Units 1-9 Backbone Stuff

🕰 Period 1: 1200–1450

🧭 Theme: Expansion & Exchange

• Global trade networks (Silk Road, Indian Ocean)

• Rise of empires (Mongol Empire, Mali, Delhi Sultanate)

• Spread of religion and disease

🔁 Patterns:

• Trade = cultural exchange + spread of ideas/religions/disease

• Empires rise and fall based on military power and control of trade

• Climate change (Little Ice Age) affects agriculture and society

📌 Big Ideas:

• Trade routes linked distant regions.

• Religion (Islam, Christianity, Buddhism) spread with trade and conquest.

• The Black Death reshaped Europe and Eurasia.

🏛 Case Studies:

• Mongol Empire : Unified Eurasia; facilitated Silk Road trade; introduced new technologies.

• Mali Empire : Wealth from gold/salt trade; Timbuktu as a center of learning.

• Black Death (1347–1351) : Killed millions in Europe, led to labor shortages and social change.

🕰 Period 2: 1450–1750

🧭 Theme: Globalization Begins

• European exploration and colonization

• New global trade systems (silver, spices, slaves)

• Rise of plantation economies and the slave trade

🔁 Patterns:

• Europeans begin to dominate global trade and land.

• Crops and animals are moved across continents (Columbian Exchange).

• Enslaved Africans forced into the Americas.

• Empires expand (Ottoman, Safavid, Mughal, Ming)

📌 Big Ideas:

• Colonialism begins in the Americas and Africa.

• Mercantilism drives European competition.

• Enslavement becomes central to economic growth in the Americas.

🏛 Case Studies:

• Spanish Conquest of the Aztec and Inca : Used horses, steel weapons, and disease to conquer large empires.

• Atlantic Slave Trade : Millions of Africans were forcibly taken to work on plantations in the Americas.

• Ming Dynasty China : Isolationist policies vs. European attempts to trade.

• Ottoman Empire : Controlled key trade routes between Europe and Asia.

🕰 Period 3: 1750–1900

🧭 Theme: Industrialization & Imperialism

• Industrial Revolution transforms economies

• Western powers colonize much of the world

• Nationalism and revolutions in Europe and beyond

🔁 Patterns:

• Industrialization = urbanization, factory work, class divides

• Imperialism = “Scramble for Africa,” Opium Wars, etc.

• Revolutions challenge old monarchies and colonial rule

📌 Big Ideas:

• Industrial Revolution began in Britain and spread.

• Imperialism justifies itself through racism and "civilizing missions."

• Nationalism leads to revolutions and independence movements.

🏛 Case Studies:

• British Industrial Revolution : Factories, railways, coal, steam engines.

• Opium Wars (China) : British forced China to open ports for trade.

• Abolition of Slavery : Led to civil wars in the U.S., changes in Caribbean economies.

• French Revolution (1789) : Inspired nationalism and democratic ideals.

🕰 Period 4: 1900–1945

🧭 Theme: War, Depression, Totalitarianism

• Two World Wars reshape the world

• Great Depression causes political instability

• Rise of fascism, communism, and totalitarian states

🔁 Patterns:

• WWI and WWII caused massive death and geopolitical shifts.

• Economic collapse (Great Depression) led to authoritarian leaders.

• Ideologies like communism and fascism spread globally.

📌 Big Ideas:

• WWI (1914–1918) : Trench warfare, alliances, Treaty of Versailles.

• Great Depression (1929) : Economic collapse worldwide.

• WWII (1939–1945) : Holocaust, atomic bombs, UN formed.

🏛 Case Studies:

• Hitler and Nazi Germany : Aggressive expansion, Holocaust.

• Stalin and the USSR : Five-Year Plans, purges, WWII.

• Japanese Imperialism : Invaded China, Pacific War.

• India under British Rule : Gandhi’s resistance, independence movement.

🕰 Period 5: 1945–1980

🧭 Theme: Cold War & Decolonization

• End of colonial empires in Asia, Africa, and the Middle East

• Cold War rivalry between US and USSR

• Civil rights and social movements

🔁 Patterns:

• Decolonization = many new independent nations in post-WWII era.

• Cold War = proxy wars, nuclear arms race, space race.

• Civil rights movements grow in the U.S. and around the world.

📌 Big Ideas:

• Decolonization in Asia/Africa : India, Vietnam, Indonesia, Algeria.

• Cold War conflicts : Korean War, Vietnam War, Cuban Missile Crisis.

• Civil Rights Movement : Martin Luther King Jr., women's rights, LGBTQ+ rights.

🏛 Case Studies:

• India (1947) : Partition, Gandhi, Nehru.

• Vietnam (1954–1975) : Viet Minh, Geneva Accords, Vietnam War.

• Indonesia (1945–1949) : Sukarno, Dutch return, international pressure.

• Korean War (1950–1953) : Divided Korea, Cold War proxy war.

🕰 Period 6: 1980–Present

🧭 Theme: Globalization & Technology

• Rapid technological change (internet, digital revolution)

• Globalization of economy and culture

• Environmental concerns and climate change

🔁 Patterns:

• Globalization = more interconnected economies and cultures.

• Technology = internet, smartphones, AI.

• Environmental issues = climate change, pollution, resource scarcity.

📌 Big Ideas:

• Globalization has both positive and negative effects.

• Technology changes how we live, work, and communicate.

• Environmental challenges affect the entire planet.

🏛 Case Studies:

• Green Revolution (1960s–1970s) : Increased food production in developing countries.

• World Wide Web (1990s) : Changed communication and business.

• Climate Change : Rising sea levels, extreme weather events.

• Rise of China : Becomes a global economic superpower.