World History Final Exam Review Notes (copy)

Agricultural Revolution

• Transition from hunter-gatherer societies to settled agricultural societies around 10,000 years ago.
• Domestication of plants and animals led to farming and permanent settlements.
• Effects:
  • Rise of civilization
  • Population growth
  • Social stratification
  • Development of specialized labor
  • Establishment of permanent settlements

Tools to Unify Empires

• Military conquest and expansion
• Diplomacy and alliances
• Political centralization and administration
• Cultural assimilation and propaganda
• Infrastructure development and communication networks

Factors Contributing to the Decline and Fall of Empires

• Internal strife and civil unrest
• Economic collapse or stagnation
• External invasions or military defeats
• Overextension of resources and territories
• Cultural or religious conflicts
• Corruption and mismanagement

Confucianism: Fundamental Principles and Teachings

• Ren (benevolence, kindness, humanity)
• Li (propriety, ritual, etiquette)
• Xiao (filial piety, respect for family elders)
• Yi (righteousness, justice)
• Zhong (loyalty, fidelity to one's duties)

Five Pillars of Faith in Islam

• Shahada: Declaration of faith, affirming the oneness of Allah and the prophethood of Muhammad
• Salah: Ritual prayers performed five times a day facing the Kaaba in Mecca
• Zakat: Obligatory charity, typically a portion of one's wealth given to the needy and for the welfare of the community
• Sawm: Fasting during the month of Ramadan, abstaining from food, drink, and other physical needs from dawn to sunset
• Hajj: Pilgrimage to Mecca, which Muslims are required to undertake at least once in their lifetime if physically and financially able

Indian Caste System

• Social hierarchy in India dividing society into hierarchical groups known as castes.
• Each caste traditionally assigned specific occupations and social roles.
• System primarily based on birth with limited social mobility.
• Major castes:
  • Brahmins (priests and scholars)
  • Kshatriyas (warriors and rulers)
  • Vaishyas (traders and farmers)
  • Shudras (laborers and service providers)
  • "Untouchables" traditionally outside the caste system.
• A rigid social structure which divides Hindus into hierarchical groups based on their karma (work) and dharma (duty), can only move castes after death and being reincarnated

Major World Religions and Guidance for Devout Life

• Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Judaism.
• Guidance through:
  • Scriptures: Sacred texts offering moral and ethical guidelines.
  • Rituals and Practices: Prayers and ceremonies to express faith.
  • Moral Codes: Ethical principles guiding interactions and conduct.
  • Community and Leadership: Support and guidance from religious communities.
• Hinduism: The world’s oldest religion, with roots and customs dating back more than 4,000 years. The Caste System is closely related to this religion and its religious text is the Vedas
• Buddhism: A faith that was founded by Siddhartha Gautama (“Buddha”), a former Hindu Prince, more than 2,500 years ago in India. It rejects the caste system and uses the Four Noble Truths and the Middle Path
• Judaism: The world’s oldest monotheistic religion, dating back nearly 4,000 years. Religious Text = Hebrew Bible (Written Torah)
• Christianity: This faith centers on beliefs regarding the birth, life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Monotheistic religion. Religious Text = Bible
• Islam: This religion is monotheistic and has about 1.8 billion Muslims worldwide; founded in the 7th century CE. Five Pillars of Islam = Shahada (faith), Salat (prayer), Zakat (charity), Sawm (fasting), Hajj (pilgrimage). Religious Text = Quran

Advancements in Art & Knowledge

• Ancient Greece (Classical Period):
  • Philosophy, mathematics, drama, and art advancements.
  • Works of Plato, Aristotle, and the Parthenon.
• Islamic Golden Age:
  • Advancements in science, mathematics, medicine, literature, and art.
• Renaissance:
  • Cultural rebirth in Europe (14th-17th centuries).
  • Advancements in art, literature, philosophy, and science.
  • Works of Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, and Shakespeare.

