Ultimate Guide to AP® World History World history is all about understanding patterns. This course covers 10,000 years of 

history with a focus on global trends in society, politics, culture, economics, and adaptations to the environment. It’s not about memorizing, it’s about analyzing. #apworld 55 multiple choice, 3 short-answers, 1 long-essay, & 1 document-based question 

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Table of Contents Quick Look Understand the Exam Content Overview 

Period 1: Technological & Environmental Transformations (up to 600 BCE) Period 2: Organization & Reorganization of Human Societies (600 BCE-600 CE) Period 3: Regional and Interregional Interactions (600 CE-1450 CE) Period 4: Global Interactions (1450 - 1750 CE) Period 5: Industrialization and Global Integration (1750 - 1900 CE) Period 6: Accelerating Global Change & Realignments (1900 CE to the present)  Most Important Dates to Know 

Past Essay Questions by Topic Recommended Resources 

Fiveable Live Streams Fiveable+ Prep Books Apps 

 

Quick Look   Exam Breakdown  Content Breakdown 

  ● Multiple Choice —  55 Questions | 55 mins | 40% of Exam 

● Short Answer —  3 Questions | 40 mins | 20% of Exam 

● Document Based —  1 Question | 60 mins | 25% of Exam  

● Long Essay —  1 Question | 40 mins | 15% of Exam 

1. Period 1 (8000 BCE - 600 BCE) = 5% 2. Period 2 (600 BCE - 600 CE) = 15% 3. Period 3 (600 CE - 1450 CE) = 20% 4. Period 4 (1450 CE - 1750 CE) = 20% 5. Period 5 (1750 CE - 1900 CE) = 20% 6. Period 6 (1900 CE - present) = 20% 

 *AP® and Advanced Placement® are registered trademarks of the College Board, which was not involved in the production of, and does not endorse, this product 

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Understand the Exam   Multiple Choice (MC) 

1. There are 55 questions to answer in 55 minutes. 2. Every question is weighted equally and there is no penalty for guessing. You get a point for every 

question you answer correctly and you don’t get a point if you are wrong. Points are never lost. 3. Multiple choice questions will appear in sets of 2-5 with a stimulus attached. The stimulus can be a 

text, image, map, chart, or any other primary or secondary source document that the set of questions will refer to. 

 Short Answer (SAQ) 

1. There are 3 SAQs to be completed in 40 minutes.  2. Question 1 and 2 are required and will be based on content from periods 3-6. 3. You can then choose either Question 3 (periods 1-3) or Question 4 (periods 4-6). 4. SAQs may or may not include stimuli, similar to the multiple-choice. If there is a source attached, 

responses should refer specifically to the document in their response. 5. Each SAQ is worth 3 points, for a total of 9 points in this section. 6. Points are only awarded, not taken away, so there is no penalty for guessing. 7. SAQ answers are constricted to one box on one page, so they must be concise.  

 Document-Based Question (DBQ)  

1. There is one DBQ to be written in 60 minutes. Make sure to use the first 15 mins to organize your documents and outline your essay. Here’s more on how to optimize your DBQ prep time! 

2. The question will refer to content from periods 3-6 and there is no choice with the prompt. 3. The DBQ includes a set of 7 documents that must be used to develop an argument. 4. DBQs are graded on a scale of 7 points using the following rubric: 

a. Thesis/Claim (1 pt): Responds to the prompt with a historically defensible claim b. Contextualization (1 pt): Describes a broader historical context relevant to the prompt c. Evidence from the documents (2 pts): Uses content of three docs for 1 pt, six docs for 2 pts d. Evidence beyond the documents (1 pt): Uses at least one piece of evidence not in the docs e. Sourcing (1 pt): Explains point-of-view, purpose, context, or audience for at 3 three docs f. Complexity (1 pt): Demonstrates a complex understanding of the development  

 Long Essay (LEQ) 

1. There is one LEQ to be written in 40 minutes.  2. Students can choose between 3 prompts. Option 1 refers to periods 1-2, option 2 refers to periods 

3-4, and option 3 refers to periods 5-6. All options will have the same theme and skill. 3. LEQs have three different skills - comparison, continuity and change over time (CCOT), causation. 4. LEQs are graded on a scale of 6 points using the following rubric: 

a. Thesis/Claim (1 pt): Responds to the prompt with a historically defensible claim b. Contextualization (1 pt): Describes a broader historical context relevant to the prompt c. Evidence (2 pts): Provides specific historical examples to support an argument d. Historical Reasoning (1 pt): Uses comparison, causation, or CCOT to address prompt e. Complexity (1 pt): Demonstrates a complex understanding of the development  

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Content Overview *The following outline was adapted from the AP® World History Course Description as published by the College Board in 2017 found here. This outline reflects the most recent revisions to the course.  Period 1: Technological & Environmental Transformations (up to 600 BCE)  KEY CONCEPTS……………………………………………………………………………………………………………..…………..………..……… 

1.1. Early Humans & Migrations >> Key Concept 1.1 Review in 6 Minutes I. During the Paleolithic era, humans migrated from East Africa to the rest of the world. 

A. Humans developed diverse tools. B. People lived in small groups that exchanged ideas, people, and goods. 

 1.2. Neolithic Revolution >> Key Concept 1.2 Review in 8 Minutes 

I. The Neolithic Revolution made everything more complex. Was it a mistake? A. Agrarian societies emerged around the world. B. People domesticated plants & animals. C. Pastoralism developed and affected the environment. D. Agriculture required adaptations to the environment, which affected diversity. 

II. Agriculture & pastoralism changed human society. A. Food surplus led to specialization of labor and social hierarchies. B. Technology improved communication, trade, and transportation. C. Patriarchal societies formed. 

