AP World History Study Guide Unit 1-9 Notes

TOPIC 1.1 Developments in East Asia from c. 1200 to c. 1450

• China
  • Significance of the Song Dynasty (960-1279):
    • Wealth, political stability, artistic and intellectual innovations.
    • Greatest manufacturing capability in the world.
    • Shifted from local production to market production; most commercialized society.
    • Spread of Buddhism and Confucianism.
    • Bureaucracy expanded through meritocracy, allowing for greater social mobility.
  • Economic Developments in Postclassical China:
    • The Grand Canal: Efficient waterway transportation system; enabled China to become the most populous trading area in the world.
    • Gunpowder: Technology of gunpowder and guns spread from China to all parts of Eurasia via traders on the Silk Roads.
    • Agriculture: Elaborate irrigation systems and heavy plows pulled by water buffalo or oxen increased productivity. Food production and population grew quickly.
    • Tributes: Arrangement to gain income in which other states had to pay money or provide goods to honor the Chinese emperor.
  • Social Structures in China:
    • The Song government provided aid to the poor and established public hospitals.
    • Expected that women would defer to men, seen in the constraint of foot binding.
  • Religious Diversity in China:
    • Buddhism came to China from India via the Silk Roads.
      • Three forms: Theravada, Mahayana, and Tibetan Buddhism, each with different emphases.
      • Followed the Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path.
    • Neo-Confucianism evolved (770-840): a syncretic system combining rational thought with Daoism and Buddhism.
• Japan
  • Feudalism:
    • Feudal society without a centralized government for hundreds of years.
    • Landowning aristocrats (daimyo) battled for control of the land, while most people worked as rice farmers.
  • Government:
    • In 1192, the Minamoto installed a shogun (military ruler).
    • Japan suffered from regional rivalries among aristocrats for four centuries.
    • A strong central government unifying the country emerged in the 17th century.
• Korea
  • Connection to China:
    • Korea's location led to a direct relationship with China and a tributary relationship.
    • Centralized its government in the style of the Chinese.
    • Culturally, Koreans adopted both Confucian and Buddhist beliefs.
  • Aristocracy:
    • Koreans maintained a more powerful landed aristocracy, limiting social mobility compared to China.
• Vietnam
  • Social Structures:
    • Vietnamese women enjoyed greater independence in their married lives than did Chinese women.
    • Vietnamese preferred nuclear families.
    • Vietnamese villages operated independently; political centralization was nonexistent.
    • Adopted a merit-based bureaucracy, but officials owed allegiance to the village peasants instead of the emperor.

TOPIC 1.2 Developments in Dar al-Islam from c. 1200 to c. 1450

• Innovations:
  • Advances in mathematics: Nasir al-Din al-Tusi laid the groundwork for trigonometry as a separate subject.
  • Advances in literature: ‘A’ishah al-Ba’uniyyah, a prolific female Muslim writer, described her journey toward mystical illumination.
  • Advances in medicine: Improved medical care in cities like Cairo; doctors and pharmacists studied for licenses.
• Social Structures:
  • Islamic society viewed merchants as more prestigious than in Europe and Asia.
  • Merchants grew rich from trade across the Indian Ocean and Central Asia due to the revival of the Silk Roads.
  • Muslim women enjoyed a higher status than Christian or Jewish women:
    • Allowed to inherit property and retain ownership after marriage.
    • Could remarry if widowed.
    • Could receive a cash settlement if divorced.
    • Could practice birth control.
• Transfers:
  • Preservation and commentaries on Greek moral and natural philosophy.
  • House of Wisdom in Abbasid Baghdad.
  • Scholarly and cultural transfers in Muslim and Christian Spain.
• Islamic Rule in Spain:
  • Muslim forces invaded Spain in 711.
  • Muslims ruled Spain for seven centuries, though most of the continent remained Christian.
  • Umayyad rulers in Córdoba created a climate of toleration among Muslims, Christians, and Jews.
  • Promoted trade, allowing Chinese and Southeast Asian products to enter.