Countries of Origin for Major World Religions

• Hinduism: Indian subcontinent, ancient India.
• Judaism: Ancient kingdoms of Israel and Judah, Levant (modern-day Israel and Palestine).
• Christianity: Palestine (modern-day Israel and Palestine).
• Islam: Arabian Peninsula, Mecca and Medina (modern-day Saudi Arabia).
• Buddhism: Ancient India, founded by Siddhartha Gautama (the Buddha).

Feudal System in Medieval Europe

• Developed due to the need for security and stability in a decentralized society.
• Purpose: Establish a hierarchical social and economic structure with land granted for loyalty and military service.
• Reasons for decline:
  • Economic Changes: Shifts in agricultural practices and the rise of commerce.
  • Political Centralization: Consolidation of power by monarchs and the emergence of nation-states.
  • Social Upheaval: Revolts, conflicts, and the rise of a money-based economy.

Protestant Reformation in 1517

• Causes:
  • Corruption in the Catholic Church: Sale of indulgences and abuses of power.
  • Religious Dissent: Desire for religious reform and a return to early Christian teachings.
  • Political Ambitions: Monarchs challenging the authority of the Catholic Church.
• Basic differences between Catholic and Protestant: (a) Get to Heaven on faith alone, (b) No paying to get to Heaven (indulgences). Many religions are created from this movement. All of the religions created still believe in Jesus as a Savior

Columbian Exchange

• Widespread exchange of plants, animals, foods, human populations, diseases, and ideas between the Eastern and Western Hemispheres after Christopher Columbus's voyages.
• Globalization of agriculture, commerce, and culture.
• Significant ecological and demographic changes.
• Spread of diseases devastating to indigenous populations.
• The moving of indigenous plants, animals, diseases, religions and technology from the “Old World” (Europe) to North and South America

Italian Renaissance Influence on Education

• Promoted humanism, emphasizing the study of classical texts, literature, philosophy, and the arts.
• Establishment of humanist schools and universities.
• Subjects taught: grammar, rhetoric, history, and moral philosophy.

Impact of the Printing Press

• Revolutionized the spread of information.
• Books and printed materials became more accessible and affordable.
• Increase in literacy rates.
• Dissemination of knowledge and spread of ideas.
• Rise of the Protestant Reformation as reformers circulated their ideas.
• Johannes Gutenberg invented this which enabled cheaper books and therefore easier access to learning. One of the most important inventions. Printed a ton of Bibles, which lead to the Protestant Reformation

Similarities between Italian Renaissance, Protestant Reformation, Scientific Revolution, and Enlightenment

• Significant intellectual, cultural, and societal shifts.
• Questioning of traditional authority.
• Focus on reason and empirical evidence.
• Advancements in knowledge, science, and technology.
• Challenging established beliefs and institutions.

\"The Wealth of Nations\" by Adam Smith

• Author: Adam Smith (1776).
• Argued for free-market capitalism.
• Advocated for individual economic freedom, division of labor, and the invisible hand of the market.
• Mechanisms for economic growth and prosperity.

Documents Limiting Governmental Power

• Magna Carta (1215):
  • Established the principle of the rule of law.
  • Limited the power of the monarchy in medieval England.
• English Bill of Rights (1689):
  • Limited the power of the English monarchy.
  • Affirmed the rights of Parliament and individual citizens.
• United States Constitution (1787):
  • Established a system of checks and balances.
  • Prevented the concentration of power in any one branch of government.

Main Ideas of Enlightenment Thinkers

• John Locke: natural rights (life, liberty, and property), social contract theory, government by consent.
• Montesquieu: separation of powers within government.
• Voltaire: freedom of speech and religious tolerance.
• Rousseau: concept of the general will, importance of popular sovereignty.

Influence on the French Revolution

• The Enlightenment influenced the French Revolution.
• Promoted ideas of individual liberty, equality, and the rights of man.
• Served as intellectual precursors to the revolutionary ideals.

