AP World History “Period 4”
Periodization Years: 1450 to 1750 Signs of the modern era emerging Globalization Exploration and colonization of the Americas ‘Gunpowder’ Empires
Signs of Modernity (Change) Population growth World population doubles from 1400 to 1800 Commercialization of economies Urbanization Stronger centralized states replaced local control actively promoted trade, common culture Military power soars after “gunpowder revolution”
Limits of European control Europeans ruled Americas and controlled sea trade BUT limited power in mainland Asia and Africa China and Japan controlled European trade and missionary activities Africans set terms of the slave trade
“Late Agrarian Era?” People and animals provide energy to make things (no Industrial Revolution yet) Landowning elites still dominant (not middle class) Most commoners rural peasants (not urban workers) Kings ruled (not democracies) Still patriarchal (no women’s rights yet)
Major States and Empires c. 1500
World Map c. 1750
World Migrations
World Map 1900
The Fifteenth Century
Limited Paleolithic Persistence Hunter-Gatherer Societies Australia Siberia Africa and Americas
Agricultural Villages North America Iroquois Confederacy Loose confederation that settled disputes peacefully Valued individual liberty and limited government influence British settlers
Agricultural Village Societies Sub-Saharan Africa Rival city states Kingdom of Songhai Trans-Saharan trade
Ming China 1368-1644 Recovery from Mongol rule Strong central government Neo-Confucianism civil service system Zheng He Armada (1405-1433) 7 voyages for diplomacy and trade discontinued
Zheng He
Western Europe Recovery from Black Death State-building: Independent, competitive states Western European Renaissance Maritime voyaging, exploration, and colonization
Islamic World Ottoman Empire– center of Islamic world Safavid Empire Mughal Empire Songhai Empire Malacca
The Americas Aztec and Inca Empires
Aztec Mexica people migrated south into the Valley of Mexico 1325: small island on Lake Texcoco Drew upon Toltecs and Teotihuacan 100 years of military conquest of Mesoamerica
Aztec Politics Loosely structured city-states Frequent rebellions Tributary system Decentralized
Tenochtitlan Capital city 200,000 people Kept records of tribute Temples, pyramids, canals, bridges “floating gardens”
Aztec Religion Human sacrifice Present in most Mesoamerican (and other) cultures, but most prominent in Aztec Tlacaelel Huitzilopochtli- Sun god Gods gave blood to create mankind man must repay regularly to keep cosmic order (sun rise)
Inca Western hemisphere’s largest imperial state Established by Quechua-speaking people Drew upon previous Andean civilizations Moche, Chavin Expanded by military conquest
Inca Politics Centralized, bureaucratic state Divine Right State owned all resources Mita system Provincial system Record keeping– quipus, knotted cords Colonization Voluntary hostage-taking
Quipus
Inca Society Polytheism Human sacrifice Gender Parallelism patriarchal