TOPIC 1.3 Developments in South and Southeast Asia from c. 1200 to c. 1450

• SOUTH ASIA
  • Political Structures in South Asia:
    • Southern India was more stable than northern India.
      • The Chola Dynasty reigned over southern India for more than 400 years (850—1267).
    • Northern India experienced more upheaval.
      • After the fall of the Gupta Empire, the Rajput kingdoms gradually formed.
    • The Delhi Sultanate reigned for 300 years, from the 13th through the 16th centuries.
• Religion in South Asia:
  • Before Islam, most South Asians practiced Hinduism.
  • Differences between Hinduism and Islam:
    • Hindus pray to many gods, while Muslims are strictly monotheistic.
    • Hindu artwork and temples are filled with pictures of deities, while Muslims disapprove of any visual representation of Allah.
    • Hinduism was associated with a hierarchical caste system, while Islam has always called for the equality of all believers.
    • Hindus recognize several sacred texts, while Muslims look to only the Quran for spiritual guidance.
  • Social Structures in South Asia:
    • The arrival of Islam did little to alter the basic structure of society in South Asia.
    • Most who tried to escape the caste system failed.
    • India’s caste system is its strongest historical continuity.
    • The Bhakti Movement:
      • Began in the 12th century.
      • Hindus emphasized emotion in their spiritual life.
      • Concentrated on developing a strong attachment to a particular deity rather than rituals or studying texts.
• SOUTHEAST ASIA
  • South Asia influenced its neighbors, particularly Southeast Asia.
• Sea-Based Kingdoms:
  • The Srivijaya Empire (670-1025): A Hindu kingdom based on Sumatra that built up its navy and prospered by charging fees for ships traveling between India and China.
  • The Majapahit Kingdom (1293—1520) based on Java had 98 tributaries at its height and held onto its power by controlling sea routes. The Majapahit Kingdom was Buddhist.
• Land-Based Kingdoms:
  • The Sinhala dynasties in Sri Lanka had their roots in immigrants from northern India.
  • Buddhists arrived in the 3rd century BCE, and the island became a hub of Buddhist study.
  • The Khmer Empire (802—1431) was near the Mekong River and was not dependent on maritime prowess for its power. Complex irrigation and drainage systems led to economic prosperity.

TOPIC 1.4 State Building in the Americas

• The Mississippian Culture:
  • First large-scale civilization in North America.
  • Started in Mississippi River Valley.
  • Rigid class structure and a matrilineal society.
• The Maya City-States:
  • Mayan civilization reached its height between 250 and 900 CE.
  • Stretched over southern Mexico and much of Belize, Honduras, and Guatemala.
  • Government was based on the city-state, each ruled by a king.
  • Mayan kings claimed divine right.
  • Mayan science and religion were linked through astronomy.
• The Aztecs:
  • Originally hunter-gatherers from northern Mexico who migrated to central Mexico in the 1200s.
  • In 1325, they founded their capital Tenochtitlan.
  • Built a network of aqueducts and pyramids.
  • Developed a tributary system.
  • Aztec government was a theocracy.
  • They worshipped hundreds of deities.
  • Worship involved rituals, feast days, and human sacrifices.
  • Women played an important role in the Aztec tribute system, making cloth.
• The Inca:
  • The Incan Empire was split into four provinces, each with its own bureaucracy.
  • Instead of a tributary system, they used the mit’a system (mandatory public service).
  • The name Inca means “people of the sun,” and Inti, the sun god, was the most important.
  • Priests diagnosed illnesses, solved crimes, predicted the outcome of battles, and determined sacrifices.
  • Developed sophisticated terrace systems for cultivation of crops such as potatoes and maize.
  • In 1533, the Spanish conquered the core of the empire.

TOPIC 1.5 State Building in Africa

• Political Structures in Inland Africa
  • Sub-Saharan Africa's development was heavily influenced by Bantu migrations.
  • Communities formed kin-based networks, where families governed themselves.
  • Groups of villages became districts, and chiefs solved problems.
• Political Structures of West and East Africa
  • Exchange of goods brought wealth, power, and diversity.
  • Islam spread, adding to existing animism and Christianity.
    • Mali arose after wars weakened Ghana.
    • Zimbabwe prospered through agriculture, grazing, trade, and gold.
    • Ethiopia flourished through trade with India, Arabia, the Roman Empire, and the African interior.
  • Social Structures of Sub-Saharan Africa:
    • Communities were organized around kinship, age, and gender.
    • Men dominated activities requiring specialized skills.
    • Women engaged in agriculture and food gathering.
    • Prisoners of war, debtors, and criminals were often enslaved.
    • Owning enslaved people increased social status. A strong demand in the Middle East for enslaved workers resulted in an Indian Ocean slave trade.
  • Cultural Life in Sub-Saharan Africa:
    • Traditional religions included ancestor veneration; song lyrics facilitated communication with the spirit world.
    • Distinguished rhythmic patterns with vocals and percussive elements in African music.
    • Visual arts served a religious purpose.
    • Griots were storytellers and conduits of history.

