#AP World History: Modern - Unit 4 Study Guide: Transoceanic Interconnections (1450-1750)

Hey there, future AP World History master! Let's get you prepped and confident for your exam. This guide is designed to be your ultimate review resource, hitting all the key points you need to know. Let's dive in!

#4.4 Required Content: State Building, Economic Shifts, and Labor Systems 🌍

#Thematic Foci:

• Governance: How states form, expand, and decline, and how they maintain order. 🏛️
• Economic Systems: The ways societies produce, exchange, and consume goods and services. 💰
• Social Interactions and Organization: How societies group members and the norms that govern interactions. 🧑‍🤝‍🧑

#College Board Learning Objectives:

• Understand state building and expansion from 1450-1750. 📈
• Explain changes and continuities in economic and labor systems. ⚙️
• Analyze shifts in slavery during this period. ⛓️

#Historical Developments:

• European Trading Posts: Europeans set up profitable trading posts in Africa and Asia. Some Asian states limited European influence. 🚢

• European Maritime Empires: Driven by rivalries, European states established empires (Portuguese, Spanish, Dutch, French, British). 👑

• African State Growth: Trading networks fostered growth in African states like Asante and Kongo. 🌍

• Indian Ocean Trade: Existing trade networks continued to flourish, including intra-Asian trade. 🌊

• Colonial Economies: American colonies depended on agriculture, using systems like mit'a, chattel slavery, indentured servitude, encomienda, and hacienda. 🧑‍🌾

• African Enslavement: Traditional forms continued, with enslaved people exported to the Mediterranean and Indian Ocean regions. 😥

• Plantation Economy: Increased demand for enslaved labor in the Americas led to major demographic, social, and cultural changes. 💔

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#Europeans in the World 🌍

#Trading Post Cities

Europeans established trading post cities as bases for trade and imperial administration. These became hubs for cultural and economic exchange, but also for exploitation. 🏙️

#Africa

• European merchants and missionaries reached inland to Kongo and Benin, establishing relationships with local leaders. 🤝
• Some West African states, like the Asante Empire and the Kingdom of the Kongo, became major players in the slave trade, gaining wealth and power. 👑
• The slave trade had devastating consequences, leading to the loss of millions of people and social disruption. 💔

#Japan

• Initially welcomed Portuguese and Dutch traders and missionaries. ⛩️
• Later banned Christianity and contact with the outside world in 1639, entering a period of isolation to protect traditional culture. 🚫
• This isolation allowed for unique cultural development, but also meant missing out on global advancements. ⏳

#China

• After Zheng He’s explorations, the Ming dynasty retreated into isolationist policies. 🇨🇳
• Europeans had to wait centuries for access to China. ⏳
• In the 19th century, the Qing dynasty was forced to open up to foreign powers, who feared a return to isolationism. ...