French Equivalent to the American Declaration of Independence

• Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen.
• Both assert principles of liberty, equality, and emphasize the natural rights of individuals.

Causes and Effects of Britain's Industrial Revolution

• Causes:
  • Technological advancements.
  • Growing population.
  • Access to natural resources.
  • Expansion of trade and markets.
• Effects:
  • Urbanization.
  • Economic growth.
  • Social change.
  • Rise of industrial capitalism.
• Creation of the factory system using machine power to produce an abundance of goods to sell at a cheaper price. Impacted the trade presence of European countries and their need for raw materials from colonies

Differences between the American and French Revolutions

• American Revolution:
  • Struggle for independence from British colonial rule.
• French Revolution:
  • Radical social and political upheaval.
  • Sought to overthrow the monarchy and establish a republic based on revolutionary ideals.

Native Peoples' Reactions to European Colonial Powers during Imperialism

• Resistance through revolts, rebellions, and armed conflicts.
• Aimed at resisting colonization and preserving autonomy and cultural heritage.
• Sepoy Rebellion (1857-1858) in India:
  • Sparked by cultural insensitivity, religious concerns, and economic exploitation by the British East India Company.
  • Indian sepoys revolted against British officers, leading to widespread violence.
• Boxer Rebellion (1899-1901) in China:
  • Violent anti-foreign and anti-Christian uprising.
  • Targeted foreign missionaries and Chinese Christians.
  • Suppressed by a coalition of foreign powers.

Growth of the Modern Working Class

• Product of the Industrial Revolution.
• Rise of factories, urbanization, and wage labor.
• Emergence of a new social class of industrial workers.

Main Ideas of Karl Marx

• Dialectical materialism, historical materialism, class struggle, and critique of capitalism.
• Advocated for the overthrow of the capitalist system.
• Establishment of a classless society based on common ownership of the means of production.

Colonialism (Old Imperialism) vs. New Imperialism

• Colonialism (Old Imperialism):
  • Establishment and maintenance of colonies in distant territories.
  • Economic exploitation and political control.
• New Imperialism:
  • Late 19th-century European colonization of Africa and Asia.
  • Scramble for colonies and competition among European powers.
  • Use of military force to assert dominance.

Japan as a Colonial Power by the End of the 1800s

• Through modernization and imperialism known as the Meiji Restoration.
• Industrialization, military expansion, and territorial acquisition to assert dominance in East Asia.

China's Concerns about Western Powers (1839-1901)

• Opium Wars, the Treaty of Nanjing, the Taiping Rebellion, and the Boxer Rebellion.
• Highlighted China's vulnerability to foreign intervention.
• Sparked efforts to modernize and strengthen the country.

The Final Solution

• Nazi regime's plan to systematically exterminate the Jewish population of Europe during the Holocaust.
• Construction of concentration camps and gas chambers, as well as mass shootings and other forms of genocide.
• Driven by Hitler's anti-Semitic ideology and the goal of creating a racially pure Aryan society.

Global Effect of the Holocaust

• Widespread condemnation of genocide and atrocities.
• Establishment of human rights laws and institutions.
• Increased awareness of the dangers of prejudice, discrimination, and totalitarianism.

Totalitarian Regimes: Fascist Italy, Nazi Germany, and Communist Russia

• Commonalities:
  • Concentration of power in a single party or leader.
  • Suppression of dissent.
  • Control of the media and propaganda.
  • Use of violence and repression to maintain control.
• Differences:
  • Ideologies, methods of governance, and specific goals.
• E. A ruler with total power over a country, typically one who has obtained control by force. Often rise to power when a country is in a time of crisis

Decolonization

• Process by which colonies gained independence from colonial rule.
• Occurred primarily in the mid-20th century.
• Driven by nationalist movements, international pressure, and the decline of colonial powers after World War II.

