AP World History

Unit III Review Questions

1. What characteristics or events define the years 1450-1750 as a distinct unit of historical study? Are there any continuities from the previous period?

In 1453, the 100 year war came to an end and the Ottoman Empire took over Constantinople. In 1440 Gutenberg invented the printing press. In 1450 Europe was about to enter the Renaissance. Unit 3 was also the first time that the entire globe was encompassed in a global network of trade. Maritime trade also rose in proportion to land based trade with the establishment of the Atlantic Trade System. Large European kingdoms also rose and empires formed that were based completely on gunpowder. The power and influence of nomadic people declined and labor systems were transformed with the slave trade. In the absence of the Mongols, Russia and China began to rebuild their empires.

2. Describe the effect of the introduction of gunpowder and firearms on the areas of Africa, Central Asia, and Japan.

The Songhay Empire was defeated in 1591 by Moroccans with the advantage of gunpowder and firearms. Portugal also destroyed the Swahili Coast city states with gunpowder. The Portuguese colonized the kingdom of Angola, which later used firearms to destroy Kongo. In Japan, the Tokugawa imported firearms to consolidate power. Once they were established, Japan was able to construct their own firearms that surpassed those in Europe, and cut off contact with the western world. This protected their power base and prevented the daimyo from uniting with Europe and overthrowing the Tokugawa.

In Central Asia three Islamic empires (Ottoman, Safavid, and Mughal) relied on gunpowder to keep power. After the Ottoman Empire came to power, they used the siege cannon to defeat Constantinople under the leadership of Mehmet II. Children of Christians were forcefully converted to Islam and forced to be janissaries. Janissaries were trained for artillery and firearms and became and very elite and powerful group. The resistance of the Janissaries to accept light field artillery contributed to the downfall of the Ottomans. The Safavid Empire was originally founded by a Shia Sufi family, and was expanded by Ishmai’l. At the battle of Chaldiran in 1514, the Ottomans defeated the Safavids declaring Sunni Islam as the dominant branch.

3. Briefly, what were the basic political structures of the following states: Qing China, Tokugawa Japan, The Ottoman Empire, Russia, France, and England?

Qing China had a central bureaucracy, emperor completely isolated but only a figure head and he ruled through the mandarins and eunuchs.

Tokugawa Japan- bureaucracy run by daimyos, emperor ruled and made laws in which daimyos had to spend every other year in the city to limit their power.

Ottoman Empire- centralized bureaucracy with a sultan as a figure head, but really the grand viziers ruled most of the empire. Lots of fighting over the next sultan because they had no systems to decide who the next sultan would be

Russia- Mongols ruled with a tributary relationship but Russia overthrew them and developed an absolute monarchy ruled by a tsar with absolute power. In order to create and absolute monarchy, Ivan the Terrible killed many of the boyars.

France was an absolute monarchy with no comities to limit kings power who ruled by divine right. King ignored the aristocrats and the State’s General. Based off of Catholic hierarchy

England was a parliamentary and representative government with Protestant religion with a capitalistic system. Because they were a parliamentary government, they were less efficient but more fair.

4. Compare the divergence between elite and popular culture in China, Japan, and Russia between 1450 and 1750.

China- For elite culture in China, their main religion was neo-Confucianism because it was considered an intellectual religion which caused a lot of patriarchy. As for the pop culture in china, they had a development of novels and fiction which caused higher literacy rates for the middle class. The upper class looked down on it which caused a division of culture.

Japan- The popular culture was interested in floating worlds which are cities of entertainment. These worlds lead to the obsession of new theatres, poetry, and Dutch learning. The elite culture became interested in native learning, Shintoism, and native learning. They also tried to get rid of all outside influences besides Japanese.

Russia- The elite culture was based off of western European style culture. They cut off all the men’s beards and learned manners due to the visits from Peter the Great. As for the popular culture, they kept old style Russian traditions. For example, they had long beards and no table manners. This led to a big difference between the elite and popular cultures.

5. What economic changes took place in Europe during this time period, and how did these changes affect traditional social class structures?

The main economic changes that resulted in alterations of the traditional social class structures were the development of the putting-out system and joint-stock companies. The putting-out system was the result of guilds created in the cities. Because guilds created standards for pricing on manufactured materials, there was a lack of competition. Investors began outsourcing materials to rural areas to lower the cost of labor. Also the putting-out system resulted in the nucleus family. Family ties were more concentrated towards the extended prior to the development of the putting-out system. Now, families were concentrated on the immediate family and marriages were not arranged as often. Also, marriage was put off until later and the basis for marriage was emotions and divorce rates climbed. This was because the putting-out system allowed young people to be economically independent of their families. Joint-stock companies were private investors who invested in ships to trade with other countries. Because they were using private money, the voyages were more streamlined towards profit. Joint-stock companies gave anyone with money the chance to rise in social standing. Overall both the joint-stock companies and the putting-out system led to a major weakening in the aristocracy because they allowed lower classes to financially rise above their class.

6. Compare the European strategies and involvement in the Indian Ocean system of trade with that of their strategies and involvement in New World trade.

Although European trade strategies and involvement created major links between Europe and major trading cities in both the Indian Ocean system of trade and the New World system of trade, European involvement had a greater impact on the New World trade system than it did on the Indian Ocean trade system. Europe created important trading links from Europe around the Cape of Good Hope to the Indian Ocean trade system in Asia (Vasco de Gama discovered this route) and from the Philippine Islands to Mexico in the New World. Europeans actually created cities on both the Swahili Coast of Africa and in the New World in order to make trading in these areas easier. By 1700, Europeans had already been involved in the Indian Ocean trade system, but the people of the area had not really been affected by European efforts to convert people to Christianity and build empires based on trade. Europe did not really spread diseases in Asia because they had been involved with them for centuries. In the New World, the Europeans had diseases that the native people had never come in contact with, and therefore, lacked immunities for these diseases. Europeans only came in contact and/or spread diseases in the isolated areas of Asia. Europeans were not successful in converting people to Christianity in the Spice Islands except in the Philippines, but they were substantially successful in gaining Christian converts in the New World.

