AP World History: Modern
Comprehensive content review Units 1–9 | Key Concepts, Events & Exam Review
Units 1–9 | 1200–Present
How to study: For each topic, remember (1) what happened, (2) why it happened, (3)
its effects, and (4) a specific historical example. Continuity = what stayed the same;
change = what became different; syncretism = blending of traditions; diffusion =
movement of ideas, beliefs, technologies, or crops between societies.
,Table of Contents
● Unit 1: The Global Tapestry (1200–1450)
○ 1.1 Song China: Government, Beliefs, and Economy
○ 1.2 Dar al-Islam and New Islamic States
○ 1.3 South and Southeast Asia
○ 1.4 States in the Americas
○ 1.5 African State Building
○ 1.6 Europe: Feudalism and Religion
● Unit 2: Networks of Exchange (1200–1450)
○ 2.1 The Silk Roads
○ 2.2 Indian Ocean Trade
○ 2.3 Trans-Saharan Trade
○ 2.4 Cultural Diffusion
○ 2.5 Environmental Effects
○ 2.6 Mongol Empire and the Pax Mongolica
● Unit 3: Land-Based Empires (1450–1750)
○ 3.1 Expansion and Gunpowder
○ 3.2 Legitimation vs. Consolidation
○ 3.3 Belief and Conflict
● Unit 4: Transoceanic Interconnections (1450–1750)
○ 4.1 Maritime Technology
○ 4.2 Reasons for European Exploration
○ 4.3 Columbian Exchange
○ 4.4 Colonial Systems and Coerced Labor
○ 4.5 Trade, Labor, and Economic Changes
○ 4.6 Resistance and Social Hierarchies
● Unit 5: Revolutions and Industrialization (1750–1900)
○ 5.1 Enlightenment and Reform
○ 5.2 Nationalism and Political Revolutions
○ 5.3 Why Industrialization Began in Britain
○ 5.4 Industrialization Spreads
○ 5.5 Industrial Technology
○ 5.6 Economic Ideologies and Social Change
● Unit 6: Consequences of Industrialization (1750–1900)
○ 6.1 Motives for Imperialism
○ 6.2 Imperial Expansion
○ 6.3 Economic Imperialism in China
○ 6.4 Scramble for Africa
○ 6.5 Resistance and Nationalism
○ 6.6 Cash Crops and Export Economies
, ○ 6.7 Migration
● Unit 7: Global Conflict (1900–1945)
○ 7.1 Revolutionary Political Change
○ 7.2 Causes of World War I (1914–1918)
○ 7.3 WWI and WWII: Total War
○ 7.4 Between the Wars
○ 7.5 Causes of World War II (1939–1945)
○ 7.6 Mass Atrocities
● Unit 8: Cold War and Decolonization (1945–Present)
○ 8.1 The Cold War (roughly 1947–1991)
○ 8.2 Communist China
○ 8.3 Decolonization
○ 8.4 Israel and Palestine
○ 8.5 Migration and Resistance
○ 8.6 End of the Cold War
● Unit 9: Globalization (1900–Present)
○ 9.1 Technology and Interconnection
○ 9.2 Food, Population, and Medicine
○ 9.3 Environmental Effects
○ 9.4 Global Economies
○ 9.5 Culture, Rights, and Institutions
● Core Connections Across All Nine Units
○ High-Yield Distinctions
Comprehensive content review Units 1–9 | Key Concepts, Events & Exam Review
Units 1–9 | 1200–Present
How to study: For each topic, remember (1) what happened, (2) why it happened, (3)
its effects, and (4) a specific historical example. Continuity = what stayed the same;
change = what became different; syncretism = blending of traditions; diffusion =
movement of ideas, beliefs, technologies, or crops between societies.
,Table of Contents
● Unit 1: The Global Tapestry (1200–1450)
○ 1.1 Song China: Government, Beliefs, and Economy
○ 1.2 Dar al-Islam and New Islamic States
○ 1.3 South and Southeast Asia
○ 1.4 States in the Americas
○ 1.5 African State Building
○ 1.6 Europe: Feudalism and Religion
● Unit 2: Networks of Exchange (1200–1450)
○ 2.1 The Silk Roads
○ 2.2 Indian Ocean Trade
○ 2.3 Trans-Saharan Trade
○ 2.4 Cultural Diffusion
○ 2.5 Environmental Effects
○ 2.6 Mongol Empire and the Pax Mongolica
● Unit 3: Land-Based Empires (1450–1750)
○ 3.1 Expansion and Gunpowder
○ 3.2 Legitimation vs. Consolidation
○ 3.3 Belief and Conflict
● Unit 4: Transoceanic Interconnections (1450–1750)
○ 4.1 Maritime Technology
○ 4.2 Reasons for European Exploration
○ 4.3 Columbian Exchange
○ 4.4 Colonial Systems and Coerced Labor
○ 4.5 Trade, Labor, and Economic Changes
○ 4.6 Resistance and Social Hierarchies
● Unit 5: Revolutions and Industrialization (1750–1900)
○ 5.1 Enlightenment and Reform
○ 5.2 Nationalism and Political Revolutions
○ 5.3 Why Industrialization Began in Britain
○ 5.4 Industrialization Spreads
○ 5.5 Industrial Technology
○ 5.6 Economic Ideologies and Social Change
● Unit 6: Consequences of Industrialization (1750–1900)
○ 6.1 Motives for Imperialism
○ 6.2 Imperial Expansion
○ 6.3 Economic Imperialism in China
○ 6.4 Scramble for Africa
○ 6.5 Resistance and Nationalism
○ 6.6 Cash Crops and Export Economies
, ○ 6.7 Migration
● Unit 7: Global Conflict (1900–1945)
○ 7.1 Revolutionary Political Change
○ 7.2 Causes of World War I (1914–1918)
○ 7.3 WWI and WWII: Total War
○ 7.4 Between the Wars
○ 7.5 Causes of World War II (1939–1945)
○ 7.6 Mass Atrocities
● Unit 8: Cold War and Decolonization (1945–Present)
○ 8.1 The Cold War (roughly 1947–1991)
○ 8.2 Communist China
○ 8.3 Decolonization
○ 8.4 Israel and Palestine
○ 8.5 Migration and Resistance
○ 8.6 End of the Cold War
● Unit 9: Globalization (1900–Present)
○ 9.1 Technology and Interconnection
○ 9.2 Food, Population, and Medicine
○ 9.3 Environmental Effects
○ 9.4 Global Economies
○ 9.5 Culture, Rights, and Institutions
● Core Connections Across All Nine Units
○ High-Yield Distinctions