 1.3. Early Agrarian Societies >> Key Concept 1.3 Review in 7 Minutes 

I. Core civilizations developed where in river valleys, where agriculture flourished. A. Mesopotamia, Egypt, Mohenjo-Daro, Harappa, Shang, Olmec, Chavin 

II. States emerged. A. States had surpluses of food & labor, rulers that claimed divine right, and armies. B. More resources increased populations, which led to conquest and expansion. C. Innovation led to new weapons (bows, iron) and new transportation (chariots). 

III. Culture unified states. A. States built monumental architecture (Ziggurats, Pyramids, Defensive Walls). B. Writing and record-keeping spread (Cuneiform, Hieroglyphs). C. Legal codes were developed (Code of Hammurabi, Code of Ur-Nammu). D. New religions beliefs developed and spread (Judaism, Hinduism, Zoroastrianism). E. Trade networks expanded (Mesopotamia-Egypt, Egypt-Nubia, China-Southwest Asia). F. Social hierarchies & patriarchies intensified 

       

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PERIOD 1 ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS…………………..………………………………………………………………………..………..……… 1. In what ways did geography affect human migration and how did humans adapt? 2. In what ways did agriculture transform human society? 3. How did early agricultural, pastoral, and urban societies develop and interact?

 PERIOD 1 CONCEPTS & VOCABULARY…………………………………………………………..……..…………………………............. 

● Aboriginals ● agriculture ● ancestor veneration ● Aryans ● Axum ● Babylonians ● barter ● Book of the Dead ● Carthage ● Catal Huyuk ● Chavin civilization ● city-states ● civilization ● cuneiform ● dharma ● division of labor ● domestication ● Easter Island ● Fertile Crescent ● Hammurabi ● Harappa ● Hebrews ● hieroglyphics 

● Homo sapiens sapiens ● Huang He ● hunter-forager ● Indus River Valley ● Israelites ● Jericho ● Jewish Diaspora ● karma ● King Menes ● Kush ● Mandate of Heaven ● Mesoamerica ● Mesopotamia ● Mohenjo-Daro ● monotheism ● Neolithic Revolution ● Nile River ● nomadic pastoralism ● Olmec ● over-farming ● Paleolithic Era ● patriarchal ● Phoenicians 

● pictographs ● polytheistic ● Ramses the Great ● Rig-Veda ● Sanskrit ● Shang Dynasty ● social stratification ● specialization of labor ● Sumer/Sumerians ● surplus ● Ten Commandments ● The Epic of Gilgamesh ● theocrats ● Tigris & Euphrates 

rivers ● Upanishads ● Uruk ● Vedas ● Xia Dynasty ● Zhou Dynasty ● ziggurats 

   

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Period 2: Organization & Reorganization of Human Societies (600 BCE-600 CE)  KEY CONCEPTS……………………………………………………………………………………………………………..…………..………..……… 

2.1. Religion & Culture >> Key Concept 2.1 Review in 9 Minutes I. Old religions were developed and codified. 

A. Spread of monotheism through Hebrew scriptures and Jewish diaspora. B. Hinduism developed in India with a caste system that affected political & social roles. 

II. New religions emerged and spread.  A. Buddhism developed in India, spread throughout Asia. B. Confucianism developed in China with key ideas in education and relationships. C. Daoism influenced China, focused on balance between humans and nature. D. Christianity influenced by Judaism & Hellenism, spread through Eurasia. E. Greco-Roman philosophers used logic and empiricism to understand the world. F. Religion was reflected in architecture. 

III. Religion affected social structures. A. Confucianism emphasized filial piety. B. Monasticism was practiced by some Buddhists and Christians.  

IV. Other traditions. A. Shamanism, animism, ancestor veneration continued in periphery civilizations. 

 2.2. States & Empires >> Key Concept 2.2 Review in 10 Minutes 

I. States unified and expanded.  A. Key states = Persia, Qin & Han, Maurya & Gupta, Phoenicia, Greek city-states, 

Hellenistic Empires, Roman Empire, Teotihuacan, Maya city-states, Moche, Cahokia II. States developed new systems of political administration. 

A. Centralized governments managed bureaucracies and legal systems. B. Trade and military power led to diplomacy, defensive walls, and roads. 

III. Changes in social and economic structures. A. Imperial cities were centers of trade, religion, and politics 

1. Persepolis, Chang’an, Pataliputra, Athens, Carthage, Rome, Alexandria, Constantinople, Teotihuacan 

B. Social hierarchies included laborers, slaves, artisans, merchants, and elites. C. Labor systems developed to maintain food production (corvee, slavery, tributes). D. Patriarchy continued. 

IV. Empires of the classic era collapsed. A. States fell because of overexpansion, political corruption, social tensions, economic 

difficulties, and elites with too much power. B. Lack of security led to outside invasions. 

 2.3. Classical Trade >> Key Concept 2.3 Review in 9 Minutes 

I. Land & water routes allowed for interregional trade. A. Silk Roads, Trans-Saharan routes, Indian Ocean sea lanes, Mediterranean sea lanes. 

II. New technologies expanded trade. A. Transportation of goods through domesticated animals. B. Adaptations to the environment innovated maritime trade (monsoon management). 

III. People, beliefs, goods, and disease spread on trade networks. A. Spread of crops (rice & cotton) changed farming techniques (qanat). B. Spread of disease led to decline in populations (smallpox). C. Spread of religions (Christianity, Hinduism, Buddhism) led to syncretisms. 

 

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 PERIOD 2 ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS……………………..…………………………………………………………….………………………… 

1. In what ways did humans develop and codify religious and cultural traditions? 2. In what ways did states and empires rise, develop, and fall? 3. In what ways did interregional networks of communication and exchange emerge and develop? 

