AP World History: Modern (Unit 1) Overview

Information from Heimler's History, Collegeboard, Encyclopaedia Britannica, Knowt AI, and Fiveable

Unit 1.1: Developments in East Asia from c. 1200 to c. 1450

Dynasties

• Sui Dynasty (581-618):

  • reunited China under a single imperial rule after several centuries of political fragmentation

  • constructed the Grand Canal, which linked the Yellow and Yangtze Rivers and facilitated trade and communication between northern and southern China

  • civil service exam

  • ended with the assassination of Yang Guang (Emperor Gong)

• Tang Dynasty (618-907):

  • strong, centralized government (as a result of Sui)

  • succeeded by the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period in 907.

• Song Dynasty (960-1279):

  • economic growth

  • adoption of paper money

• Ming Dynasty (1368-1644):

  • drove out the Mongols

  • Forbidden City

  • Zheng He

  • rebuilt, renovated, and extended Great Wall of China

Confucianism

• Human society is hierarchical by nature

  • Women were on the "bottom" (e.g. foot binding)

• Confucianism fell with the Han Dynasty

Starting with the Tang dynasty, Confucianism experienced a revival, which was carried into the Song; this new form was called Neo-Confucianism, and had Buddhist and Daoist ideals

Branches of Buddhism

• Theravada (originated in Sri Lanka): emphasis on escaping the cycle of life and death (mainly practiced by monks)

• Mahayana (East Asia): emphasized that Buddhism was for all (not a select few), compassion, made Buddha into an object of devotion

• Tibetan (Tibet): emphasized more mystical practices.

• Chan (China)

Leaders maintained and justified leadership by...

• Using the hierarchical aspect of Confucianism to stay in charge

• Imperial bureaucracy: officials who made sure that people were following the emperor's orders

  • Civil service examination: only hired qualified men

• Made states (e.g. Korea) pay tribute to stay in good relations

China's Influence

• Influence of China in Korea:

  • Civil Service exam to staff bureaucracy

  • Confucianism's hierarchy

  • Lessened role of women

• Influence of China in Japan:

  • Buddhism

  • Writing System

  • Imperial Bureaucracy

• Influence of China in Vietnam

  • Similar relations to China

  • Confucianism

  • Buddhism

  • Chinese Literary techniques

  • Civil service exam

  • Heightened role of women

Economy in Song China

• Commercialization of Economy: Made more goods than needed and sold the "extras".

• Iron and Steel production

• Agricultural Innovations: Champa rice (drought-resistant, harvested twice a year), iron plows/rakes

• Transportation Innovations: Expanded Grand Canal, magnetic compass, ship improvements (e.g. stern-mounted rudders)

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

• Dar al-Islam before 900 CE: Middle East, North Africa, southern Western Europe

• Dar al-Islam after 900 CE: Also East/West Africa, Eastern Europe, Northern India, Southeast Asia

• Political entities:

Caliphate, Sultanate, Empire

Muslim Empires

• Abbasid Caliphate (c. 750-c. 1258): Middle East + North Africa

  • Ethnically Arab

  • In power during the "Golden Age" of Islam

  • Declined because of internal disorder and Mongol invasions

• As the Abbasid Caliphate declined, new Islamic political entities emerged, most of which were dominated by Turkish Peoples.

• Mamluk sultanate: Egypt

  • Previously, Ayyubid Sultanate ruled under Saladin, who enslaved Turkic warriors (Mamluks) to fill a lack of laborers. When Saladin died, the sultans who followed him were incompetent, so the Mamluks seized power.

• Sultanate of Delhi (c. 1206-c. 1526): Northern India

• Seljuk Empire (c. 1037-c. 1194): Anatolia and Central Asia

  • Brought in by the Abbasid to expand and forcefully culturally integrate their empire

• Muslim Empires...

  • Military charge of administration.

  • Established Sharia Law (code of laws established by the Quran)
    

• Three main (monotheistic) religions that interacted with each other:

  • Judaism: Jews, Originated in Middle East

  • Christianity:

  • Islam: Founded by Muhammad, Originated in Middle East

How Islam Spread

• Military expansion

• Trade

• Muslim missionaries

  • Sufis: Sufi emphasized mystical experiences and that they were available to everyone

Intellectual Innovations

• Mathematics: Nasir al-Din al-Tusi invented trigonometry to better understand how planets and stars moved in space.

• House of Wisdom: Massive library, translated Greek texts into Arabic, preserving them.

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

Belief Systems

• Hinduism: polytheistic, reunite souls to Brahman, reincarnation, provided the means for a unified culture in India (caste system), ethnic religion

  • Bhakti Movement: encouraged believers to worship one of the many Hindu gods, rejected caste system mystical experiences for all, rejected religious doctrines of the elite

• Islam: Since Muslims were in charge of large parts of India, Islam became a religion of the elite.

  • Sufism: mystical experiences for all, rejected religious doctrines of the elite

• Buddhism: reincarnation, equality for all (no caste system), universalizing religion

  • Became more exclusive (to monks), despite the original teachings, which emphasized access to all.

