AP World History Review
UNIT 1 (1200-1450)
Big Idea 1: Song China
Economically advanced.
Confucian and bureaucratic ideals.
Champa rice contributed to population growth.
Economic powerhouse.
Significant advancements in technology and culture.
Big Idea 2: Dar al-Islam
Emergence as the Abbasid Caliphate declined.
Cultural region unified by Islam.
Spread of Islam through Sufi missionaries and trade.
Extensive trade connections led to syncretism along the Indian Ocean, Silk Road, and Saharan trade routes.
Innovations in politics and intellectual thought, drawing from Greek/Roman classics and the "Golden Age" of Islam.
Big Idea 3: Influence of Religions in Asia
Hinduism, Buddhism, and Islam shaped state-building processes in Asia.
Big Idea 4: American Civilizations
Development of strong states and urban centers.
Aztecs: Tenochtitlan and tribute system.
Mississippi culture: Cahokia and mound building.
Big Idea 5: African State Building
Strengthened through trade networks and religion.
Islamic influence via Saharan and Indian Ocean trade.
Big Idea 6: Europe After the Fall of Rome
Religion and state-building shaped Europe.
Feudal kingdoms and a strong Roman Catholic Church defined the Middle Ages.
Early Europe was pre-modern and non-dominant, characterized by manorialism, serfdom, and the three-field system.
UNIT 2
Big Idea 1: Diasporic Communities and Trade
Diasporic communities facilitated trade through social connections.
Zheng He's treasure fleets brought wealth via the Indian Ocean.
Exchange networks expanded trade using transportation technologies.
New empires in Africa encouraged trade.
Spread of Islam through trade, exemplified by Mansa Musa’s hajj.
Big Idea 2: Cultural Diffusion
Buddhism entered China via the Silk Roads, evolving over time.
Similar diffusion patterns for Hinduism and Islam through trade and conquest.
Syncretic cultures, e.g., Delhi Sultanate and Timbuktu, were crucial.
Increased interconnectedness led to the fall of empires, such as Baghdad being sacked by the Mongols in 1258, marking the decline of the Abbasid Caliphate.
Increased travel and documentation, such as the accounts of Ibn Battuta.
Big Idea 3: Environmental Impact
Increased interconnectivity had a significant environmental impact.
Trade spread new goods, including biological items, which had consequences.
Bubonic Plague as a key example of disease spread.
Big Idea 4: Mongols and Trade
The large Mongol empire facilitated trade through Pax Mongolica (safe trade routes under one empire).
Furthered interconnectedness and exchange of technology, communication, and culture.
UNIT 3 (1450-1750)
Big Idea 1: Land-Based Empires and Gunpowder
Empires expanded using gunpowder.
Gunpowder enabled empires to consolidate power and conquer new lands.
Ottomans: Janissaries (Christian boys trained in gunpowder weapons and converted).
Safavids: Conflict with Ottomans due to Shia-Sunni divide.
Mughals: Displaced Delhi Sultanate using gunpowder; Akbar as a tolerant leader.
Manchu/Qing dynasty replaced Ming dynasty.
Big Idea 2: Rulers and Power
Rulers maintained power through:
Establishing bureaucracies.
Sponsoring the creation of art.
Centralizing tax collection.
Developing large military bases.
These actions demonstrated power.
Louis XIV (14th) of France built the Palace of Versailles to demonstrate power and control nobles.
Big Idea 3: Belief Systems
Belief systems either united or divided people.
Martin Luther and his 95 Theses initiated the Reformation.
The printing press aided the spread of reformation ideas.
The Catholic/Counter-Reformation addressed some issues raised by Martin Luther but reinforced other doctrines, solidifying the split in Christianity.
UNIT 4
Big Idea 1: Maritime Technology
New maritime technology facilitated transoceanic trade and development of maritime empires.
Technologies: lateen sails, astrolabes, and compasses.
European ship technology: caravels and fluyts for increased cargo capacity.
Big Idea 2: European Exploration
European states sponsored voyages for:
Wealth.
Spreading Christianity.
Personal glory.
Big Idea 3: Columbian Exchange
Transfer of biological goods to and from the Americas.
Europeans aimed to colonize the Americas.
Biological goods: corn, potatoes, horses.
Diseases: Smallpox and measles devastated native populations.
Big Idea 4: Maritime Empires and Coerced Labor
European states built empires fueled by mercantilist policies and coerced labor.
British East India Company established trading posts in India.
Spanish conquest of Latin America due to disease-induced weakness of native populations.
Coerced labor systems: encomienda system and Mita labor for farming cash crops and mining silver in Potosi mines.
Big Idea 5: Impact of Maritime Empires
Development of maritime empires changed economic and societal conditions.
Triangular trade benefited economies but also involved forced migration.
Big Idea 6: Resistance to Colonial Rule
Resistance occurred against cultural, political, and economic imperialism.
Resistance was often violent.