Importance of the Middle East Today

• Strategic location.
• Vast energy resources.
• Religious significance.
• Geopolitical conflicts.
• Key player in global politics, economics, and security.
• Ongoing issues: regional conflicts, terrorism, and nuclear proliferation.
• Small country in the Middle East located on the eastern shores of the Mediterranean Sea. As a result of Zionism (wanted to establish a Jewish homeland), along with a search for safety after WWII, Israel was named an independent state in 1948.

Initial Purpose of NATO

• Provide collective defense against the threat of Soviet expansionism and aggression during the Cold War.
• Formed in 1949 by Western European and North American countries.
• Promote security and stability in the face of communist expansion in Europe.

The Cold War

• Period of geopolitical tension and rivalry between the United States and its allies (the West) and the Soviet Union and its allies (the East) from the late 1940s to the early 1990s.
• Started as a result of ideological, political, and military tensions following World War II.

Mao Zedong

• Leader of the Chinese Communist Party and founding father of the People's Republic of China.
• Rose to power through the Chinese Communist Revolution in the 1930s and 1940s.
• Maintained power through various political campaigns, including the Great Leap Forward and the Cultural Revolution.
• Led communist forces in China through a long revolution beginning in 1927 and ruled the nation’s communist government from its establishment in 1949. Much of his support came from peasants in China

Partition of India

• Division of British India into the independent nations of India and Pakistan in 1947.
• Accompanied by widespread violence, displacement, and communal riots.
• The action or state of dividing or being divided into parts. Usually denotes India after the British leave, Hindu vs Muslim areas, Still a major point of resentment between the countries

Mohandas Gandhi and Indian Independence

• India sought independence from British colonial rule during the first half of the 20th century.
• Mohandas Gandhi's philosophy for achieving Indian independence was based on Satyagraha, which advocated for nonviolent resistance and civil disobedience.
• He believed in confronting injustice through peaceful means such as strikes, boycotts, protests, and noncooperation, emphasizing moral principles like truth, love, and compassion.
• Gandhi's leadership inspired millions and played a crucial role in India's eventual independence from British rule in 1947.
• Known to his many followers as Mahatma, or “the great-souled one”. Began his activism in South Africa in the early 1900s to fight apartheid. After World War I, he became the leading figure in India’s struggle to gain independence from Great Britain. Salt March was one of his most significant protests

Comparison of Revolutions: Russian, Chinese, American, and French

• Russian (1917) and Chinese (1949) Revolutions, like the American (1775) and French (1789) Revolutions, were major upheavals that led to significant political, social, and economic changes.
• Differences:
  • The American and French Revolutions aimed to overthrow monarchies and establish democratic republics, while the Russian and Chinese Revolutions sought to overthrow existing governments and establish communist regimes.
  • The American and French Revolutions were largely driven by demands for political rights and liberties, while the Russian and Chinese Revolutions were fueled by socioeconomic grievances and desires for class equality.
  • The aftermath of the American and French Revolutions resulted in the establishment of relatively stable democratic systems, while the Russian and Chinese Revolutions led to totalitarian regimes characterized by repression and centralized control.

Current Issues in the Middle East Pertaining to Israel

• Israeli-Palestinian conflict: The ongoing conflict between Israel and Palestinians over land, borders, settlements, and the status of Jerusalem.
• Security threats: Israel faces security challenges from regional adversaries and non-state actors, including terrorist organizations like Hamas and Hezbollah.
• Diplomatic relations: Israel's relationships with neighboring countries and the broader Arab world remain complex, with ongoing tensions and occasional diplomatic breakthroughs.

Japanese Economic Miracle

• Rapid and sustained economic growth and development experienced by Japan in the decades following World War II.
• High rates of economic expansion, industrialization, technological innovation, and export-led growth.
• Transformed Japan into one of the world's leading economic powers.
• Japan’s recovery after WWII and the nuclear bombing of Nagasaki and Hiroshima by the U.S. Built schools, Created new government → Parliamentary democracy (constitutional monarchy), Very limited military, Economy boomed

China's One-Child Policy

• Purpose: Control population growth and alleviate social, economic, and environmental pressures.
• Implemented as a response to concerns about overpopulation.
• Restricted most urban couples to having only one child, enforced through fines, penalties, and other measures.

