AP World History
Unit 4: c. 1450-1750
Transoceanic Interconnections
Main Ideas of the Unit:
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Europeans started to explore the world, creating global trading post empires, fostering the growth of certain economic partners, challenging the power of existing elites, and colonizing new lands
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Europeans established the triangular trade to supply the agricultural economy of the Americas with a fresh supply of African slaves, which led to lots of social, political, economic, cultural, and demographic changes
Content Overview
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Causes of Exploration
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Treaty of Tordesillas (1494)
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List of Explorers by Country
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Conquest of Aztecs & Incas
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Labor Systems: Encomienda, Hacienda, Mit'a, Slavery
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Casta System
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Triangular Trade
Main Ideas of the Topic
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The causes of exploration:
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Maritime Tech
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Increased Environmental Knowledge
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State Sponsorship of Journeys
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Desire to Spread Christianity
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Desire for Gold
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Desire for Glory
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Desire to Trade Directly with Asia
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Portuguese exploration → Creation of a trading post empire with Africa & Asia
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Spanish transoceanic exploration → Increased European interest in travel to the Americas
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English, French, & Dutch did North Atlantic crossings to find the Northwest Passage (a sea route from Europe to China)
Main Ideas of the Topic
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Disease: Europeans unintentionally brought deadly diseases to Americas → Killed many Native Americans
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Plants: American food crops became staples in Afro-Eurasia → Increased Afro-Eurasian population
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Animals: Europeans brought domesticated animals (horses, pigs, cattle) to Americas → Horses made transportation easier
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People: Lots of Europeans (& Africans) migrated to Americas → Allowed Europeans to dominate Americas
Main Ideas of the Topic
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Europeans developed trading-post empires, which used mercantilist principles & were run by joint-stock companies, facilitated by the global circulation of silver
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Colonial economy was based on agriculture, which relied on the use of various labor systems, mostly African slaves; This also led to cultural and religious synthesis
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Europeans partnered with some African kingdoms to get slaves (triangular trade), which made some kingdoms very powerful at the expense of others; Also led to widespread use of polygyny (man with multiple wives)
Main Ideas of the Topic
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State Expansion & consolidation of state power → Resistance by many different group on a local level
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African slaves (in the Americas) challenged slavery with organized resistance
Main Ideas of the Topic
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Many diverse kingdoms adopted policies to utilize the different contributions of each ethnic/religious group, while others suppressed the actions of certain groups
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More imperial conquests → Power of existing elites fluctuated → Creation of new elites & hierarchies