AP World History Lecture Notes

Introduction

• Exam Date: May 8th
• Review Schedule:
  • Tonight: Units 1-5
  • Tomorrow Night: Units 6-9
• Super Chats for shoutouts till 9 PM Eastern Time

Unit 1: Global Tapestry (1200-1450)

Big Idea 1: Song China

• Maintained rule through Confucianism and imperial bureaucracy
• Revival of Confucianism and civil service examination
• Song economy: Innovations like Champa rice, Grand Canal
• Importance of Buddhism and Chan Buddhism

Big Idea 2: Islamic Empires

• Abbasid Caliphate's decline led to new Islamic states
• Delhi Sultanate and Mamluk Sultanate
• Spread of Islam via military and merchants
• Intellectual innovations: Algebra, trigonometry, translations

Big Idea 3: South and Southeast Asia

• Delhi Sultanate (Islamic) vs. Southern Hindu kingdoms like Vijayanagara
• Influence of Hinduism and Buddhism in Southeast Asia (Srivijaya, Majapahit)

Big Idea 4: Civilizations of the Americas

• Development of strong states and urban centers
• Aztec Empire: Tribute system, decentralized rule

Big Idea 5: African States

• Trade networks facilitated state building (Great Zimbabwe, Ethiopia)
• Swahili language development

Big Idea 6: Europe

• State building characterized by religious belief, feudalism
• Roman Catholic Church's influence
• Manorial system and three-field system

Unit 2: Networks of Exchange (1200-1450)

Big Idea 1: Trade Networks

• Silk Roads: Luxury goods, transportation innovations (caravanserai)
• Indian Ocean Trade: Technological innovations
• Trans-Saharan Trade: Camels, rise of Mali Empire

Big Idea 2: Cultural Diffusion

• Spread of Buddhism, Islam, and Hinduism
• Scientific and technological innovations

Big Idea 3: Environmental Consequences

• Spread of crops (bananas, Champa rice)
• Spread of diseases (Black Death)

Big Idea 4: Mongol Empire

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

Unit 3: Land-Based Empires (1450-1750)

Big Idea 1: Empire Expansion

• Gunpowder as key to expansion
• Ottoman, Safavid, Mughal, and Qing Empires
• Rivalries: Safavid-Mughal conflicts

Big Idea 2: Power and Control

• Bureaucracies, militaries, religious ideas
• Monumental architecture (Versailles, Incan Sun Temple)

Big Idea 3: Religious Beliefs

• Protestant Reformation and Catholic Reformation
• Sunni-Shia split
• Syncretic religions (Sikhism)

Unit 4: Maritime Empires (1450-1750)

Big Idea 1: Maritime Technology

• Innovations like the astrolabe, compass, new ships (Caravel, Flout)

Big Idea 2: European Exploration

• Motivations: Gold, God, Glory
• Portuguese trading post empire, Spanish exploration

Big Idea 3: Columbian Exchange

• Exchange of crops, animals, and diseases
• Impact on populations and agriculture

Big Idea 4: Imperialism and Labor Systems

• Mercantilism driving colonization
• Encomienda and hacienda systems

Big Idea 5: Economic & Social Changes

• Joint-stock companies
• Triangular trade

Big Idea 6: Resistance to Colonization

• Maratha rebellion, Pueblo revolt

Big Idea 7: Social Changes

• Qing dynasty policies
• Spanish casta system

Unit 5: Revolutions (1750-1900)

Big Idea 1: Enlightenment

• Shift from belief to empirical observation
• Natural rights, social contract

Big Idea 2: Nationalism and Revolutions

• American, French, and Haitian Revolutions

Big Idea 3: Industrial Revolution

• Began in Britain due to resources, urbanization
• Factory system and specialization of labor

Big Idea 4: Global Manufacturing

• Decline in Asian, Middle Eastern manufacturing

Big Idea 5: New Technologies

• First and second industrial revolutions
• Railroads, telegraph

Big Idea 6: Economic Shifts

• Free market capitalism
• Transnational businesses

Big Idea 7: Reforms

• Labor unions, Karl Marx's critique
• Tanzimat reforms in Ottoman Empire