State Building

• South Asia

  • Mainly Hindu

  • Rajput Kingdoms: Hindu kingdoms that existed before the arrival of Muslim rule in Northern India

  • Vijayanagara Empire: Muslim empire in southern India. Islamic sultans wanted to spread their dominance south, so they sent emissaries there. However, the emissaries adopted Hindu and created their own Hindu state.

• Southeast Asia

  • Strait of Malacca: Srivijaya rulers taxed ships who traveled through

  • Majapahit Empire: Tributary system

  • Sinhala Dynasties (Sri Lanka): Buddhist, land-based

  • Khmer Empire: Hindu, land-based, very prosperous, thus built Angkor Wat, a Hindu temple. However, the leaders converted to Buddhism, thus just added Buddha statues across the temple

Unit 1.4: State Building in the Americas

Mesoamerica

• Maya (c. 250 - c. 900 AD)

  • Decentralized collection of city-states that were constantly at war with one another

  • Fought to create a vast network of tributary states, not necessarily to gain territory

  • Human sacrifice

• Aztec (1345 - 1528)

  • Mexica people migrated south at the beginning of the 14th century, married into powerful families, and eventually established the Aztec empire.

  • Decentralized, tributary system, human sacrifice as a motivation for conquest.

  • Tenochtitlan: capital city, 150-200,000 population

  • Commercialization (like, Song China)

    • traded cacao, cotton, precious metals, exotic feathers

    • complex network of trade and tribute that connected various regions

Andean

• Inca

  • Outsiders who rose to power through military prowess (like the Aztecs)

  • Centralized government, massive bureaucracy

  • Mit'a system: Required the labor of all people for a period of time each year to work on state projects like mining or military service.

North America

• Mississippian Culture (c. 8th or 9th century AD): Mississippi River Valley, first large-scale civilization in North America

  • Powerful chiefs (known as Great Sun) ruled each town and extended power over smaller satellite settlements. HIERARCHICAL SOCIETY

  • Mound building

• Chaco/Mesa Verde: Southwest United States

  • Carved sandstone blocks out of massive quarries/ built complexes in the sides of cliffs

Unit 1.5: State Building in Africa

Sub-Saharan Africa

• Swahili (emerged c. 8th century): Africa's east coast, independent city states, access to Indian Ocean trade.

  • Merchants wanted: Gold, ivory, timber, enslaved laborers

  • Islam became a dominant belief system (NOTE AFRICA'S PROMINENCE IN TRADE / PROMINENCE OF MUSLIM TRADERS)

  • Swahili was influenced by indigenous languages (Bantu) and Arabic.

• Great Zimbabwe: East, further inland.

  • Became rich by participating in Indian Ocean Trade

  • Exported gold, but main economic activity was farming and cattle herding

  • Ended up building the largest structures in Africa (after Egypt's pyramids)

East and West Africa

• Hausa Kingdoms: West Africa. Collection of city-states that were politically independent and gained power through trade across the Trans-Saharan Trade Network.

African states adopted Islam to organize their societies and facilitate trade with Dar al-Islam.

⚠ EXCEPTION! ⚠

• Ethiopia: Christian, centralized, hierarchy

  • Gained wealth from trade in the Mediterranean Sea and Indian Ocean Network

Unit 1.6: Developments in Europe from c. 1200 to c. 1450

Dark Ages (476-1000)

• Fall of the Western Roman Empire: 476 AD;

• Europe was politically fragmented into warring states/categorized by decentralized monarchies

• Serfdom replaced slavery

• Standard of living declined

• Feudalism: a system of mutual obligations that exists between classes: ⬇

High Middle Ages (1000-1450)

• Power shifted away from feudal lords and more towards monarchs.

• Established bureaucracies and massive armies

• By the 13th century, power began to shift back to the nobles

  • Magna Carta (1213): Granted the nobles rights to things such as a jury trial and owning/inheriting property

  • 1265: Establishment of the English parliament, which represented the interests of the nobles

• Roman Catholic Church

  • Built the first universities in Europe

  • Christian art was produced to educate the illiterate peasants

  • Crusades: The pope and bishops encouraged Christians to retake Jerusalem from the Muslims, telling them that it would essentially wipe their sins clean.

  • POWER SHIFT: Monarchs → Church

• Stories of Marco Polo's travels peaked interest in other cultures and led to innovations in cartography.

• Rise of the bourgeoisie (middle class): shopkeepers, merchants, small landowners

• Little Ice Age: Temperatures gradually fell for a few years → decreased agricultural productivity → decreased population → decrease in trade → decrease in economic conditions

Renaissance (1300)

• The rebirth of Greek and Roman culture, art, and literature

Unit 1.7: Comparison in the Period from c. 1200 to c. 1450

• Americas

  • Continuity in Aztec Empire to use religion to show off political power

  • Incas using roads for communication/trade

• Africa

  • Syncretic blend of Christianity and animistic beliefs

  • Port cities rise as part of Indian Ocean trade

• Dar al-Islam

  • Abbasid Caliphate dissolves New empires, like the Ottoman Empire, emerge

• East Asia

  • Song Dynasty rises. Uses Confucianism and old bureaucratic ideas to rule
    South and Southeast Asia. Government strength through trade. Use of Hinduism and Islam to govern