Mughal (collectively known as Gunpowder Empires), Ming and Qing China, and Japan.
Europe's Rebirth and Reformation
Context of Rebirth:
Europe was reintroduced to trade after the Crusades.
The Black Death (c. 1347) devastated Europe's population, inadvertently delivering the final blow to the feudal system.
Post-Plague Effects: Diminished workforce led to increased wages for peasants and serfs, who were no longer tied to the land.
The Renaissance: A rebirth of classical Roman and Greek knowledge, much of which was re-introduced via the Islamic world that had preserved and built upon it for centuries.
Emergence of Unified States (c. 1450):
Key states forming: Portugal, Spain (Iberian Peninsula), France, England, The Netherlands.
These states will become maritime empires in Unit 4.
Political Centralization: Absolutism and Divine Right:
Kings and queens centralized power through absolutism, asserting that their power was granted by God (divine right) and therefore absolute and unquestionable by any human authority.
Legitimization Methods: Rulers continued to use familiar methods to legitimize their power:
Religion (e.g., Catholicism as a unifying force).
Sponsorship of art.
Construction of grand architecture.
The Protestant Reformation (1517):
Martin Luther: A Catholic monk who challenged the authority of the Catholic Church by nailing his 95 Theses to the church door in Wittenberg (modern-day Germany).
Impact: This pushback against papal power led to a significant split, resulting in the Protestant Reformation and the emergence of new Christian denominations.
Counter-Reformation (Catholic Reformation): The Catholic Church's response, which addressed some of Luther's concerns, notably ending the sale of indulgences.
Significance: This European context sets the stage for the Scientific Revolution and overseas exploration, crucial for understanding Unit 4.
The Rise of Russia
Geographic and Cultural Identity: Culturally more European, although most of its land mass is in Asia.
End of Mongol Rule (1480):
Ivan III (the Great): Threw off the "Mongol yoke" and refused to pay tribute, establishing absolutism in Russia.
Religious and Political Unification:
Orthodox Christianity (Russian Orthodoxy): The predominant cultural unifier.
Caesaropapism: No real separation of church and state, mirroring the Byzantine Empire.
Ivan IV (the Terrible):
Grandson of Ivan III.
Claimed lineage to Rome by using the title Czar (Caesar in Russian).
Expansion: Expanded Russian holdings eastward into Siberia.
Rule: Maintained power through harsh, absolute rule, executing challengers often gruesomely, and even killing his own heir.
Time of Troubles: A period of instability and succession crises following Ivan IV's death.
Romanov Dynasty (1613-1917):
Founded by Mikhail Romanov.
Expansion: Continued state building and expansion, extending Russian territory all the way to the Pacific Ocean in the East.
Peter the Great (1682):
Modernization/Westernization: Forcefully modernized and westernized Russia, believing it needed to emulate Europe.
Naval Power: Desired a strong naval fleet like Europeans but lacked sea access, so he seized territory from Sweden.
St. Petersburg: Built a new capital named after himself, using forced labor, resulting in many deaths (earning it the nickname "city of bones").
Social Reforms: Forced men to shave their beards and wear shorter European-style jackets.
Catherine the Great: Later ruler with more enlightened policies but also enforced repressive measures.
The Ottoman Empire: A Gunpowder Power
Pre-Ottoman Context:
The Abbasid Empire fragmented, and its final blow came from the Mongol conquest.
Ilkhanate: Mongols ruled the Middle East as the Ilkhanate until 1335, declining due to the Black Death and the deaths of many Khans.
Emergence: With the decline of the Ilkhanate and Seljuk Turks, Osman Bey began to unify Anatolia (modern Turkey).
Osman Bey: His humble beginnings led to an empire lasting until World War I.
Unified Anatolia through military conquest with Ghazi warriors.
Engaged in conflict with and ultimately caused the demise of the Byzantine Empire.
Political Centralization: Led by a Sultan.
Absolute Monarchy: The sultan held absolute power over political, judicial, and religious spheres (Islam).
