AP World History Review: Units 1-5

General Overview

• Date: Exam is on May 8th.
• Review Schedule:
  • Night 1: Units 1-5
  • Night 2: Units 6-9
• The review will be available online post-session until after exam season.

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

Big Idea 1: Song China

• State building through Confucianism and imperial bureaucracy.
• Confucianism: Hierarchical worldview, civil service examination.
• Economy: Flourished with innovations like Champa rice and the Grand Canal.
• Buddhism: Influence and innovation, e.g., Chan Buddhism.

Big Idea 2: Islamic Political Entities

• Emergence of new Islamic states as the Abbasid Caliphate declined.
• Example States: Delhi Sultanate, Mamluk Sultanate.
• Key Points:
  • Spread of Islam through military and trade.
  • Intellectual innovations and cultural transfers.

Big Idea 3: South and Southeast Asia

• Religious influence: Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam.
• Examples: Delhi Sultanate (Islamic) and Vijayanagara Empire (Hindu).
• Trade influence in Southeast Asia: Srivijaya and Majapahit empires.

Big Idea 4: The Americas

• Civilizations: Cahokia, Mexica (Aztecs), Inca.
• Aztec Empire: Tribute system, urban centers, and cultural practices like human sacrifice.

Big Idea 5: Africa

• State Building through trade and religion.
• Examples: Great Zimbabwe, Ethiopia.
• Influence of Islam and Christianity.

Big Idea 6: Europe

• Feudalism: Decentralized monarchies.
• Influence of Roman Catholic Church.
• Agricultural Innovation: Three-field system.

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

Big Idea 1: Trade Networks

• Major Networks: Silk Roads, Indian Ocean trade, Trans-Saharan trade.
• Innovations: Caravanserai, credit systems, transportation technologies.

Big Idea 2: Cultural Diffusion

• Spread of religions: Buddhism, Islam, Hinduism.
• Examples: Timbuktu as a center of Islamic learning.
• Key Travelers: Ibn Battuta, Marco Polo.

Big Idea 3: Environmental Consequences

• Spread of crops and diseases.
• Black Death: Significant population impact.

Big Idea 4: The Mongol Empire

• Largest land-based empire.
• Facilitated trade and cultural exchange.

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

Big Idea 1: Expansion through Gunpowder

• Empires: Ottoman, Safavid, Mughal, Qing.
• Key Aspects: Military strength, gunpowder weapons.

Big Idea 2: Legitimize and Consolidate Power

• Methods: Bureaucracies, militaries, religious ideas, monumental architecture.
• Examples: Ottoman Janissaries, Qing portraits, French palace of Versailles.

Big Idea 3: Belief Systems

• Protestant Reformation: Division in Christianity.
• Catholic Reformation.
• Sunni-Shia division in Islam.
• Syncretic faiths: Sikhism.

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

Big Idea 1: Maritime Technology

• Advances: Ships, navigation tools.
• Examples: Portuguese caravels, Dutch fluyt.

Big Idea 2: European Exploration

• Motivations: Wealth, religion, competition.
• Key Explorers: Christopher Columbus.

Big Idea 3: The Columbian Exchange

• Transfer of goods, animals, people, diseases.
• Impact: Changes in diets, population shifts.

Big Idea 4: Colonization and Mercantilism

• European empires in America.
• Systems: Encomienda, hacienda, slavery.

Big Idea 5: Economic Changes

• Joint-stock companies.
• Triangular trade: Interdependence.

Big Idea 6: Resistance to Colonization

• Examples: Pueblo Revolt, Maratha rebellion.

Big Idea 7: Social Changes

• Social hierarchies like the Spanish casta system.
• Impact on native and African societies.

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

Big Idea 1: Enlightenment Ideas

• Concepts: Natural rights, social contract.
• Reform movements: Women's suffrage, abolitionism.

Big Idea 2: Nationalism and Revolutions

• American, French, Haitian Revolutions.
• Key Documents: Declaration of Independence, Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen.

Big Idea 3: Industrial Revolution

• Beginning in Britain: Factors for industrialization.
• Factory system: Textiles, steam engines.

Big Idea 4: Global Manufacturing

• Decline in traditional manufacturing centers like India.
• Rise of Western industrial powers.

Big Idea 5: Technological Advances

• Railroads, telegraph.
• Second Industrial Revolution: Steel, oil.

Big Idea 6: Economic Shifts

• From mercantilism to capitalism.
• Transnational businesses.

Big Idea 7: Industrial Reforms

• Labor unions, Karl Marx's socialism.
• Examples: Tanzimat Reforms in the Ottoman Empire.

Note: The notes are condensed for review purposes. Understanding of key terms and examples is crucial for exam preparation. Make sure to review detailed materials and primary sources for a comprehensive understanding.