AP World History: Modern Cheat Sheet
AP World History: Modern explores key global events, movements, and transformations, It covers political, social, and technological changes across civilizations, focusing on trade, empires, revolutions, and modern global conflicts.
Free AP World History: Modern Practice Test
Download AP World History: Modern Cheat Sheet – Pdf
Unit 1: The Global Tapestry
Religious Spread: Islam, Judaism, and Christianity to Africa and Asia; Hinduism, Islam, and Buddhism to South/Southeast Asia.
Confucianism: Used to justify the Mandate of Heaven.
Major Empires: Abbasid Caliphate collapses, leading to new Islamic political entities.
Technological Innovations: Champa rice, Grand Canal expansion, steel and iron production.
Social Structure: Patriarchy persists, with some rights for women, such as in Buddhist nunneries.
Unit 2: Networks of Exchange
Cultural Diffusion: Through trade and diasporic communities.
Major Players: The Mongols usher in a Golden Age of trade.
Technological Innovations: Compass, astrolabe, and advanced banking systems (paper money, bills of exchange).
Social Structure: Merchants drive economic growth, but patriarchy remains dominant.
Unit 3: Land-Based Empires
State Rivalries: Empires like the Manchu, Mughal, Ottoman, and Safavid emerge.
Syncretic Religions: Sikhism blends elements of Hinduism and Islam.
Technological Innovations: Gunpowder, cannons, and improved tax collection systems.
Columbian Exchange: The transfer of plants, animals, and diseases between the Americas and Afro-Eurasia. Devastation of Indigenous populations due to diseases like smallpox and measles.
Unit 4: Transoceanic Interconnections
Major Developments:
Global Trade: European ocean exploration leads to new trade networks and reliance on slave labor for cash crops.
Ship Innovations: Caravel, fluyt, lateen sails, and improved navigation using compasses and charts.
Social Structure: Pol. and economic elites rely on coerced labor, including slavery.
Unit 5: Revolutions
Industrial Revolution: Leads to new global interactions, steam-powered production, and the rise of industries like steel and chemicals.
Political Change: Enlightenment ideals challenge monarchies, leading to revolutions (French, Haitian). The Meiji Restoration in Japan marks a period of rapid modernization.
Social Movements: Feminism, women’s suffrage, and abolitionism gain traction.
Unit 6: Consequences of Industrialization
Colonial Resistance: Africans resist European intrusion, leading to migration and urbanization.
Technological Innovations: Industrialization spreads with steamboats and telegraph communication.
Labor Systems: Shift from coerced labor to a mix of slavery and semi-coerced labor (convicts, migrants).
Unit 7: Global Conflict
World Wars: WWI and WWII reshape global power structures. Major players include the USSR, US, China, Britain, and more.
Technological Innovations: Weapons like nuclear bombs and mustard gas. Factories and production plants are mobilized for war efforts.
Social Movements: Women take on new roles during wartime as men leave for battle.
Unit 8: Cold War and Decolonization
Cold War and Decolonization: Anti-imperialist sentiment leads to the dissolution of empires. The Cold War results in proxy wars between the NATO and Warsaw Pact alliances.
Technological Race: Space race, cyber warfare, and nuclear weapon advancements.
Unit 9: Globalization
Global Issues: Spanish flu, AIDS/HIV, and climate change.
Globalization: Increasing international diplomacy and access to political roles for minorities. Cultural integration seen in the spread of reggae, Hollywood, Coca-Cola, and Facebook.
Technological Innovations: Communication and transportation advances, such as radio, the internet, air travel, and nuclear power.
Key Dates to Remember:
1200s: Rise of the Mongols
1324: Mansa Musa’s pilgrimage
1453: Fall of Constantinople
1492: Columbus reaches the Americas
1750: Industrial Revolution begins
1914-1918: World War I
1939-1945: World War II
1945-1991: Cold War
1950s-1960s: Civil Rights Movement