AP World History Study Guide

Unit 1: The Global Tapestry (c. 1200 to c. 1450)

• East Asia:

  • Song Dynasty: Wealth, stability, innovations, expanded bureaucracy.
  • Economic developments: Grand Canal, gunpowder, agriculture, tributes.
  • Social structures: Aid to poor, foot binding.
  • Religion: Buddhism, Neo-Confucianism.

• Japan:

  • Feudal society, landowning aristocrats, shogunate established.

• Korea:

  • Tributary relationship with China, centralized government, powerful aristocracy.

• Vietnam:

  • Independence of women, merit-based bureaucracy loyal to villagers.

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

• Innovations: Advances in math, literature, medicine.
• Social structures: Prestige of merchants, status of women.
• Transfers: Greek philosophy, cultural exchanges with Spain.

Unit 1.3: South and Southeast Asia

• South Asia:

  • Political instability in North vs. stability in South, Delhi Sultanate.
  • Religion: Hinduism vs. Islam differences, Bhakti Movement.

• Southeast Asia:

  • Influence of South Asia, sea-based and land-based kingdoms.

Unit 1.4: State Building in the Americas

• Mississippian Culture: Class structure, matrilineal society.
• Maya City-States: City-states structure, divine right kings, science linked to religion.
• Aztecs: Hunter-gatherers turned empire, Tenochtitlan, tributary system, rituals and human sacrifices.
• Inca: Provinces with bureaucracies, mita system, sun worship.

Unit 1.5: State Building in Africa

• Political structures:
  • Kin-based networks, village chiefs, trade-based wealth.
• Social structures:
  • Kinship, age, gender roles, slavery.
• Cultural life: Music, visual arts, griots as historians.

Unit 1.6: Developments in Europe (c. 1200 to c. 1450)

• Feudalism: Land-based wealth, manorial system.
• Political trends: Growing monarchy power, Hundred Years' War.
• Church: Great Schism, universities, power in feudal system.
• Crusades: Religious, economic, social pressures.

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

• Silk Roads: Crusades and Mongols facilitated exchange, led to new financial systems.
• Mongol Empire: Expansion, trade routes, religious tolerance.
• Indian Ocean Exchange: Spread of Islam, growth of states.
• Trans-Saharan Trade: Gold trade, spread of Islam, rise of Mali.
• Cultural Consequences: Spread of religions, scientific advances.
• Environmental Consequences: Agricultural impacts, spread of epidemics.

Unit 3: Land-Based Empires (c. 1450 to c. 1750)

• Empires Expand: Gunpowder Empires, Ming and Qing Dynasties.
• Empires Administration: Centralizing control, legitimizing power through religion and art.
• Belief Systems: Protestant Reformation, Counter-Reformation, Scientific Revolution.

Unit 4: Transoceanic Interconnections (c. 1450 to c. 1750)

• Technological Innovations: Transoceanic travel, European explorations.
• Columbian Exchange: Diseases, crops, forced labor.
• Empires Established: European colonial expansions, state-building.

Unit 5: Revolutions (c. 1750 to c. 1900)

• Enlightenment: Intellectual movement, feminism, Zionism.
• Nationalism and Revolutions: French, Haitian, Italian, German revolutions.
• Industrial Revolution: Technological innovations, industrial spread, government roles.

Unit 6: Consequences of Industrialization (c. 1750 to c. 1900)

• Imperialism Rationales: Nationalism, cultural motives, economic interests.
• State Expansions: Scramble for Africa, imperialism in East Asia.
• Indigenous Responses: Rebellions, resistance movements.

Unit 7: Global Conflict (c. 1900 to c. 1945)

• World War I: Causes (MANIA), warfare changes, U.S. entry, treaties.
• Interwar Economies: Great Depression, political revolutions, rise of right-wing governments.
• World War II: Causes, conduct, home fronts, victory for Allies.

Unit 8: Cold War and Decolonization (c. 1945 to c. 1989)

• Cold War: Superpower tensions, spread of communism.
• Decolonization: Africa, Asia, Middle East.

Unit 9: Globalization (c. 1989 to present)

• Technology and Exchange: Green Revolution, energy innovations, medical advancements.
• Environmental Issues: Causes and effects, resource use.
• Global Economies: Free-market economies, trade organizations.
• Social and Cultural Changes: Movements for equality, resistance to globalization.