Unit 4 AP World
C. 1450 - 1750
AP Exam Weighting: 12-15%
Topic 4.1 Technological Innovations from 1450 - 1750 | |
Thematic Focus - Technology and Innovation (TEC) Human adaptation and innovation have resulted in increased efficiency, comfort, and security, and technological advances have shaped human development and interactions with both intended and unintended consequences. | |
Learning Objective Explain how cross-cultural interactions resulted in the diffusion of technology and facilitated changes in patterns of trade and travel from 1450 to 1750. | Historical Developments Knowledge, scientific learning, and technology from the Classical, Islamic, and Asian worlds spread, facilitating European technological developments and innovation. The developments included the production of new tools, innovations in ship designs, and an improved understanding of regional wind and currents patterns—all of which made transoceanic travel and trade possible. Innovations in ship design:Â
European technological developments influenced by cross-cultural interactions with the Classical, Islamic, and Asian worlds:
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Topic 4.2 Exploration: Causes and Events from 1450 to 1750 | |
Thematic Focus - Governance (GOV) A variety of internal and external factors contribute to state formation, expansion, and decline. Governments maintain order through a variety of administrative institutions, policies, and procedures, and governments obtain, retain, and exercise power in different ways and for different purposes. | |
Learning Objective Describe the role of states in the expansion of maritime exploration from 1450 to 1750. | Historical Developments New state-supported transoceanic maritime exploration occurred in this period. |
Thematic Focus - Economics Systems (ECN) As societies develop, they affect and are affected by the ways that they produce, exchange, and consume goods and services. | |
Learning Objective Explain the economic causes and effects of maritime exploration by the various European states. | Historical Developments Portuguese development of maritime technology and navigational skills led to increased travel to and trade with Africa and Asia and resulted in the construction of a global trading-post empire. Spanish sponsorship of the voyages of Columbus and subsequent voyages across the Atlantic and Pacific dramatically increased European interest in transoceanic travel and trade Northern Atlantic crossings were undertaken under English, French, and Dutch sponsorship, often with the goal of finding alternative sailing routes to Asia. |
Topic 4.3 Columbian Exchange | |
Thematic Focus - Humans and the Environment (ENV) The environment shapes human societies, and as populations grow and change, these populations in turn shape their environments. | |
Learning Objective Explain the causes of the Columbian Exchange and its effects on the Eastern and Western Hemispheres. | Historical Developments The new connections between the Eastern and Western Hemispheres resulted in the exchange of new plants, animals, and diseases, known as the Columbian Exchange. European colonization of the Americas led to the unintentional transfer of disease vectors, including mosquitoes and rats, and the spread of diseases that were endemic in the Eastern Hemisphere, including smallpox, measles, and malaria. Some of these diseases substantially reduced the indigenous populations, with catastrophic effects in many areas. American foods became staple crops in various parts of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Cash crops were grown primarily on plantations with coerced labor and were exported mostly to Europe and the Middle East. Afro-Eurasian fruit trees, grains, sugar, and domesticated animals were brought by Europeans to the Americas, while other foods were brought by African slaves Domesticated animals:
Foods brought by African slaves:
Populations in Afro-Eurasia benefitted nutritionally from the increased diversity of American food crops. |
Topic 4.4 Maritime Empires Established | |
Thematic Focus - Governance (GOV) A variety of internal and external factors contribute to state formation, expansion, and decline. Governments maintain order through a variety of administrative institutions, policies, and procedures, and governments obtain, retain, and exercise power in different ways and for different purposes. | |
Learning Objective Explain the process of state building and expansion among various empires and states in the period from 1450 to 1750. | Historical Developments Europeans established new trading posts in Africa and Asia, which proved profitable for the rulers and merchants involved in new global trade networks. Some Asian states sought to limit the disruptive economic and cultural effects of European-dominated long-distance trade by adopting restrictive or isolationist trade policies. Asian states that adopted restrictive or isolationist trade policies:Â
Driven largely by political, religious, and economic rivalries, European states established new maritime empires, including the Portuguese, Spanish, Dutch, French, and British. The expansion of maritime trading networks fostered the growth of states in Africa, including the Asante and the Kingdom of the Kongo, whose participation in trading networks led to an increase in their influence |
Thematic Focus - Economics Systems (ECN) As societies develop, they affect and are affected by the ways that they produce, exchange, and consume goods and services. | |
Learning Objective Explain the continuities and changes in economic systems and labor systems from 1450 to 1750. | Historical Developments Despite some disruption and restructuring due to the arrival of Portuguese, Spanish, and Dutch merchants, existing trade networks in the Indian Ocean continued to flourish and included intra-Asian trade and Asian merchants. Indian Ocean Asian merchants:
Newly developed colonial economies in the Americas largely depended on agriculture, utilized existing labor systems, including the Incan mit’a, and introduced new labor systems including chattel slavery, indentured servitude, and encomienda and hacienda systems. |
Thematic Focus - Social Interactions and Organization (SIO) The process by which societies group their members and the norms that govern the interactions between these groups and between individuals influence political, economic, and cultural institutions and organization. | |
Learning Objective Explain changes and continuities in systems of slavery in the period from 1450 to 1750. | Historical Developments Slavery in Africa continued in its traditional forms, including incorporation of slaves into households and the export of slaves to the Mediterranean and the Indian Ocean regions. The growth of the plantation economy increased the demand for slaves in the Americas, leading to significant demographic, social, and cultural changes. |
Topic 4.5 Maritime Empires Maintained and Developed | |
Thematic Focus - Governance (GOV) A variety of internal and external factors contribute to state formation, expansion, and decline. Governments maintain order through a variety of administrative institutions, policies, and procedures, and governments obtain, retain, and exercise power in different ways and for different purposes. | |
Learning Objective Explain how rulers employed economic strategies to consolidate and maintain power throughout the period from 1450 to 1750. | Historical Developments Mercantilist policies and practices were used by European rulers to expand and control their economies and claim overseas territories. Joint-stock companies, influenced by these mercantilist principles, were used by rulers and merchants to finance exploration and were used by rulers to compete against one another in global trade. Economic disputes led to rivalries and conflict between states. Competition over trade routes:
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Thematic Focus - Economics Systems (ECN) As societies develop, they affect and are affected by the ways that they produce, exchange, and consume goods and services. | |
Learning Objective Explain the continuities and changes in networks of exchange from 1450 to 1750. | Historical Developments The Atlantic trading system involved the movement of goods, wealth, and labor, including slaves. The new global circulation of goods was facilitated by chartered European monopoly companies and the global flow of silver, especially from Spanish colonies in the Americas, which was used to purchase Asian goods for the Atlantic markets and satisfy Chinese demand for silver. Regional markets continued to flourish in Afro-Eurasia by using established commercial practices and new transoceanic and regional shipping services developed by European merchants. Peasant and artisan labor continued and intensified in many regions as the demand for food and consumer goods increased. Increased peasant and artisan labor:
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Thematic Focus - Social Interactions and Organization (SIO) The process by which societies group their members and the norms that govern the interactions between these groups and between individuals influence political, economic, and cultural institutions and organization. | |
Learning Objective Explain how political, economic, and cultural factors affected society from 1450 to 1750. | Historical Developments Some notable gender and family restructuring occurred, including demographic changes in Africa that resulted from the slave trades. The Atlantic trading system involved the movement of labor—including slaves—and the mixing of African, American, and European cultures and peoples, with all parties contributing to this cultural synthesis. |
Thematic Focus - Cultural Developments and Interactions (CDI)Â The development of ideas, beliefs, and religions illustrates how groups in society view themselves, and the interactions of societies and their beliefs often have political, social, and cultural implications. | |
Learning Objective Explain the similarities and differences in how various belief systems affected societies from 1450 to 1750. | Historical Developments In some cases, the increase and intensification of interactions between newly connected hemispheres expanded the reach and furthered development of existing religions, and contributed to religious conflicts and the development of syncretic belief systems and practices. |
Topic 4.6 International and External Challenges to State Power from 1450 to 1750 | |
Thematic Focus - Governance (GOV) A variety of internal and external factors contribute to state formation, expansion, and decline. Governments maintain order through a variety of administrative institutions, policies, and procedures, and governments obtain, retain, and exercise power in different ways and for different purposes. | |
Learning Objective Explain the effects of the development of state power from 1450 to 1750 | Historical Developments State expansion and centralization led to resistance from an array of social, political, and economic groups on a local level. Local resistance:
Slave resistance challenged existing authorities in the Americas. Slave resistance:Â
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Topic 4.7 Changing Social Hierarchies from 1450 to 1750 | |
Thematic Focus - Social Interactions and Organization (SIO) The process by which societies group their members and the norms that govern the interactions between these groups and between individuals influence political, economic, and cultural institutions and organization. | |
