World History 9 Comprehensive Finals Study Guide (for Toor)

Unit 1: Atlantic World & Islamic Gunpowder Empires

The Atlantic World: Incas & Aztecs

Aztecs (Mexica)

• Core Info: Central Mexico (14th-16th C. CE); capital Tenochtitlan. Kings were divine representatives. Society: nobility (Pilli), merchants (Pochteca), peasants (Macehualli), slaves (Tlacotin).

• Religion: Polytheistic, main sun/war god; human sacrifice (war captives, flower wars) to sustain universe.

• Culture: Limestone sculpture, jade masks, decorative clothing. Architecture: sacrificial/emperor's temples, shrines.

Incas

• Core Info: Andes Mountains (Peru); Cuzco & Machu Picchu. "Vertical archipelagos"; terrace farming (potatoes, corn); Quechua language.

• Religion: Polytheistic, ancestral/sun-god worship. Human sacrifice. "Cult of Royal Mummies" (dead rulers retained property/influence); "Split inheritance" drove expansion.

• Fall of Both: Spanish advantages: horsemanship, firearms (harquebus), diseases (smallpox).

Islamic Gunpowder Empires: Ottoman, Safavid, Mughal

• Context: Expanded rapidly (late 15th-16th C.) using gunpowder. Islam was a legitimizing force. Turkic ruling houses, shared Islamic faith.

Ottoman Empire

• Core Info: Vast (SE Europe, N Africa, Middle East). Founded by Osman I (c. 1301). Capital: Istanbul (formerly Constantinople, conquered 1453 by Mehmed II).

• Key Rulers: Mehmed II ("The Conqueror"); Suleyman the Magnificent (peak of empire).

• Key Institutions: Janissaries (elite infantry, Devshirme system).

• Decline: Sieges of Vienna (1529, 1683); Treaty of Karlowitz (1699, territorial losses); collapsed 1918-24.

Safavid Empire

• Core Info: Persia (modern Iran); capital Isfahan. Founder: Ismail I (declared Shah c. 1501).

• Culture: Blended Persian culture with Shia Islam. Known for silk/carpets.

• Decline: Internal strife, foreign invasions; fell 1722.

Mughal Empire

• Core Info: India, Pakistan, Bangladesh. Founded by Babur (1526).

• Key Rulers: Akbar the Great (religious tolerance, centralized government); Aurangzeb (empire's peak territorially, but imposed Islam, causing resentment).

• Culture: Blend of Islamic, Hindu, Persian, Indian elements.

Transatlantic Slave System

• Scale: ~12.5M Africans shipped (1500-1866); ~10.7M survived Middle Passage; ~1.8M died en route.

• Process: European purchase from African merchants (often POWs); brutal Middle Passage (10 weeks, disease, high mortality).

• Justification & Effects: Religious justifications initially; shifted to race-based; fueled plantation economies; devastated African societies and growth; profound cultural impact on Americas.

Unit 2: Age of Revolutions

Scientific Revolution (c. 1543-1687)

• Core Idea: Shift from geocentric (Earth-centered) to heliocentric (Sun-centered) model.

• Key Figures: Copernicus (heliocentrism); Kepler (planetary motion laws); Galileo (telescopic evidence, law of inertia); Newton (universal gravitation, laws of motion).

• Impact: Modern scientific method; foundation for Enlightenment & Industrial Revolution.

The Enlightenment (Peak mid-1700s)

• Core Concepts: Reason, Nature, Happiness, Progress, Liberty.

• Key Thinkers:

  • Locke: Natural rights (life, liberty, property), government by consent.

  • Montesquieu: Separation of powers.

  • Rousseau: Social contract, general will.

  • Voltaire: Freedom of speech, religion.

• Impact: Inspired revolutions (American, French), reforms (Enlightened Despotism).

American Revolution (1775-1783)

• Causes: Enlightenment ideas; "No taxation without representation"; British policies post-French/Indian War.

• Outcome: US independence; creation of republic based on Enlightenment principles (Constitution, Bill of Rights).

French Revolution (1789-1799)

• Causes: Social inequality (Three Estates); Enlightenment ideas; economic crisis; weak leadership (Louis XVI).

• Key Phases: National Assembly (Storming of Bastille, Declaration of Rights of Man); Reign of Terror (Robespierre, mass executions); Directory (moderate, corrupt).

• Napoleon Bonaparte: Rose through military; coup d'état (1799); Napoleonic Code; conquered much of Europe; downfall after Russian invasion, Waterloo (1815).