TOPIC 1.6 Developments in Europe from c. 1200 to c. 1450

• Feudalism: Political and Social Systems
  • Feudalism provided security for peasants, equipment for warriors, and land to those who worked for a lord.
  • Wealth was measured in land rather than cash.
  • The manorial system provided economic self-sufficiency and defense, limiting the need for trade.
• Political Trends in the Later Middle Ages
  • Monarchies grew more powerful at the expense of feudal lords by employing their own bureaucracy and military.
  • King Philip II of France developed a real bureaucracy.
  • The Estates-General was a body that advised the king. It included representatives from the clergy, nobility, and commoners.
  • The Hundred Years’ War (1337-1453) stimulated a sense of unity among soldiers on each side.
• Roman Catholic Church During the Middle Ages
  • In 1054, the Christian Church split into Roman Catholics and Eastern Orthodox (the Great Schism).
  • The Church established the first universities in Europe.
  • Most philosophers, writers, and thinkers of the Middle Ages were religious leaders.
  • The Church held great power in the feudal system.
  • The Roman Catholic Church had an extensive hierarchy. Bishops owed allegiance to the pope.
  • Wealth and political power led to corruption in the church in the 13th and 14th centuries.
• Christian Crusades
  • Europeans sought to reclaim control of the Holy Land.
  • Economic and social trends of the 11th century added to the pressure among Europeans to invade the Middle East.
  • The Crusades were a series of European military campaigns in the Middle East (1095 - 1200s).
• Economic and Social Change
  • The middle class (bourgeoisie) began to grow, including shopkeepers, craftspeople, merchants, and small landholders.
  • Renewed commerce led to larger cities, population growth, and more frequent markets.
  • Jews faced widespread Anti-Semitism and were expelled from England (1290), France (1394), Spain (1492), and Portugal (1497).
  • Muslims faced discrimination in Europe. The Spanish king expelled remaining Muslims in 1492 who would not convert to Christianity.
  • As urbanization continued, women lost many rights due to the growing wave of patriarchal thinking.
• Renaissance
  • The Renaissance was a period characterized by a revival of interest in classical Greek and Roman literature, culture, art, and civic virtue.
  • Johannes Gutenberg’s printing press permitted manuscripts to be mass-produced, leading to a growth in literacy and the rapid spread of ideas
  • Humanism, the focus on individuals rather than God, was one characteristic of the Renaissance. Humanists sought education and reform.

TOPIC 1.7 Comparisons in the Period from c. 1200 to c. 1450

• State-Building and New Empires
  • The Song Dynasty in China continued progressing.
  • The Abbasid Caliphate was fragmented by invaders.
  • Rulers of Mali created a more centralized government.
  • The Aztecs used a tributary system and the Incas used the mit’a system.
  • Feudal ties reduced in England and France, but not in Eastern Europe.
  • Japan became more decentralized and feudal.
• Four Types of State-Building, c.1200-c.1450
  • Emergence of New States
    • States arise on land once controlled by another empire.
    • Examples: Mamluk Empire, Seljuk Empire, Delhi Sultanate
  • Revival of Former Empires
    • New leadership continues or rebuilds a previous empire with innovations.
    • Examples: Song Dynasty, Mali Empire, Holy Roman Empire
  • Synthesis of Different Traditions
    • A state adapts foreign ideas to local conditions.
    • Examples: Japan, Delhi Sultanate, Neo-Confucianism
  • Expansion in Scope
    • An existing state expands its influence through conquest, trade, or other means.
    • Examples: Incas, Aztecs, City-states in East Africa, City-states in Southeast Asia
• State-Building through Trade
  • Powered by increased trade, cross-cultural exchanges of technology and innovation increased.
  • Paper manufacturing spread across Eurasia, reaching Europe around the 13th century. Increased literacy.
  • Europe benefited from exchanges with the Middle East, and through it with all of Asia.
• Patriarchy and Religion
  • Social organization in most cultures remained patriarchal. However, cultures varied.
  • Convent life for Christians in Europe and Jainism and Buddhist religious communities in South Asia provided opportunities for women.
  • In China, women lost independence as the custom of foot binding became more common.