Big Idea 7: Social Changes and Continuities
Social categories, roles, and practices changed, though some remained the same.
Chinese civil service exam persisted, but the native Han Chinese were oppressed by the Qing.
UNIT 5 (1750-1900)
Big Idea 1: Enlightenment
New ways of thinking from the Enlightenment led to reform and revolution.
Social contract theory: government exists by the consent of the people, enabling citizens to reform societies for more rights, e.g., women's suffrage.
Big Idea 2: Nationalism and Revolution
Nationalism, in addition to Enlightenment ideas, sparked revolutions.
Examples: American, Haitian, and French Revolutions.
Infringement of rights led to the American Revolution, inspiring other independence movements.
Important texts: Declaration of Independence, Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen, and Jamaica Letter.
Big Idea 3: Industrial Revolution in Britain
Transformed global manufacturing.
Britain's early industrialization: natural resources, new technologies, and geographical advantages.
Factory systems mass-produced goods like textiles for trade.
Labor became less skilled due to reliance on machines.
Big Idea 4: Decline in Global Manufacturing
Middle Eastern and Asian countries declined in global manufacturing due to lack of industrialization.
Meiji Restoration in Japan was an exception.* Big Idea 5: New Technologies
New technologies changed manufacturing.
Railroads united societies into single economies rather than regional markets.
Railroads consolidated colonial power, e.g., Cecil Rhodes in Africa uniting colonies.
Big Idea 6: Economic Shifts
Significant economic shifts: free market policies, transnational businesses, and increased standards of living.
Adam Smith and laissez-faire economics reduced government intervention.
Transnational corporations like Unilever had factories and sold goods worldwide.
Big Idea 7: Reforms
Industrialization led to reforms due to issues, particularly for the working class.
Factory workers formed labor unions to promote workers' rights.
UNIT 6
Big Idea 1: Ideologies of Imperialism
Various ideologies contributed to the growth of imperialism.
White supremacism, the "white man’s burden," and Social Darwinism led to the idea that "stronger" states had a duty to control others.
Other motivations: religious conversion and nationalism.
Big Idea 2: Consolidation of Power
Imperial states consolidated and expanded power through various means.
Sepoy Rebellion, caused by harsh policies, led to direct imperialism.
Desire for raw materials in Africa led to the Berlin Conference, which determined control over African regions.
Big Idea 3: Colonial Resistance
New imperialism led to new colonial resistance.
Tupac Amaru revolted against poor conditions in Peru, as did the Sepoy Rebellion in India.
American westward expansion resulted in wars with indigenous groups.
Big Idea 4: Extraction of Raw Materials
Imperial powers needed raw materials for industrialization and external food sources.
More cash crops like cotton or sugar were produced instead of food.
Colonies served the economies of their mother nations instead of their own.
Big Idea 5: Economic Imperialism
Industrialized states and businesses practiced economic imperialism, mainly in Asia and Latin America.
Opium Wars: Chinese leaders angered by opium trade to fix trade deficit.
British victory due to superior industrial capacity, better weapons and production.
British economic control over China without political control.
Spheres of influence in China: significant influence without political control.
Big Idea 6: Migration
Environmental and economic factors led to migrations.
People migrated for labor opportunities, e.g., indentured servitude.
After British abolished slave labor, they used cheaper immigrant labor.
Penal colonies: criminals sent to Australia as settler colonialism.
Migration due to poor conditions, e.g., Irish migration to the U.S. due to the potato famine.
Migrants formed enclaves like Chinatowns, leading to cultural diffusion.
New immigrants faced discrimination and policies like the Chinese Exclusion Act.
UNIT 7 (1900-2001)
Big Idea 1: State Changes
Internal and external factors contributed to state changes globally.
Russia: Revolution leading to the Soviet Union.
Qing China: varying cultures, weakened government, and overthrow.
Mexico: wealth gap led to revolution.
Big Idea 2: World War I (WWI)
Causes: militarism, alliances, imperialism, and nationalism.
Increased military technology led to aggression.
Alliances caused widespread declarations of war.
Big Idea 3: WWI Strategies
Governments used propaganda and new weapons.
Propaganda mobilized home fronts.
New combat technologies: tanks, chemical weapons, and trench warfare.
War ended in 1918 with the Treaty of Versailles.
Big Idea 4: Government Role in Economies Post-WWI
Governments became more involved in national economies.
The U.S. supported European economies, leading to interdependence.
The Great Depression spread due to loss of faith in banks.
Hoover’s laissez-faire policy was replaced by FDR’s New Deal programs.
The Nazi party fixed hyperinflation by controlling money supply and rebuilding the military.
The Soviet Union’s 5-year plans aimed to industrialize, but collectivized agriculture led to famine.
Big Idea 5: World War II (WWII)
Causes: unsustainable peace agreements, economic crisis, and fascist regimes.
Germany’s punishment angered them, leading to economic crisis and the rise of Nazis.