• Congress of Vienna (1814-15): Restored balance of power, monarchies; led by Metternich.

Haitian Revolution (1791-1804)

• Context: Brutal French slave colony (Saint-Domingue).

• Key Leaders: Toussaint Louverture, Jean-Jacques Dessalines.

• Outcome: Successful slave revolt; Haiti became first black republic and first independent Latin American nation (1804).

Unit 3: Industrial Revolution

• Definition: Increased output of machine-made goods, began in England (mid-1700s).

• Causes (England): Agricultural Revolution, natural resources (coal, iron), economic strength (capital, banking), political stability.

• Key Inventions: Textile machines (spinning jenny, power loom); Watt's steam engine; railroads.

• Impact: Urbanization (poor conditions initially); new class structure (middle class, working class); eventual rise in living standards; global inequality.

• Philosophies:

  • Laissez-faire (Adam Smith): Minimal government intervention.

  • Socialism/Marxism: Public/worker control of means of production, response to capitalist inequalities.

• Reforms: Unions, Factory Acts (limited child labor), abolition of slavery, women's rights movements.

Unit 4: Nationalism & Imperialism (Focus Unit)

Nationalism

• Definition: Loyalty to a nation of people with shared culture/history, not a monarch/empire. Nation-state: independent government for such a nation.

• Types: Unification (Germany, Italy), Separation (Greeks from Ottomans), State-building (USA).

• Case Studies:

  • Italy: Key figures: Mazzini ("Soul"), Cavour ("Brain"), Garibaldi ("Sword"). Unified by 1870 through diplomacy and military campaigns.

  • Germany: Otto von Bismarck (Prussian PM); Realpolitik ("blood and iron"). Unified through wars: vs. Denmark (1864), Austria (Seven Weeks' War, 1866), France (Franco-Prussian War, 1870-71). German Empire proclaimed 1871.

  • Decline of Multinational Empires: Ottoman, Austrian, Russian empires weakened by nationalist movements of subject peoples. Russification in Russia backfired.

Imperialism (c. 1850-1914 - "New Imperialism")

• Definition: Stronger country seizing control of a weaker country/territory.

• Motives:

  • Economic: Raw materials, new markets (Industrial Revolution driven).

  • Political/Military: National pride, strategic locations, global power competition.

  • Social/Cultural: Social Darwinism, "White Man's Burden," missionary zeal.

• Enabling Factors: European technological superiority (Maxim gun, steamships), medical advances (quinine), internal weaknesses of colonized areas.

• Forms of Control: Colony, Protectorate, Sphere of Influence, Economic Imperialism.

• Management: Indirect Control (UK), Direct Control (France - paternalism, assimilation).

Case Studies in Imperialism:

• Africa ("Scramble for Africa"):

  • Rapid partition by European powers.

  • Belgian Congo: Brutal personal rule of King Leopold II (rubber exploitation).

  • Berlin Conference (1884-85): Europeans set rules for division, no Africans invited.

  • Resistance: Widespread but often unsuccessful (e.g., Zulus); Ethiopia (Menelik II) successfully resisted Italians (Battle of Adowa, 1896).

  • South Africa: Boer Wars (British vs. Dutch settlers); Union of South Africa formed (1910), laying groundwork for apartheid.

• Ottoman Empire Loses Power:

  • Geopolitical importance (Crimean War showed weakness).

  • Egypt: Muhammad Ali modernized; Suez Canal built (French/British control led to British occupation 1882).

  • Persia (Iran): Russian/British spheres of influence (oil, strategic location).

• British Imperialism in India:

  • British East India Co. rule, then direct Raj (post-Sepoy Mutiny 1857).

  • "Jewel in the Crown": Key source of raw materials/markets.

  • Sepoy Mutiny (1857): Caused by cultural insensitivity (cartridges); led to direct British rule.

  • Rise of Indian Nationalism (Indian National Congress, Muslim League).

• Southeast Asia:

  • Dutch (Indonesia), British (Malaya, Burma), French (Indochina).

  • Siam (Thailand) remained independent (buffer state, modernization).

  • US Imperialism: Philippines (post-Spanish-American War, resistance led by Aguinaldo), Hawaii (overthrow of monarchy, annexation for sugar interests).

• Consequences: Loss of independence for colonized; economic exploitation; breakdown of traditional cultures; artificial boundaries; rise of global nationalist movements.