7. Compare interaction of the following areas with European civilization during this time period: Russia, China, Japan, Africa, and the Ottoman Empire.

In Russia, they assimilated Western European culture and used European to technologically advance their economy and political system. The upper classes began changing to European ways of dress, language, and manners. However, the lower classes remained the mostly the same.

In China, they isolated themselves from any other culture. They continued to trade, but only set up one port for trade with the Europeans. They traded their own items, but wouldn’t accept anything but silver from Spain, which eventually caused them to go bankrupt. The Jesuits went to China to convert people to Roman Catholicism and Ricci became immersed in Chinese culture to help convert people. However, this failed because the pope claimed that it wasn’t pure and forced it to be changed which angered the Chinese, eventually causing them to drop Roman Catholicism all together.

In Japan, they also isolated themselves from other influences. However, the only country they allowed in Japan was the Dutch, who were allowed in Nagasaki and developed Dutch Learning. They allowed the Dutch in because they wanted to also keep up with European advancements.

In Africa, the Europeans settled on Africa’s west coast in order to engage in the triangular trade in the Atlantic Ocean. The Europeans traded guns for slaves and were also responsible for the gender problems in Angola because male slaves were preferred over female.

In the Ottoman Empire, when the Europeans converted completely to Roman Catholicism, they kicked out anyone who wasn’t Roman Catholic, so many Jews went to the Ottoman Empire, where they accepted and allowed Jews and other people practice their own religion.

8. What were the major effects of the Colombian Exchange and the Triangular Trade system of the Atlantic on the areas involved?

In Africa there were many negative effects. The slave trade hurt the population and created a gender imbalance. In the New World, slaves from Africa provided labor for large plantation to produce cash crops like sugarcane. In Europe, sugar products were sold. Manufactured products mostly guns were sent to Africa were more slaves were picked up.

Culturally, an African Diaspora occurred where African culture spread to the new world. Also, the Native Americans were decimated by diseases spread from the Columbian exchange. African culture also changed due to gunpowder. Western states received guns and used the weapons to defeat their rivals.

9. What were the major changes in art and/or architecture during this time in Western Europe, Russia, the Ottoman Empire, and the Mughal Empire?

10. What was the political and social significance of the Renaissance, Reformation, and Scientific Revolution in Western Europe? What did these events have in common?

The renaissance, reformation, and scientific revolution made many changes in society and political structure. During the renaissance people established Humanism, which was a very optimist belief, that consisted of people trying to discover the uncorrupted sources of European civilization in order that gave man his deserved respect. Also, society began to turn away from their ancestors and medieval fathers, in order to model lifestyles according to ancient Greeks.

The reformation held the emerging of Martin Luther, who strongly protested the Roman Catholic Church. He gained an allegiance of follows called “Protestants” due to their protest. It was this time and during the scientific revolution when people ended the reliability on religion and fore-fathers, and focused more so, on science and reason. This was due to Aristotle, etc. scrolls found in the fall of Constantinople.

11. What were the major changes in system of coerced labor during this period?

The slaves of the early decades of Unit 3 were all natives of the land that was being ocupided by the doninate kingdom. This changed when trade on the west coast of africa boomed, thus providing plenty of slaves that were phisicly superior than the already esisting slaves. The colinization of the americas also drasticly effected the slave trade of the western himisphere. Because the natives americans were not immune to he european desieses, they died in mass numbers. With huge amounts of workable land and not enough labor, the europeans began to buy african slaves in massive amounts. They worked on plantations and haciendas throughout south america. While the native work force had declined colossaly, in parts of Chili and Peru the mita system was used to extract silver.

12. What were the different ways the power of aristocracies were broken or weakened during this period?

In Japan, Tokugawa dynasty required that daimyos live in the capital every other year

So that there was not enough time to build power bases in the area they controlled

Prevented Europeans from exploiting tensions by providing aid to daimyos

In China, Eunuchs and Mandarins were used to keep aristocrats from rebelling against the bureaucracy

Eunuchs were used as alternative to bureaucrats who could form local loyalties to aristocrats through intermarriage

Mandarins were used to make sure bureaucrats were loyal to the emperor

In Russia, Ivan IV centralized rule under the kingship by having the boyars killed.

France

Louis XIV made Versailles to keep aristocrats away from their land and keep their loyalties with him.

Created Bureaucracy

Protestant Europe

The merchant class gained more wealth because of capitalism and feudalism was abolished. This caused nobles’ wealth to be rivaled and lessened their power. This economic boom was mostly in protestant countries because Catholics viewed capitalism as selfish gain.

13. Compare the political, economic and social differences between the Spanish and Portuguese colonies of the New World with those of the English colonies of the New World. What were the long term consequences of these?

Economic differences

Protestant colonies of the New World were settler colonies. This differed from Spanish colonies because conquistadors were looking to exploit the resources of the land to benefit their country.

Protestant colonies were funded by investors while Spanish colonies were funded by the king.

Political differences

South American colonies were directly linked to the king’s bureaucracy.

North American colonies were self governed in form of respective government.

Social- Spain

Spanish men did not bring their wives to new world so they interbred with native women. This caused a new social structure in colonies based on race and place of birth even today there isn’t much racism in south America because of the mixture of races.

North America

In north American colonies families came to the new world so there was little interbreeding amongst natives and Europeans. Europeans Began to look down on native Americans and this caused racism in the future.