Changing Social Hierarchies: Class and Race from 1450-1750

#AP World History: Modern - Social Hierarchies (1450-1750) 🌍

Hey! Let's break down how societies changed during this period. Get ready to ace that exam! 💪

#Changing Social Hierarchies

This unit is super important because it covers major shifts in social structures across the globe. Expect to see questions on class, race, and how they intertwined with power and economics.

• Key Idea: Class and race were major factors shaping social, economic, and political life. Let's dive in!

• Europe:

  • Rigid class structure from the Middle Ages persisted (nobility, clergy, commoners).
  • Growth of the merchant class challenged traditional structures, creating some social mobility.

• Americas:

  • Complex racial hierarchy created by European colonizers and the slave trade.
  • Europeans at the top, followed by mixed-race groups (mulattoes, mestizos), and then Africans.
  • Racial categories used to justify exploitation and maintain dominance.

• Asia:

  • Caste system in India continued to dictate social status based on birth.

#Gunpowder Empires 💣

• Quick Reminder: The big three gunpowder empires were the Ottoman, Mughal, and Safavid.

• Ottoman Empire:

  • Sultans at the top, granting favors to groups like soldiers.
  • Middle class included military, scholars, and bureaucrats.
  • Janissaries (military elite) gained power and sometimes challenged the Sultan.
  • Surprising religious tolerance for Jews and Christians (though they paid the jizya tax).
  • Many Jews expelled from Spain and Portugal migrated here, boosting the empire's power.

• Mughal Empire:

  • Under Akbar the Great, even more tolerance: abolished the jizya tax and supported Sikhism (a blend of Hinduism and Islam).
  • Women like Roxelana showed some social mobility, rising from slave to royal wife.

#China 🇨🇳

• Qing Dynasty (1644-1912): ...