AP World History Study Guide

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

Developments in East Asia

• Song Dynasty:
  • Wealth, political stability, artistic, and intellectual innovations.
  • Greatest manufacturing capability; most commercialized society.
  • Expansion of Buddhism and Confucianism.
  • Bureaucracy expanded through meritocracy.
• Economic Developments:
  • Grand Canal: Enabled China to become the most populous trading area.
  • Gunpowder: Spread technology to Eurasia.
  • Agriculture: Irrigation systems increased food production.
  • Tributes: States paid to honor the Chinese emperor.
• Social and Religious Structures:
  • Aid to the poor, public hospitals, foot binding.
  • Buddhism spread; Neo-Confucianism emerged.

Japan

• Feudalism: Landowning aristocrats (daimyo) controlled land.
• Government: Shogun ruled; regional rivalries, unity in the 17th century.

Korea

• Connection to China: Centralized government; Confucian and Buddhist.
• Maintained a powerful landed aristocracy.

Vietnam

• Social Structures: Greater independence for women, nuclear families.
• Merit-based bureaucracy with allegiance to village peasants.

Developments in Dar al-Islam

• Innovations: Advances in mathematics, literature, and medicine.
• Social Structures: Merchants prestigious; higher status for Muslim women.
• Transfers: Preservation of Greek philosophy; House of Wisdom.
• Islamic Rule in Spain: Toleration and trade promotion.

Developments in South and Southeast Asia

• South Asia:
  • Political Structures: Southern India stable; Northern India saw upheaval.
  • Religion: Hinduism and Islam differences.
  • Social Structures: Caste system continuity; Bhakti Movement.
• Southeast Asia:
  • Sea-Based Kingdoms: Srivijaya (Hindu), Majapahit (Buddhist) Empires.
  • Land-Based Kingdoms: Sinhala and Khmer Empires.

State Building in the Americas

• Mississippian Culture: Rigid class structure, matrilineal society.
• Maya City-States: Height between 250-900 CE; city-state governance.
• Aztecs: Hunter-gatherers, Tenochtitlan capital, tributary system, theocracy.
• Inca: Four provinces, mita system; conquered by Spanish in 1533.

State Building in Africa

• Political Structures: Kin-based networks, district governance.
• West and East Africa: Wealth from trans-Saharan trade, Mali's rise.
• Social Structures: Kinship, age, gender arrangements.
• Cultural Life: Ancestor veneration, music, griots as history keepers.

Developments in Europe

• Feudalism: Land-based wealth; manorial system.
• Political Trends: Monarchies' power increased, Hundred Years War.
• Roman Catholic Church: Great Schism, power in feudal Europe.
• Christian Crusades: Reclaim Holy Land.
• Economic and Social Change: Growth of middle class, anti-Semitism, women's rights decline.
• Renaissance: Revival of interest in classical literature, art.

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

The Silk Roads

• Growth from Crusades and Mongol Empire unification.
• Improvements in transportation.

The Mongol Empire

• Genghis Khan: Conquered vast territories, religious tolerance.
• Expansion: Grandsons established kingdoms in Asia and Europe.
• Impact: Largest land empire; Greco-Islamic knowledge transfer.

Exchange in the Indian Ocean

• Causes: Spread of Islam, demand for goods.
• Effects: Growth of states, diasporic communities.

Trans-Saharan Trade Routes

• Famous for gold trade.
• Mali and other West African states grew wealthy.
• Timbuktu, Gao as Muslim centers.

Cultural Consequences

• Buddhism: Spread in East Asia, influenced Korean and Japanese culture.
• Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam: Spread through trade.
• Scientific and Technological Innovations: Greek classics translation.

Environmental and Exchange Effects

• Agricultural migrations and environmental degradation.
• Spread of the Bubonic Plague (Black Death).

Comparison of Economic Exchange

• Similarities among Silk Roads, Indian Ocean, and trans-Saharan routes.
• Trading cities and standardized currency.

Unit 3–9 Overview (Highlights)

Empires Expand

• Gunpowder Empires (Ottoman, Safavid, Mughal, etc.)
• Rise of centralized governments.

Empires Administration

• Centralized bureaucracy, taxation policies.
• Religious and artistic legitimization.

Empires: Belief Systems

• Protestant Reformation, Counter-Reformation.
• Scientific Revolution.

Transoceanic Interconnections

• Columbian Exchange effects: diseases, animals, crops.
• Maritime empires expansion, economic systems.

Consequences of Industrialization

• Technological innovations, environmental impact.
• Migration and labor systems expansion.

Revolutions and Nationalism (1750-1900)

• Enlightenment, French and Haitian Revolutions.
• Nationalism and unification in Europe (Italy, Germany).

Cold War and Decolonization

• Shifts in power, rise of communism.
• Decolonization movements in Africa and Asia.

Globalization (Post-1900)

• Technological advances and environmental challenges.
• Economic liberalization and knowledge economies.
• Cultural and social changes, resistance to globalization.