Learning Objective Explain how social categories, roles, and practices have been maintained or have changed over time. | Historical Developments Many states, such as the Mughal and Ottoman empires, adopted practices to accommodate the ethnic and religious diversity of their subjects or to utilize the economic, political, and military contributions of different ethnic or religious groups. In other cases, states suppressed diversity or limited certain groups’ roles in society, politics, or the economy. Differential treatment of groups in society, politics, and the economy:
Imperial conquests and widening global economic opportunities contributed to the formation of new political and economic elites, including in China with the transition to the Qing Dynasty and in the Americas with the rise of the Casta system. The power of existing political and economic elites fluctuated as the elites confronted new challenges to their ability to affect the policies of the increasingly powerful monarchs and leaders. Existing elites:
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Topic 4.8 Continuity and Change from 1450 to 1750 | |
The final topic in this unit focuses on the skill of argumentation and so provides an opportunity for your students to draw upon the key concepts and historical developments they have studied in this unit. Using evidence relevant to this unit’s key concepts, students should practice the suggested skill for this topic. | |
Learning Objective Explain how economic developments from 1450 to 1750 affected social structures over time. | Review: Unit 4 Key Concepts
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 Unit 5: Revolutions
                                    C. 1750 - 1900
                                             AP Exam Weighting: 12-15%
                       Topic 5.1 The Enlightenment | |
Thematic Focus - Cultural Developments and Interactions (CDI)Â The development of ideas, beliefs, and religions illustrates how groups in society view themselves, and the interactions of societies and their beliefs often have political, social, and cultural implications. | |
Learning Objective Explain the intellectual and ideological context in which revolutions swept the Atlantic world from 1750 to 1900. | Historical Developments Enlightenment philosophies applied new ways of understanding and empiricist approaches to both the natural world and human relationships; they also reexamined the role that religion played in public life and emphasized the importance of reason. Philosophers developed new political ideas about the individual, natural rights, and the social contract. The rise and diffusion of Enlightenment thought that questioned established traditions in all areas of life often preceded revolutions and rebellions against existing governments. Nationalism also became a major force shaping the historical development of states and empires. |
Thematic Focus - Social Interactions and Organization (SIO) The process by which societies group their members and the norms that govern the interactions between these groups and between individuals influence political, economic, and cultural institutions and organization. | |
Learning Objective Explain how the Enlightenment affected societies over time. | Historical Developments Enlightenment ideas and religious ideals influenced various reform movements. These reform movements contributed to the expansion of rights, as seen in expanded suffrage, the abolition of slavery, and the end of serfdom. Demands for women’s suffrage and an emergent feminism challenged political and gender hierarchies. Demands:Â
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Topic 5.2 Nationalism and Revolutions in the Period from 1750 to 1900 | |
Thematic Focus - Governance (GOV) A variety of internal and external factors contribute to state formation, expansion, and decline. Governments maintain order through a variety of administrative institutions, policies, and procedures, and governments obtain, retain, and exercise power in different ways and for different purposes. | |
Learning Objective Explain causes and effects of the various revolutions in the period from 1750 to 1900. | Historical Developments People around the world developed a new sense of commonality based on language, religion, social customs, and territory. This was sometimes harnessed by governments to foster a sense of unity. The 18th century marked the beginning of an intense period of revolution and rebellion against existing governments, leading to the establishment of new nation-states around the world. Discontent with monarchist and imperial rule encouraged the development of systems of government and various ideologies, including democracy and 19th-century liberalism. Colonial subjects in the Americas led a series of rebellions inspired by democratic ideals. The American Revolution, and its successful establishment of a republic, the United States of America, was a model and inspiration for a number of the revolutions that followed. The American Revolution, the Haitian Revolution, and the Latin American independence movements facilitated the emergence of independent states in the Americas. The ideas of Enlightenment philosophers, as reflected in revolutionary documents— including the American Declaration of Independence during the American Revolution, the French “Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen” during the French Revolution, and BolĂvar’s “Letter from Jamaica” on the eve of the Latin American revolutions— influenced resistance to existing political authority, often in pursuit of independence and democratic ideals Newly imagined national communities often linked this new national identity with borders of the state, and in some cases, nationalists challenged boundaries or sought unification of fragmented regions. Call for national unification or liberation:Â
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