 

PERIOD 2 CONCEPTS & VOCABULARY………………………………………………………..…………………………...………..……….. ● Achaemenid empire ● ahimsa ● Alexander the Great ● Alexandria ● aristocracy/aristocrats ● Aristotle ● ascetic ● Ashoka Maurya ● Bhagavad Gita ● Buddhism ● caravanserai ● Carthage ● caste system ● Chandragupta Maurya ● Chichen Itza ● Christianity ● Cicero ● civil service exam ● Confucianism ● Constantine ● consuls ● Crete ● Cyrus the Great ● dao ● Dao De Jing ● Daoism ● Darius I ● Delian League ● democracy ● direct democracy ● Edict of Milan ● empiricism ● Epicureanism 

● Four Noble Truths ● Ganges River ● Gupta Dynasty ● Han Dynasty ● Hellenistic period ● hieroglyphics ● Homer ● Iliad ● Indian Ocean sea lanes ● Jainism ● Jesus ● Julius Caesar ● Kushan Empire ● latifundia ● Laws of the Twelve 

Tables ● Mauryan Dynasty ● Maya/Mayan ● Minoan civilization ● Moche ● monasteries ● obsidian ● Octavian/Caesar 

Augustus ● oligarchy ● Olmec ● Parthians ● patricians ● Pax Romana ● Pax Sinica ● Peloponnesian League ● Persian Wars ● Plato 

● plebeians ● poleis (polis) ● Punic Wars ● qanat ● reincarnation ● representative 

democracy ● republic ● Rock and Pillar Edicts ● Royal Road ● Sassanids ● satraps ● Seleucids ● Shihuangdi ● Siddhartha Gautama ● Silk Roads ● Socrates ● Spartacus Revolution ● Stoicism ● syncretic ● Teotihuacan ● tribunes ● tribute ● Vedas Upanishads ● White Huns ● Xerxes ● Xiongnu ● Yellow Turban 

Rebellion ● Zarathustra ● Zoroastrianism 

       

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Period 3: Regional and Interregional Interactions (600 CE-1450 CE)  KEY CONCEPTS……………………………………………………………………………………………………………..…………..………..……… 

3.1. Trade in the Post-Classical Era >> Key Concept 3.1 Review in 12 Minutes I. New technology expanded trade. 

A. Existing trade routes in Afro-Eurasia flourished and expanded, led to new cities. B. Networks also developed in the Americas (Mississippi River Valley, Andes). C. New transportations increased trade including caravanserai, compass, astrolabe, 

larger ships. Led to new forms of currency (credit, checks, paper money). D. Trading organizations facilitated trade (Hanseatic League) and states sponsored 

infrastructure that increased trade (Grand Canal). E. Tang, Song, Byzantine, Mongols, and Muslim empires facilitated trade. 

II. Movement of people affected the environment and languages. A. Trade needed adaptations to the environment (Viking longships, camels, horses). B. Migrations transmitted technology and crops (Bantu, Polynesian). C. Diffusion and emergence of new languages (Bantu, Turkic, Arabic). 

III. Intensification of existing trade routes. A. Islam developed, expanded, and intensified trade because of merchants & 

missionaries. B. Diasporic communities spread culture (Muslims in IO, Chinese in SE Asia). C. Explorers wrote about their travels (Ibn Battuta, Marco Polo, Xuanxang). D. Diffusion of art, literature, culture, and science. 

IV. Spread of crops and disease along trade routes (bananas in Africa, rice in East Asia).  

3.2. Politics & State-Building >> Key Concept 3.2 Review in 14 Minutes I. Empires collapsed and, in some areas, were replaced. 

A. Old empires were reconstituted. (Byzantine, Sui, Tang, Song). B. New empires replaced old empires (Mongols, Islamic states, feudal states). C. Local & foreign traditions were synthesized. D. Networks in the Americas expanded and flourished (Mayans, Aztecs, Incas). 

II. Technology & culture spread because of increased trade and conflict. A. Spread of Islamic scientific knowledge, Greco-Islamic medicine 

 3.3. Economic Productivity and its Consequences >> Key Concept 3.3 Review in 6 Minutes 

I. Innovation stimulated production.  A. Food production increased because of new technologies (chinampa, waru waru). B. Demand for luxuries increased, merchants expanded production. 

II. Cities declined and thrived with productivity and trade. A. Invasions, disease, and decline of agriculture led to the decline of cities after classical 

era. B. End of invasions, safe and reliable transportation, and climate change revived cities. 

III. Changes and continuities in social structures. A. Labor systems included peasants, nomadic pastoralism, guilds, and coerced labor. B. Social hierarchies were shaped by class and caste.  

1. Some women had power (Mongols, West Africa, Japan, SE Asia). C. New forms of coerced labor including serfdom, mit’a system, and slavery. D. Buddhism, Christianity, Islam, and Neo Confucianism affected gender & family.  

    

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 PERIOD 3 ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS…………………………….…………………………………………………………………………….…  

1. To what extent was there expansion and intensification of communications and trade networks? 2. To what extent was there continuity and/or innovation of state forms and their interactions? 3. To what extent did economic productive capacity increase and what were the consequences? 

 PERIOD 3 CONCEPTS & VOCABULARY…………………………………………..…………..…………………………...………..……….. 