Viziers: High-ranking political advisors in the bureaucracy, with the Grand Vizier as the chief minister.
Devshirme System and Janissaries:
Devshirme: A unique system for staffing the military and government.
Recruitment: Young Christian boys from neighboring areas (e.g., the Balkans) were forcibly recruited or taken as tribute.
Debate on Slavery: While Ottomans outlawed slavery for "people of the book," this system saw some Christian families willingly offer their sons for the opportunities it provided.
Training: Boys received extensive schooling and training in politics, arts, or military skills.
Janissaries: Elite forces of the Ottoman army, comprised of athletic boys from the Devshirme system. Brainy boys went into government bureaucracy.
Loyalty: All boys were indoctrinated to be fiercely loyal to the Sultan, as they lacked hereditary ties that could challenge his succession.
Mehmet the Conqueror (1453):
Conquered Constantinople at age 21.
Military Tactics: Displayed advanced use of gunpowder with a massive Hungarian-made cannon (27 feet long, hurled 600-pound stone balls over a mile). He also famously hoisted ships over greased logs on land to bypass barrier chains.
Hagia Sophia: Converted the Orthodox cathedral into a mosque.
Salim I (1512):
Conquests continued, making Istanbul a center of Islamic civilization.
Had significant conflicts with the neighboring Safavid Empire.
Suleiman the Magnificent:
Military and Administration: Continued building up the military and refining the Devshirme system to maintain political centralization.
Arts and Architecture: Supported the arts and commissioned the impressive Sulaimani Mosque.
Lawgiver: Known as Suleiman the Lawgiver for major legislative changes bridging Sharia (Islamic law) with his power as Sultan.
The Safavid Empire: Shia Rivals
Location: Modern-day Iran.
Founder: Shah Ismail I (ruled from 1501).
Influences: Strong Persian cultural influence.
Centralization: Established through military conquests with a strong centralized state.
Religion: Primary religion was Shia Islam.
Sunni-Shia Divide: The key difference between Sunni and Shia Islam revolved around disagreements over succession after the death of Muhammad:
Sunnis: Believed the Caliph should be chosen by the community of believers based on character.
Shias: Believed the Caliph should come from Muhammad's bloodline.
Conflict with Ottomans: Religious rivalry (Sunni Ottomans vs. Shia Safavids) and territorial disputes led to ongoing conflicts.
Shah Abbas I:
Reached a peace deal with the Ottomans in 1590.
Military Reforms: Reworked his military to include Gulams (slave troops) loyal to the Shah, equipped with artillery and musketeers.
Gunpowder Empires: Both the Ottoman and Safavid Empires are referred to as gunpowder empires due to their military reliance on gunpowder technology.
Document Analysis (HAPPY Acronym Revisited)
Purpose: A skill for analyzing primary and secondary sources in DBQs and stimulus-based multiple-choice questions.
H - Historical Context: The specific backstory or events that help understand the source.
Example with Salim's letter to Shah Ismail: The newly arising Ottoman and Safavid gunpowder empires conflicting over the true sect of Islam after the Abbasid fall, tied to Salim's description of himself as "destroyer of enemies, the true faith."
A - Audience: The intended recipient(s) of the source.
Example with Salim's letter: Shah Ismail, implying Salim is asserting dominance and superiority through his tone and self-identification (e.g., "heroes of the age").
P - Point of View: The author's perspective or lens that shapes their interpretation of the world.
Example with Salim's letter: Salim's lens as Sultan and military commander of the Ottoman Empire (Sunni). This shapes his belief that Ottomans are followers of the true faith, his demand for land, and his display of military might.
Sentence Frame: "As a [insert lens/point of view], the author believes [blank]."
P - Purpose: The intended goal or reason for creating the document.
Example with Salim's letter: Beyond mere information, it's about power dynamics, asserting superiority, and demanding the return of lost territory by reading between the lines of elaborate language.
Y - Why: Explaining why each of the above factors matters for understanding the document (e.g.,