Unit 2: Network of Exchange (c. 1200 to c. 1450)

• TOPIC 2.1 The Silk Roads
  • Causes of the Growth of Exchange Networks
    • The Crusades helped pave the way to expanding networks of exchange.
    • Rise of the Mongol Empire:
      • Parts of the Silk Roads were unified under an authority that respected merchants and enforced laws.
      • The Mongols improved roads and punished bandits, increasing the safety of travel on the Silk Roads.
    • Improvements in Transportation:
      • Saddles for camels.
      • China made advances in naval technology (rudder and magnetic compass).
  • Effects of the Growth of Exchange Networks
    • Cities along the routes became centers of trade.
    • China developed new financial systems like flying cash.
    • Increased demand for luxury goods led to expanded production.
    • Increased demand also led to the expansion of iron and steel manufactured in China, motivating its proto-industrialization.
• TOPIC 2.2 The Mongol Empire and the Making of the Modern World
  • Genghis Khan
    • In 1210, Genghis Khan and his troops attacked the Jin Empire.
    • In 1219, Khan conquered the Kara Khitai Empire and the Islamic Khwarazm Empire.
    • By 1227, Genghis Khan’s kingdom reached from the North China Sea to eastern Persia.
    • Mongolian soldiers were strong riders and proficient with the short bow.
    • He instituted a policy of religious tolerance.
    • New trade channels were established between Asia, the Middle East, Africa, and Europe.
  • Mongolian Empire Expands
    • Three of Genghis Khan's grandsons set up their own kingdoms.
    • In 1236, Batu led an army into Russia and conquered Russian kingdoms and forced them to pay tributes.
    • Resistance to the Mongols created the foundation for the future modern Russian state.
  • The Long-Term Impact of the Mongolian Invasions
    • Their empire was the largest continuous land empire in history.
    • The Mongols built a system of roads and maintained and guarded the trade routes.
    • The Mongols transferred Greco-Islamic medical knowledge and the Arabic numbering system to Western Europe.
    • After the Mongols declined in power, the kingdoms and states of Europe, Asia, and Southeast Asia continued or copied the process of centralizing power.
    • Mongol fighting techniques led to the end of Western Europe’s use of knights in armor.
• TOPIC 2.3 Exchange in the Indian Ocean
  • Causes of Expanded Exchange in the Indian Ocean
    • Spread of Islam connected more cities than ever before.
    • Increased demand for specialized products.
    • Trade of enslaved people.
    • Advances in maritime technology.
    • Growth of States: The trading networks fostered the growth of states to help institutionalize the revenue from trade.
  • Effects of Expanded Exchange in the Indian Ocean
    • Diasporic Communities: Merchants interacted with the surrounding cultures and peoples.
    • Increased demand caused trade to expand.
    • Swahili City-States: Thriving city-states developed along the east coast of Africa.
    • Trade brought considerable wealth to the cities on the East African coast.
• TOPIC 2.4 Trans-Saharan Trade Routes
  • By the end of the 8th century C.E., the trans-Saharan trade had become famous.
  • Gold was the most precious commodity traded.
  • For more than 700 years, trans-Saharan trade brought wealth to the societies of West Africa, particularly Ghana and Mali.
  • Merchants also brought Islam, which spread into Sub-Saharan Africa.
  • West African Empire Expansion
    • The government of Mali profited from the gold trade and taxed nearly all other trade entering West Africa.
    • Timbuktu and Gao accumulated the most wealth and developed into centers of Muslim life.
    • The growth in trade and wealth gave rise to the need to administer and maintain it.
• Empires in Western Eurasia and Africa in the 13th Century
  • Mali
    • Location: West Africa
    • Major City: Timbuktu
    • Peak Years: 1200s to 1400s
    • Key Figures: Sundiata, Mansa Musa
    • Legacy: Connected West and North Africa through trade, Spread Islam in West Africa
  • Al-Andalus
    • Location: Spain
    • Major City: Cordoba
    • Peak Years: 711 to 1492
    • Key Figures: Ibn Rushd, Maimonides
    • Legacy: Created vibrant, tolerant society, Preserved classical Greek learning
  • Byzantine Empire
    • Location: Middle East
    • Major City: Constantinople
    • Peak Years: 330 to 1453
    • Key Figures: Justinian, Heraclius
    • Legacy: Fostered trade, Carried on Roman legacy
  • Kievan Rus
    • Location: Russia
    • Major City: Kiev
    • Peak Years: 900s to 1200s
    • Key Figures: Vladimir I, Yaroslav I
    • Legacy:Developed first large civilization, Spread Christianity
• TOPIC 2.5 Cultural Consequences of Connectivity
  • Influence of Buddhism on East Asian Culture
    • Buddhism came to China from India via the Silk Roads.
    • Japan and Korea also adopted Buddhism and Confucianism.
    • In Korea the educated elite studied Confucian classics, while Buddhist doctrine attracted the peasants.
  • Spread of Hinduism, Buddhism, and Islam
    • Through trade, Hinduism and Buddhism spread to Southeast Asia.
    • The Srivijaya Empire on Sumatra was a Hindu kingdom, while the Majapahit Kingdom on Java was Buddhist.
    • Through merchants, missionaries, and conquests, Islam spread over a wide swath of Africa, South Asia, and Southeast Asia.
  • Scientific and Technological Innovations
    • Along with religion, science and technology traveled the trade routes.
    • Islamic scholars translated Greek literary classics into Arabic.
    • Scholars also brought back mathematics texts from India and techniques for papermaking from China.
    • They made advances in hospital care, including surgery.
• TOPIC 2.6 Environmental Consequences of Connectivity
  • Agricultural Effects of Exchange Networks
    • As the population of China grew, people migrated southward to the Champa rice growing region.
    • Environmental Degradation:
      • Increases in population put pressure on resources.
      • For example, overgrazing outside of Great Zimbabwe led to its abandonment in the late 1400s.
  • Spread of Epidemics through Exchange Networks
    • The Mongol conquests helped to transmit the fleas that carried the Bubonic Plague (AKA the Black Death).
    • The Black Death had a tremendous impact on Europe, killing one-third of the population.
    • About 25 million Chinese and other Asians died between 1332 and 1347.
• TOPIC 2.7 Comparison of Economic Exchange
  • Similarities among Networks of Exchange
    • The Silk Roads through the Gobi Desert and mountain passes allowed merchants to specialize in luxury goods.
    • The monsoon-dependent trade routes in the Indian Ocean allowed merchants to exchange goods that were too heavy to transport by land.
    • The trans-Saharan trade routes were where merchants traded salt from North Africa with gold from the kingdoms south of the desert.