● Abbasid ● Abu Bakr ● Ali ● Angkor Kingdom ● Aztec ● Battle of Manzikert ● Battle of Tours ● Bantu ● Black Death ● bourgeoisie ● Byzantine Empire ● Cahokia ● caliphs ● Carolingian Dynasty ● Chan (Zen) Buddhism ● Charlemagne ● Charles Martel ● Chichen Itza ● chinampas ● code of chivalry ● Constantinople ● Crusades ● Cyrillic alphabet ● Dar al-Islam ● Delhi Sultanate ● dhows ● Eastern Orthodox  ● Empress Wu ● equal-field system ● fast-ripening rice ● feudalism ● flying cash ● foot binding ● Franks ● Genghis Khan ● Ghana ● Grand Canal 

● Great Schism ● Great Zimbabwe ● guilds ● Hagia Sophia ● Hanseatic League ● Holy Roman Empire ● humanism ● Hundred Years’ War ● Ibn Battuta ● Iconoclast ● Inca ● Indian Ocean Trade ● investiture controversy ● jizya ● junk ● Justinian I ● khanates ● Kievan Rus ● King Clovis ● Kongo Kingdom ● kowtow ● Kublai Khan ● lateen sails ● Little Ice Age ● longships ● Magna Carta ● Mahmud of Ghazni ● Mali ● Mamluks ● manorial system ● Mansa Musa ● Marco Polo ● Ming Dynasty ● Mississippian ● mita system ● monasteries ● Mongols 

● monsoon winds ● Muhammad ● Neo-Confucianism ● Nicolaus Copernicus ● Pax Mongolica ● primogeniture ● quipu ● Qur’an ● reconquista ● Renaissance ● schism ● scholar gentry ● Scholasticism ● Seljuk Turks ● shogun ● Silla Kingdom ● sinification ● Slavs ● Song Dynasty ● Songhai ● Sufis ● Sui Dynasty ● sultan ● Sundiata ● Swahili city-states ● Tang Dynasty ● theme system ● theocracy ● three-field system ● Toltec ● trans-Saharan trade ● tribute system ● Umayyad Dynasty ● Vikings ● woodblock printing ● Xuanzang ● Yuan Dynasty 

   

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Period 4: Global Interactions (1450 - 1750 CE)  KEY CONCEPTS……………………………………………………………………………………………………………..…………..………..……… 

4.1. Globalized trade >> Key Concept 4.1 Review in 12 Minutes I. Global circulation of goods intensified trade. 

A. Prosperity & economic disruption triggered across Afro-Eurasia. II. Technological developments in cartography and navigation intensified trade. 

A. New tools, ship designs (caravel, carrack, fluyt), and understandings of wind and current patterns 

III. New transoceanic maritime reconnaissance. A. Portugues technology and skills increased travel and trade with West Africa and led 

to a global trading-post empire. B. Spanish sponsorship of voyages increased European interest in trade. C. North Atlantic crossings spurred European search for new routes.  

IV. New global circulation of goods facilitated by European charters and the flow of silver. A. Europeans transported goods from one Asian country to another. B. Creation of a global economy because of silver trade. C. Mercantilist policies used by Europeans to finance and compete in global trade. D. Atlantic system of trade moved people, goods, and wealth across the ocean. 

V. Columbian Exchange connected the hemispheres. A. Europeans spread diseases to the Americas, wiped out most Indigenous 

communities. B. American foods (potatoes, maize, manioc) and cash crops (sugar, tobacco) spread to 

Afro-Eurasia. C. Afro-Eurasian foods (okra, rice) and animals (horses, pigs, cattle) spread to the 

Americas. D. Populations across Afro-Eurasia increased because of new foods. E. European colonization affected the environment through deforestation and soil 

depletion. VI. Reform of existing religions & creation of syncretic beliefs. 

A. Reforms = Protestantism, Catholicism. Syncretic = Sikhism, Vodun. VII. Funding for visual & performing arts increased, new focuses on innovation & science. 

 4.2. Class & Race >> Key Concept 4.2 Review in 11 Minutes 

I. The Little Ice Age contributed to changes in agricultural practices. II. Demand for products increased, so more labor was needed. 

A. Peasant & artisan labor intensified. B. Slavery in Africa continued (mainly female slaves) and the export of slaves increased. C. Plantation economy in the Americas increased demand for slaves. D. Colonial economies depended on coerced labor (chattel slavery, indentured servants, 

encomienda, Inca mit’a system.  III. Ethnic, racial, and gender hierarchies were restructured.  

A. New political and economic elites (Manchus, Creoles, European gentry). B. Existing elites continued (zamindars, European nobility, daimyo). C. Gender & family restructuring (smaller families in Europe). 

 4.3. Land & Sea Empires >> Key Concept 4.3 Review in 8 Minutes 

I. Rulers used several methods to legitimize & consolidate their power. A. Rulers used religion, art, & architecture to legitimize rule. 

1. Divine right in Europe, Aztec human sacrifice, Safavid use of Shiism, Songhay promotion of Islam, Ottoman miniature painting, Qing imperial portraits. 

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B. Differential treatment of ethnic and religious groups. 1. Spanish & portuguese racial classifications (mestizo, mulatto, creole). 

C. Bureaucratic elites & military professionals.  1. Ottoman devshirme, Chinese civil service exam, salaried samurai. 

D. Rulers collected tributes and taxes to generate revenue for expansion. II. Gunpowder, cannons, and armed trade allowed empires to expand. 

A. European trading-post empires in Africa & Asia. B. Land empires included Manchu, Mughal, Ottoman, Russian. C. Maritime empires included Portuguese, Spanish, Dutch, French, and British. 

III. Competition over trade routes, state rivalries, and local resistance made things difficult. A. Competition over trade = Omani-European rivalry in IO, piracy in Caribbean. B. State rivalries = 30 Years’ War, Ottoman-Safavid conflict C. Local resistance = food riots, Samurai revolts, peasant uprisings 

 ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 

1. What changes and continuities did the people of the world experience as a result of globalizing networks of communication and exchange? 

2. What were the new forms of social organization and modes of production? 3. In what ways did states consolidate and expand their empires? 

  PERIOD 3 CONCEPTS & VOCABULARY………………………………………………………..…………………………...………..……….. 