Deng Xiaoping's Impact on China

• Initiated economic reforms and opening up policies that transformed China's economy and society.
• Policies promoted market-oriented reforms, foreign investment, privatization, and modernization.
• Led to rapid economic growth and the emergence of China as a global economic powerhouse.

Tiananmen Square Massacre

• Violent crackdown by the Chinese government on pro-democracy protests in Beijing's Tiananmen Square.
• The protests, which began as student-led demonstrations calling for political reforms, were brutally suppressed by the Chinese military.

Globalization

• Increasing interconnectedness and interdependence among countries, economies, societies, and cultures through trade, investment, technology, communication, and migration.
• Involves the flow of goods, services, capital, information, and people across national borders.

The United Nations (UN)

• International organization founded in 1945 to promote peace, security, cooperation, and development among member states.
• Seeks to address global issues, including:
  • Peacekeeping and conflict resolution
  • Human rights protection
  • Humanitarian assistance
  • Sustainable development
  • Environmental conservation
• Criticism of the UN includes concerns about effectiveness, bureaucracy, political bias, and challenges in addressing complex global problems.

Nuclear Proliferation

• Spread of nuclear weapons and technology to additional countries or non-state actors.
• Countries of greatest concern include those with nuclear capabilities, such as North Korea, Iran, and Pakistan, as well as concerns about the security of nuclear materials and the potential for nuclear terrorism.

Genocide

• Deliberate and systematic extermination of a particular ethnic, racial, religious, or national group.
• Rwanda and Darfur are illustrative examples of genocide:
  • The Rwandan Genocide (1994) saw the mass slaughter of Tutsi minority and moderate Hutu civilians by Hutu extremists, resulting in hundreds of thousands of deaths within a few months.
  • The Darfur Genocide in Sudan, ongoing since the early 2000s, involves the systematic targeting of ethnic groups by the Sudanese government and government-supported militias, resulting in widespread violence, displacement, and deaths.
• Apartheid: A policy or system of segregation or discrimination on grounds of race → In South Africa lasted until 1994
• Nelson Mandela: Helped bring an end to apartheid and has been a global advocate for human rights. A leader of both peaceful protests and armed resistance against the white minority’s oppressive regime in a racially divided South Africa. He participated in the eradication of apartheid and in 1994 became the first black president of South Africa
• Members of a Central Asian ethnographic group of closely related tribal peoples who live mainly on the Mongolian Plateau. Known for conquest of Eurasia through war. Major leader = Genghis Khan. Helped revive trade through Silk Road but this led to spread of disease (Black Plague)
  *Imperialism: A policy of extending a country's power and influence through diplomacy or military force
  *Berlin Conference: In 1884 the leaders of fourteen European countries and the United States came together to discuss control of Africa’s resources. Discussed the partitioning of Africa, establishing rules to divide territory and resources among the Western countries at the expense of the African people. No representatives from Africa were invited/present
  *Developed Nations: Also called an industrialized country—has a mature and sophisticated economy, usually measured by gross domestic product (GDP) and/or average income per resident
  *Developing Nations: Also called a less developed country—has a lower gross domestic product (GDP) than developed countries, with a less mature and sophisticated economy
  *World War I: Began after the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria. Germany, Austria-Hungary, Bulgaria and the Ottoman Empire (the Central Powers) fought against Great Britain, France, Russia, Italy, Romania, Japan and the United States (the Allied Powers). MAIN (Militarism, Alliances, Imperialism, Nationalism)
  *World War II: Seen as a result of the instability caused by WWI. Rising to power in an economically and politically unstable Germany, Adolf Hitler rearmed the nation and signed treaties with Italy and Japan to form the Axis Powers. Allied Powers made up of the USSR, Britain, France, and the U.S.