Exchange Effects

    *   The trade routes all gave rise to trading cities.
    *   The growth of trading cities gave rise to another effect of the trade networks: centralization.
    *   Trading cities along each of the trade routes underwent developments, using their wealth to keep the routes and the cities safe.
    *   Another aspect of trade in the cities that encouraged centralization was the desire for a standardized currency.

Unit 3: Land-Based Empires: 12%-15% of the AP test (c. 1200 to c. 1450)

• TOPIC 3.1 Empires Expand
  • The Gunpowder Empires
    • Large, multiethnic states in Southwest, Central, and South Asia that relied on firearms to conquer and control territories.
    • Included the Russian, Ottoman, Safavid, and the Mughal Empires.
  • Europe
    • The mid-1400s saw the end of a wave of plagues, the conclusion of the Hundred Years’ War between France and England, and the invention of the Gutenberg printing press followed by an increase in literacy.
  • Russia
    • Russia remained tightly linked to Europe.
    • Russia was also a product of Europe as a result of Viking invasions and trading.
    • When Ivan IV (ruled 1547—1584), called Ivan the Terrible, was crowned tsar in 1547, he immediately set about to expand the Russian border eastward
  • East Asia
    • China’s Yuan Dynasty was overthrown by the Ming Dynasty in 1368.
    • During the Ming era, the Portuguese and other Europeans arrived, aiming to encroach on the Asian trade network.
    • In 1644, the powerful Manchu from neighboring Manchuria seized power and established the Qing Dynasty, which ruled until 1911.
    • During both of these dynasties, Japan and Korea experienced parallel developments but with unique aspects.
  • Rise of the Islamic Gunpowder Empires
    • The warrior leaders of the Ottoman, Safavid, and Mughal Empires shared many traits besides being Muslims:
      • They descended from Turkic nomads who once lived in Central Asia.
      • They spoke a Turkic language.
      • They took advantage of power vacuums left by the breakup of Mongol khanates.
      • They relied on gunpowder weapons, such as artillery and cannons.
• TOPIC 3.2 Empires: Administration
  • Centralizing Control in Europe
    • England’s King James believed in the divine right of kings.
    • In England, the Tudors (ruled 1485—1603) relied on the “justices of the peace.