● 95 Theses ● Adam Smith ● African Diaspora ● Akbar ● Anglican Church ● Atahualpa ● Atlantic trade system ● Aurangzeb ● Aztec Empire ● Babur ● cash crop ● castas ● coffeehouses ● colonies ● Columbian Exchange ● Commercial Revolution ● conquistadores ● cottage industries ● Council of Trent ● Counter-Reformation ● creole ● devshirme ● divine right ● East India Company ● encomienda ● English Civil War ● Enlightenment 

● fur trade ● galleons ● Glorious Revolution ● Great Peace of 

Montreal ● Gunpowder Empires ● Hermit Kingdom ● Inca Empire ● indentured servitude ● indulgences ● Inquisition ● John Locke ● joint-stock companies ● Kabuki theater ● maritime empires ● mercantilism ● mestizos ● Middle Passage ● Ming Dynasty ● miniature paintings ● mit’a system ● mulattoes ● Northwest passage ● Ottoman Empire ● Peace of Augsburg ● Peace of Utrecht ● Peace of Westphalia 

● Peninsulares ● Protestant 

Reformation ● Puritans ● Qing Dynasty ● Safavids ● Santeria ● Scholasticism ● sepoys ● Sikhism ● steppes ● Suleiman I ● Sunni Ali ● Taj Mahal ● Thirty Years’ War ● Tokugawa Shogunate ● transatlantic slave 

trade ● Treaty of Tordesillas ● triangular trade ● Versailles ● viceroys ● Virgin of Guadalupe ● Westernization ● White Lotus Rebellion ● zamindars ● Zheng He 

  

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Period 5: Industrialization and Global Integration (1750 - 1900 CE) 

 KEY CONCEPTS……………………………………………………………………………………………………………..…………..………..……… 

5.1. Industrialization and Global Capitalism >> Key Concept 5.1 Review in 10 Minutes I. Industrialization changed how goods were produced. 

A. Industrial Revolution happened first in England because of location, distribution of coal, demographic changes, urbanization, private property protections, an abundance of rivers and canals, access to foreign resources, and accumulated capital. 

B. New machines (steam engine, internal combustion) led to new energy in fossil fuels. C. Factory system concentrated specialized labor in one location.  D. Methods of industrialization spread through Europe, Russia, the US, and Japan. E. Second Industrial Revolution led to new methods with steel, chemicals, & electricity. 

II. Industrialization increased demand for raw materials and new markets. A. Export economies developed to extract raw materials (cotton, rubber, palm oil). B. European and American manufactured goods skyrocketed while non-industrial 

countries declined because manual produced less than machines. (textiles in India) C. Global economy expanded and favored western countries. For example, opium 

produced in Middle East and exported to China. Cotton grown in South Asia, Egypt, the Caribbean, and North America and exported to Europe.  

III. New financial institutions to facilitate investment in industrial production. A. New economic ideas with capitalism (Adam Smith) and liberalism (John Stuart Mill). B. Large-scale transnational businesses (United Fruit, HSBC) and new financial 

instruments (stock markets, insurance, gold standard, LLCs). IV. Developments in transportation & communication (railroads, steamships, telegraphs). V. Responses to the spread of global capitalism. 

A. Organization of workers in labor unions for better working conditions, hours, and wages. Workers movements through Marxism. 

B. Reform efforts in Ottoman & Qing to modernize economies and armies (keep up!). C. State-sponsored industrialization (Meiji Japan, Tsarist Russia, Egypt). D. Political, social, educational, and urban reforms in response to the effects of 

industrialization. VI. Organization of societies changed because of restructuring of global economy. 

A. New social classes including middle class & working class. B. Family dynamics, gender roles, and demographic shifts. C. Urbanization spread rapidly. 

 5.2. Imperialism and Nation-State Formation >> Key Concept 5.2 Review in 10 Minutes 

I. Industrial powers developed transoceanic empires. A. States strengthened control over colonies (Britain in India, Netherlands in Indonesia). B. European states, the US, & Japan extended empires, Spanish & Portuguese declined. C. European states used warfare & diplomacy to expand in Africa (Belgium in Congo). D. Settler colonies were established. E. Neocolonialism in Latin America and Economic imperialism in East Asia. 

II. Imperialism influenced state formation & contraction around the world. A. European influence expanded over Tokugawa Japan & led to Meiji reforms. B. The US, Russia, and Japan conquered & settled neighboring states. C. Anti-imperial resistance (Cherokees, Zulu, Sepoy rebellion) 

  

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 5.3. Nationalism, Revolution, and Reform >> Key Concept 5.3 Review in 10 Minutes 

I. Enlightenment thinking challenged established tradition.  A. Enlightenment philosophies developed to rethink the role of religion, the relationship 

with the natural world, and political rights for individuals. B. Ideas were reflected in revolutionary documents (Declaration of Independence, 

Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen, and Bolivar’s Jamaica letter C. Enlightenment ideas challenged existing norms and led to expansion of social rights. 

II. Nationalism developed based on commonalities with language, religion, and territory. Nationalists sought to unite populations through unification (German, Italian). 

III. Challenges to imperial rule led to revolutions. A. Subjects challenged imperial gov’t (Marathas to Mughals, Taipings to Manchus). B. Colonial subjects rebelled (America, Haiti, Latin America). C. Slaves resisted (Maroon societies of Caribbean or Brazil). D. Anticolonial movements spread (Sepoy rebellion, Boxer Rebellion). E. Rebellions influenced by religious ideas (Ghost Dance, Xhosa Cattle-Killing). 

IV. New transnational ideologies connection people around the world. A. Discontent with political norms led to democracy, liberalism, socialism, communism. B. Demands for women’s rights sparked feminist movements (Wollstonecraft, de 

Gouges, Seneca Falls).  

5.4. Global Migration >> Key Concept 5.4 Review in 7 Minutes I. Demographic changes in industrialized & unindustrialized societies led to migrations. 

A. More food production and better medicine increased global population. B. Migrants relocated to cities because transportation was better. Global urbanization 

spread, but some migrants returned to their home societies.  II. Migrations for many push and pull factors. 

