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Comprehensive AP World History Overview

May 8, 2025

AP World History - Ultimate Guide Notes

Unit 1: The Global Tapestry

Review of History Within Civilizations

  • Growth of long-distance trade following the collapse of classical civilizations.

Overview of World’s Major Religions in 1200

  • Religions profoundly influenced social, political, cultural, and military developments.

Buddhism

  • Cultures: India, China, Southeast Asia, Japan
  • Founding: Siddhartha Gautama (Buddha) rejected wealth, founded Buddhism.
  • Key Concepts: Four Noble Truths; split into Theravada and Mahayana.
  • Impact: Rejected caste system, spread via trade routes.

Christianity

  • Cultures: Europe, northeastern Africa, Middle East
  • Key Beliefs: Based around Jesus Christ; teachings of love and forgiveness.
  • Impact: Spread rapidly in the Roman Empire, influenced Western culture.

Confucianism

  • Culture: China
  • Key Concepts: Social harmony through relationships (ruler/subject, parent/child, etc.).

Hinduism

  • Culture: India
  • Key Concepts: Belief in a supreme force, Brahma; caste system.

Islam

  • Cultures: Middle East, North Africa, Europe
  • Key Concepts: Five Pillars of Islam, split into Shia and Sunni.

Judaism

  • Culture: Hebrews
  • Key Concepts: Monotheism, unique covenant with God.

Developments in the Middle East

  • Abbasid Dynasty: Golden age of arts and sciences.
  • Mongol Invasions: Led to the decline of Islamic Caliphates.

Developments in Europe

  • Middle Ages: Complexity following the fall of Rome.
  • Feudalism: Hierarchical system with kings, nobles, vassals, and serfs.
  • Nation-States: Emergence in the 13th century with diverse paths in Germany, England, France, Spain, and Russia.

Developments in Asia

China

  • Song Dynasty: Confucianism, foot binding.
  • Ming Dynasty: Influence of Buddhism and other religions.

Japan

  • Feudal System: Led by Emperor, Shogun, and Daimyo.

India

  • Delhi Sultanate: Islamic invaders.

Southeast Asia

  • Khmer Empire: Hindu influence, Angkor Wat.

Developments in Africa

  • Spread of Islam, explosion of trade.
  • Hausa Kingdoms: Economic stability through trade.

Developments in the Americas

  • Aztecs: Empire built on trade and military.
  • Inca: Expansionist policy, religious importance.

Unit 2: Networks of Exchange

Height of the Middle Ages

  • Emergence of powerful merchants.
  • Hanseatic League: Trade alliance in northern Europe.
  • Crusades: Military campaigns for religious and territorial gains.

Mongol Empire

  • Genghis Khan’s unification, vast empire, cultural diffusion.

Mali and Songhai

  • Wealth through gold trade, notable rulers like Mansa Musa.

Chinese Technology

  • Song dynasty advancements in bureaucracy and industrial society.

Trade Networks and Cultural Diffusion

  • Explosive growth of trade from 1200-1450.
  • Bubonic Plague: Spread through trade routes, massive population impact.

Indian Ocean Trade

  • Dominated by Persians and Arabs, cultural intermixing.

The Silk Road

  • Central to cultural exchange and trade between East and West.

European Expansion

  • Spread of religion and culture, colonial impacts.

Unit 3: Land-Based Empires

Major European Developments

  • Renaissance: Revival of arts, humanism, and education.
  • Protestant Reformation: Martin Luther’s influence, split from Catholic Church.

Scientific Revolution

  • Advances in scientific thought, Copernicus, Galileo, Newton.

European Rivals

  • Power struggles and colonial expansion among European nations.

Russia

  • Ivan the Terrible, Romanov dynasty, cultural reforms.

Islamic Gunpowder Empires

  • Ottoman Empire: Expansion, military strength.
  • Mughal Empire: Religious tolerance, art and architecture.

Africa

  • Songhai: Sunni Ali, economic and cultural growth.
  • Kongo: Portuguese influence, Christianity.

Isolated Asia

  • China: Ming and Qing Dynasties, limited foreign interaction.
  • Japan: Tokugawa Shogunate, national seclusion.

Unit 4: Transoceanic Interconnections

European Exploration

  • Navigational advancements, explorers like Columbus, Magellan.

The Columbian Exchange

  • Exchange of goods, diseases, and ideas between Old and New Worlds.

African Slave Trade

  • Forced labor systems in the Americas, brutal conditions.

The Commercial Revolution

  • Rise of joint-stock companies, mercantilism.

Unit 5: Revolutions

The Enlightenment

  • Philosophers like Locke, Rousseau, Montesquieu.

American Revolution

  • Colonists’ fight for independence from Britain.

French Revolution

  • Overthrow of monarchy, rise of Napoleon.

South American Revolutions

  • Independence movements led by BolĂ­var, San MartĂ­n.

Mexico

  • Hidalgo’s rebellion, Treaty of Cordoba.

Industry and Imperialism

  • Industrial Revolution’s impact on global trade, factory system.

Unit 6: Consequences of Industrialization

European Imperialism

  • Colonization for raw materials, ethnocentric justifications.

African Imperialism

  • Berlin Conference, European colonization.

US Foreign Policy

  • Monroe Doctrine, Roosevelt Corollary.

Unit 7: Global Conflict

World War I

  • Alliance systems, Treaty of Versailles.

Russian Revolution

  • Bolshevik rise, establishment of Soviet Union.

World War II

  • Rise of fascism, Axis vs. Allies, Holocaust, atomic bomb.

Cold War

  • US vs. Soviet Union, nuclear arms race.

Unit 8: Cold War and Decolonization

Communism and the Cold War

  • Division of Europe, proxy wars in Korea and Vietnam.

Fall of the Soviet Union

  • Gorbachev’s reforms, dissolution of USSR.

Independence Movements

  • India, Africa, Middle East, resistance against colonial powers.

Unit 9: Globalization

International Terrorism

  • Rise of Al Qaeda, September 11 attacks.

World Trade and Cultural Exchange

  • NAFTA, EU, global economy.

Environmental Changes

  • Global warming, ecological sustainability.

Global Health Crises

  • AIDS epidemic, global health disparities.

Age of the Computer

  • Internet revolution, social media, surveillance concerns.