Chamberlain’s appeasement allowed Hitler to expand.
Invasion of Poland started WWII.
Big Idea 6: WWII Strategies
Totalitarian and democratic nations deployed all resources.
The U.S. had the strongest industrial sector.
Germany used forced labor in concentration camps.
The Soviet Union faced mass deaths but captured Berlin.
Civil liberties were infringed, e.g., Japanese internment camps in the U.S.
Firebombing and atomic bombs caused mass civilian deaths and infrastructural damage.
Big Idea 7: Genocide
Extremist groups attempted to destroy populations through genocide.
The Holocaust targeted Jews.
Stalin took crops from Ukrainian peasants as punishment.
UNIT 8
Big Idea 1: Cold War
Ideological struggle between the U.S. and the USSR shaped geopolitics.
The U.S. and the USSR emerged as superpowers after WWII.
No direct conflicts occurred between the superpowers.
The U.S. was a democratic capitalist state, and the USSR was an authoritative communist state.
Both wanted to expand their influence.
Disagreements after WWII led to distrust, e.g., elections in Eastern Europe and the future of Germany.
Superpowers influenced decolonized nations, many of which remained nonaligned.
Big Idea 2: Effects of the Cold War
Arms race, military alliances, and proxy wars.
Both powers spent heavily on developing weapons, especially nuclear weapons; mutually assured destruction prevented their use.
NATO vs. the Warsaw Pact.
Proxy wars: Korean and Vietnam Wars; conflicts in Latin America (e.g., Sandinistas vs. Contras) and Africa (e.g., Angolan Civil War).
Big Idea 3: Communism
Some states adopted communism, notably China.
1911 Revolution established China as a republic, but a civil war led to communist victory, backed by the USSR.
Mao Zedong collectivized agriculture with the Great Leap Forward, leading to famine.
Egypt as a socialist nation nationalized the Suez Canal.
Vietnam: conflict between communist and capitalist governments.
Big Idea 4: Decolonization
Via negotiation or armed conflict.
Gandhi as a nonviolent leader in India.
Algerian Muslims revolted violently against the French.
Big Idea 5: Political Boundaries and Conflict
Redrawing boundaries led to conflict and displacement.
Palestine, formerly part of the Ottoman Empire, was transferred to Britain.
British promised Jewish people (Zionists) a homeland in Palestine, leading to conflict with the Muslim population.
Big Idea 6: Governments Role in Economy in New States
Newly independent states guided the economy.
Nassar in Egypt nationalized the Suez Canal.
Big Idea 7: Resistance Movements
Nonviolent and violent resistance against oppressive powers.
Gandhi promoted nonviolence (e.g., Homespun Movement and Salt March).
MLK Jr. inspired by Gandhi.
Pinochet led a coup against Salvador Marxists in Chile.
Big Idea 8: End of the Cold War
U.S. military development, Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, and Gorbachev's reforms.
The U.S. outpaced the USSR in military production.
The USSR failed in Afghanistan due to U.S.-backed rebels.
Gorbachev's policies (Perestroika and Glasnost) weakened the USSR.
UNIT 9
Big Idea 1: Globalization
New technologies increased the speed and impact of globalization.
Communication and transportation technologies enabled migration and contact.
Shipping containers increased cultural exchange.
Energy (nuclear, wind) and medical innovations.
Birth control and vaccines lowered birth rates and increased life expectancy.
Increased food production led to population booms.
Big Idea 2: Diseases
New and old diseases posed threats.
Tuberculosis and Cholera in impoverished nations.
Pandemics: Spanish Flu, AIDS, Ebola.
Contagious diseases spread as more people are in contact.
New diseases in the Western world: Alzheimer’s, dementia, heart disease.
Big Idea 3: Environmental Problems
Globalization creates environmental issues.
Deforestation for farmland and infrastructure.
Air quality decline from CO
Water supply decreases.
Climate change due to carbon emissions (Paris Agreement).
Big Idea 4: Economy
Economic nature and scope changed since 1900.
Wealthier nations focus on research.
Less developed nations focus on manufacturing.
Multinational corporations (MNCs) with lower labor costs.
Free trade agreements lower tariffs.
Big Idea 5: Inequality
Globalization leads to calls for human rights and economic equality.
Civil rights reform: end of racial discrimination (e.g., apartheid and Jim Crow laws).
Caste reservation system in India.
Gender and religious equality promoted.
Big Idea 6: Culture
Culture became increasingly globalized.
Popular music: Reggae and Bollywood.
Global commerce: international shipping and globalized brands (e.g., McDonald's and Coca-Cola).
Big Idea 7: Resistance
Resistance movements against globalization.
Benefits mainly enjoyed by the "global north," the "global south" sees it as a threat.
Big Idea 8: Global Ineraction
Globalization changed how nations interact.
The UN (Security Council) promotes safety and humanitarian rights.
Global organizations represent a globalized world.