A. Search for freedom & work. B. Coercive labor systems continued (slavery, indentured servants, convicts). 

III. Consequences and reactions to migrations varied.  A. Migrants mostly male which left women behind to take on new roles. B. Ethnic enclaves formed around the world (Chinese in SE Asia, Irish & Italian in USA). C. Nativist legislation regulated immigration (Chinese Exclusion Act, White Australia). 

  

    

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PERIOD 5 ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS…………..……………………………………………………………………...………………………… 

1. How did the development of industrialization and global capitalism affect the world? 2. What were the effects of imperialism and nationalism in the world? 3. In what ways did nationalism and revolution bring about reform? 4. What were the major push and pull factors for migration in this period and what effect did the 

movement of people have?   PERIOD 5 CONCEPTS & VOCABULARY…….………………………………………………..…………………………...………..……….. 

● American Revolution ● assembly line ● balance of power ● Berlin Conference ● Boer Wars ● bourgeoisie ● Boxer Rebellion ● capitalism ● cash crops ● Cecil Rhodes ● Charles Darwin ● Chinese Nationalist Party 

(Kuomintang) ● classical liberalism ● communism ● Congress of Vienna ● conservatism ● consumerism ● corvee laborers ● cult of domesticity ● Declaration of 

Independence ● Declaration of the Rights 

of Man / Rights of Woman ● Deism/Deists ● Empress Cixi ● enclosure movement ● export economies ● extraterritoriality ● factory system ● fossil fuel 

● French Revolution ● Great Game ● imperialism ● indentured servants ● Indian National Congress ● industrialization ● interchangeable parts ● Karl Marx ● King Leopold II ● labor unions ● laissez-faire ● Maori ● Maroons ● means of production ● Meiji Restoration ● millenarian movement ● monopoly ● Napoleon Bonaparte ● nationalism ● Open Door Policy ● Opium War ● Otto von Bismarck ● Pan-Africanism ● penal colony ● Qing Dynasty ● raw materials ● realpolitik ● romanticism ● Roosevelt Corollary ● salons ● Scramble for Africa 

● Self-Strengthening Movement 

● separation of powers ● Sepoy mutiny ● Simon Bolivar ● Sino-Japanese War ● Social Darwinism ● socialism ● Suez Canal ● Sun Yat-sen ● Taiping Rebellion ● Tanzimat ● tenement ● Toussaint L’Ouverture ● Trans-Siberian Railroad ● Transcontinental Railroad ● Treaty of Nanking ● Treaty of Portsmouth ● urbanization ● utilitarianism ● utopia ● Wahhabis ● White Australia Policy ● white-collar ● working class ● Xhosa Cattle Killing 

Movement ● Young Turks ● Zionism ● Zulu Kingdom 

       

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Period 6: Accelerating Global Change & Realignments (1900 CE to the present)   KEY CONCEPTS……………………………………………………………………………………………………………..…………..………..……… 

6.1. Science & Technology >> Key Concept 6.1 Review in 12 Minutes I. Rapid advancements in science spread around the world. 

A. New communication (Internet, radio, cell phones) and transportation (planes). B. Green Revolution and commercial agriculture increased food production. C. Medical advancements including vaccines and antibiotics extended life expectancy. D. Energy technologies increased productivity with petroleum and nuclear power. 

II. Global population exploded & changed human interaction with the environment. A. Increased consumption led to deforestation, desertification, etc. B. Increased greenhouse gases has led to climate change. 

III. Demographic shifts because of disease, innovation, and conflict. A. Diseases associated with poverty persist in some areas and are eradicated in more 

wealth places (malaria, TB, cholera), new epidemics spread (1918 flu, ebola, AIDS), and new diseases appeared because people are living longer (diabetes, alzheimer’s). 

B. Birth control transformed women’s roles. C. Military technology & tactics increased casualties because of total war. 

 6.2. Global Conflict >> Key Concept 6.2 Review in 15 Minutes 

I. Global political order shifted from Europe to new powers.  A. Older land-based empires collapsed (Ottoman, Russian, Qing). B. European powers maintained control over colonies until after WWII. C. After WWII, colonies negotiated power (India, Gold Coast) or fought for independence 

(Algeria, Vietnam, Angola, Kenya). II. Empires dissolved and restructured because of emerging anti-imperialist ideologies. 

A. Nationalist leaders in Asia and Africa sought independence (Gandhi, Ho Chi Minh, Kwame Nkrumah).  

B. Regional, religious, and ethnic movements challenged colonial rule (Muslim League, Quebecois, Biafra).  

C. Transnational movements united people across boundaries (communism, pan-Arabism, pan-Africanism). 

D. Movements to redistribute land sparked in Mexico, and across Latin America, Africa, and Asia.  

E. Religious movements sought to redefine the relationship between individual and state. 

III. Political changes led to demographic and social consequences.  A. Redrawing of territories led to conflicts (India/Pakistan, Israel/Palestine). B. Migrations of former colonial subject to imperial cities (Indians to Britain, Algerians to 

France, Filipinos to USA).  C. Rise of extremist groups led to genocide (Armenia, Holocaust, Cambodia, Rwanda). 

IV. Global military conflicts reached unprecedented scales.  A. WWI & WWII caused because of increased militarism, webs of alliances, competitive 

imperialism, and increasing nationalism. Populations at home and abroad were mobilized for total war, especially under fascist and communist regimes.  

B. Economic crisis since the Great Depression led totalitarian regimes to take power. C. Global balance of power shifted as US and USSR last superpowers after WWII. Cold 

War developed between capitalism and communism. D. New alliances produced by Cold War including NATO and the Warsaw Pact, which 

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E. Military spending continuously increased until the USSR collapsed. V. Responses to global conflict. 

A. Non-violence movements challenged change by war (Gandhi, King, Mandela). B. Protest and opposition movements to resist violent regimes (Anti-Apartheid in South 

Africa, global uprisings in 1968, Tiananmen Square in China). C. Militarized states responded to conflicts in ways that further intensified conflicts 

(dictatorships in Chile, Spain, Uganda). D. Violence against citizens to achieve political goals (IRA, ETA, Al-Qaeda). 

 6.3. Globalization & Economics >> Key Concept 6.3 Review in 11 Minutes 

I. State responses to economic challenges of the 20th century. A. Communist states (USSR & China) developed state-controlled economies, which 

included repressive policies and negative consequences (5-year plans, Great Leap). B. Governments became more active in the economy after the Great Depression. C. Newly independent nations took on strong roles in economic life (Nasser, Nehru). D. Many countries promoted free-market policies (Reagan, Thatcher, Xiaoping). E. Growth of knowledge economies in developed areas and manufacturing in 

developing areas. II. States became increasingly interdependent.  

A. New international organizations to promote peace (League of Nations, UN). B. Economic institutions (IMF, World Bank, WTO) and trade agreements (EU, NAFTA).  C. Movements to protect the environment (Greenpeace, Green Belt, Earth Day).  

III. Increased education and political participation challenged societal norms. A. Challenges to assumptions about race & class (UN Declaration of Human Rights, 

feminist movements, Negritude, Liberation theology, Islamic renewal). B. Increased access to education & politics (right to vote for women, female literacy, 

Civil Rights Act, end of Apartheid).  IV. Global popular culture more connected than ever before (reggae, Bollywood, Olympics). 

   

                    

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  PERIOD 6 ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS……………...……………………………………………………………………………………………… 

1. How did changes in science impact global issues? 2. What were the causes and consequences of 20th century global conflicts? 3. In what ways did the global economy and culture change during the 20th century? 

 

PERIOD 6 CONCEPTS & VOCABULARY………………………………………………………..…………………………...………..……….. ● 9/11 ● AIDS ● Adolf Hitler ● ANC ● Algerian Civil War ● Americanization ● Amnesty International ● antibiotic ● Apartheid ● appeasement ● Arab Spring ● Archduke Francis 

Ferdinand ● Asian Tigers ● Berlin Wall ● Blitzkrieg ● Bollywood ● Bolsheviks ● Chinese Civil War ● Climate change ● Cold War ● collectivization ● containment ● Cuban Missile Crisis ● Cultural Revolution ● decolonization ● Deng Xiaoping ● detente ● domino theory ● European Union (EU) ● fascism ● feminism ● Fidel Castro 

● glasnost ● globalization ● Great Depression ● Great Leap Forward ● Green Belt Movement ● Green Revolution ● Greenpeace ● Ho Chi Minh ● Holocaust ● human rights ● hydrogen bomb ● influenza epidemic ● Iranian Revolution ● Irish Republican Army 

(IRA) ● Iron Curtain ● Islamism ● Island-hopping ● Joseph Stalin ● Khmer Rouge ● Korean War ● League of Nations ● mandate system ● Mao Zedong ● Marshall Plan ● Mexican Revolution ● Mikhail Gorbachev ● militarism ● military-industrial complex ● Mohandas Gandhi ● Muslim League ● Mutual Assured 

Destruction (MAD) 

● Negritude Movement ● Neocolonialism ● New Deal ● Non-Aligned Movement ● Non-governmental org. ● Pan-Africanism ● Pan-Arabism ● Partition ● perestroika ● reparations ● Russian Revolution ● Soviet Union ● Space race ● Sputnik ● total war ● Theory of Relativity ● Transnational corp. ● Treaty of Versailles ● trench warfare ● United Nations (UN) ● Vietnam War ● Weapons of mass 

destruction ● World Bank ● World Trade Organization 

(WTO) ● World War I ● World War II ● Yalta Conference ● Zhenotdel ● Zionists 

  

 

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Most Important Dates to Know There will never be a question on the AP World History exam that specifically requires you to remember a date. However, you do need to know the timeline of events to place cause and effect. Plus, you can earn evidence points for knowing dates. The following are the most important dates to remember.  Period 1 & 2 8000 BCE - Neolithic Revolution 500s BCE - Confucianism, Buddhism, Daoism 221 BCE - Qin unified China 206 BCE - 220 CE - Han Dynasty 32 CE - Beginnings of Christianity 476 CE - Fall of Rome 570 CE - Birth of Muhammad (founder of Islam)  Period 3 1258 CE - Mongols sack Baghdad 1271 - 1295 CE - Marco Polo's Travels 1324 CE - Mansa Musa's pilgrimage 1325 - 1349 CE - Ibn Battuta's Travels 1347 - 1348 CE - Bubonic Plague in Europe 1405 - 1433 CE - Zheng He's voyages  Period 4 1453 CE - Ottomans seized Constantinople 1492 CE - Columbus sailed to the Americas 1502 CE - First slaves to the Americas 1517 CE - Martin Luther/95 Theses 1521 CE - Cortez conquered the Aztecs 1533 CE - Pizarro conquered the Incas 1618 - 1648 CE - 30 Years War 1689 CE - Glorious Revolution        

 Period 5 1750s CE - Industrialization begins in England 1756 - 1763 CE - 7 Years' War 1776 CE - Declaration of Independence 1789 CE - French Revolution begins 1804 CE - Haitian Independence 1839 - 1860s CE - Opium Wars in China 1848 CE - Communist Manifesto (Marx & Engels) 1857 CE - Sepoy Mutiny in India 1885 CE - Berlin Conference (Scramble for Africa)  Period 6 1905 CE - Russo-Japanese War 1910 - 1920 CE - Mexican Revolution 1911 CE - Chinese Revolution 1914 - 1918 CE - World War I 1917 CE - Russian Revolution 1929 CE - Start of Great Depression 1931 CE - Japanese Invasion of Manchuria 1939 CE - German invasion of Poland 1945 CE - End of WWII 1947 CE - Partition of India & Pakistan 1948 CE - Creation of state of Israel 1949 CE - Mao Zedong came to power in China 1950 - 1953 CE - Korean War 1954 CE - Vietnam defeats France, Dien Bien Phu 1959 CE - Cuban Revolution 1962 CE - Cuban Missile Crisis 1967 CE - Chinese Cultural Revolution 1979 CE - Iranian Revolution 1989 CE - Fall of the Berlin Wall 1991 CE - Fall of USSR/First Gulf War 2001 CE - 9/11 Terror Attacks on US 

   

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Past Essay Questions by Topic *The AP World History exam was revised in 2017, so any questions from before then are not representative of the current exam format or rubric. You can still use prior questions to practice, however DBQs will have more than 7 documents, the LEQ prompts are worded differently, and the rubrics are completely different. Use questions from 2002-2016 with caution.   Period 1: to 600 CE No Essays!  Period 2: 600 BCE to 600 CE 2018 - LEQ 1: Spread of religions 2010 - LEQ: Compare classical era politics 2007 - DBQ: Han & Roman attitudes toward technology 2006 - LEQ: CCOT culture and politics in classical empires 2004 - DBQ: Responses to the spread of Buddhism  Period 3: 600 CE to 1450 CE 2018 - SAQ 3: Adaptations to the environment 2017 - SAQ 1: Relationship between China & nomads 2017 - DBQ: Religious and state responses to wealth  2016 - LEQ: CCOT trade networks in Afro-Eurasia 2015 - LEQ: Compare trade networks 2014 - LEQ: Compare use of religion to govern 2013 - LEQ: CCOT Mediterranean politics and culture 2012 - LEQ: CCOT trade networks in Africa and Eurasia 2011 - LEQ: Compare rise of empires 2009 - LEQ: CCOT interactions along the Silk Roads 2008 - LEQ: CCOT commerce in the Indian Ocean 2005 - LEQ: Compare effects of Mongol rule 2002 - DBQ: Christian & Muslim attitudes of trade  Period 4: 1450 CE to 1750 CE 2018 - SAQ 4: Agricultural developments 2018 - LEQ 2: Columbian Exchange 2017 - SAQ 2: Intensification of human land use 2017 - LEQ 2: CCOT in labor migrations 2015 - LEQ: CCOT in labor systems 1450-1900 2014 - LEQ: CCOT participation in interregional trade 2012 - LEQ: Compare the effects of the Columbian Exchange 2007 - LEQ: Compare processes of empire-building 2006 - DBQ: Global flow of silver 2005 - LEQ: CCOT Columbian Exchange 

2003 - LEQ: CCOT Impact of Islam Period 5: 1750 CE to 1900 CE 2018 - SAQ 2: 18th century global balance of power  2018 - DBQ: Effects of railroads on empire-building 2017 - SAQ 3: Industrialization as a turning point 2016 - LEQ: Compare causes of Atlantic Revolutions 2015 - LEQ: CCOT in labor systems 1450-1900 2013 - DBQ: Seven Years’ War 2011 - LEQ: CCOT long-distance migrations 2010 - DBQ: Mechanization of cotton industry  2010 - LEQ: CCOT syncretic religions 2009 - DBQ: African responses to the Scramble for Africa 2009 - LEQ: Compare racial ideologies & effects 2008 - LEQ: Compare emergence of nation-states 2004 - LEQ: CCOT labor systems 2003 - DBQ: Indentured Servitude 2003 - LEQ: Compare roles of women 2002 - LEQ: CCOT global trade patterns 2002 - LEQ: Compare responses to westernization  Period 6: 1900 CE to present 2018 - SAQ 1: Mass violence by totalitarian states 2018 - SAQ 4: Green Revolution 2018 - LEQ 3: Political ideologies  2017 - SAQ 4: Technology & globalization 2017 - LEQ 3: CCOT global balance of power 2016 - DBQ: Gender and politics in Latin America 2015 - DBQ: Responses to spread of influenza after WWI 2014 - DBQ: Relationship between peasants & CCP 2013 - LEQ: Compare economic development  2012 - DBQ: Relationship between cricket & politics  2011 - DBQ: Green Revolution 2008 - DBQ: Modern Olympic movement 2007 - LEQ: CCOT formation of national identities 2006 - LEQ: Compare Revolutions (Mexico, China, Russia) 2005 - DBQ: Muslim Nationalism  2004 - LEQ: Compare effects of WWI 

    

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Prep Books: 

While you are reviewing, it is insanely helpful to have a prep book to guide you. These offer nice summaries of content, practice tests, and even graphic organizers to help you visualize the information. 

Each prep book offers a different value to your review, so it really comes down to how you learn best and which style you prefer. You should definitely have one to help you out. 

AMSCO AP World History - https://amzn.to/2QPZbc7 Love this book. Short chapters detailed only with information you actually need.   ASAP World History - https://amzn.to/2EhAFJV The MOST visuals out of any of these. Tons of graphic organizers and images.  Barron's AP World History, 7th Edition - https://amzn.to/2q4guKD Tough read, but lots and lots of great content. More like an alternative textbook. 

 Princeton Review's Cracking the AP World History Exam - https://amzn.to/2H5SkaE Much easier read, great summaries. 

 Kaplan's AP World Prep Plus - https://amzn.to/2JdBKpY Has an awesome tool to help you narrow down your studying. Easy to read, great summaries. 

 5 Steps to a 5: AP World History - https://amzn.to/2JcPnpj Lots of practice exams, but they are pretty low quality. 

 Crash Course: AP World History - https://amzn.to/2pZe296 Bulleted review, reads like AP World cliff notes. Really useful for last minute. 

Prep Apps: 

Romulus AP World Review - iTunes App Store & Google Play (coming soon!)   Follow Fiveable on Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube for all kinds of fun things all year round! 

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