WHAP: AP Review

College Board Speak

What the CB means when it says
Geography
Please note: all areas/countries denoted with an asterisk (*) are considered parts of multiple
geographic areas.
1.
Africa
a. North Africa: along the southern Mediterranean coast (e.g., Morocco, etc.)
- this is the part of Africa converted to Islam at the beginning of Period 3.
b. West Africa: northwestern coast of Africa along the Atlantic Ocean and the
immediate interior (e.g. Mali, Liberia, etc.)
- this is the part of Africa primarily occupied by France during the Age of
Imperialism (end of Period 5).
c. East Africa: the eastern coast of Africa along the Indian Ocean and the immediate
interior (e.g. Somalia, Kenya, Tanzania, etc.)
- this is the part of Africa that is drawn into the Indian Ocean basin trade
during Period 3; they also largely convert to Islam during this period.
d. Sub-Saharan Africa: all of the African continent south of the Sahara Desert.
- the western part of sub-Saharan Africa is the Bantu homeland; the Bantu
migrated from here to other parts of Africa during Periods 1 and 2.
- this is the part of Africa which was first explored by Europeans during the
Age of Imperialism (end of Period 5).
e. South Africa: the southern tip of the African continent (e.g. Angola, South Africa,
Zimbabwe, etc.)
- it was this tip (Cape of Good Hope) that the Portuguese passed in the late
1400s during the Age of Exploration (Period 4)
2.
Americas
a. North America: Canada, United States, Mexico*
- this area was incorporated into global trade routes during the Age of
Exploration and Colonialism (Period 4)
b. Latin America: all areas in the Western Hemisphere primarily under the Spanish
and Portuguese spheres of influence during Period 4 (e.g. Mexico*, Central America,
South America)
- these areas generally gained their independence from Spain/Portugal early in
Period 5
c. Caribbean: all land areas of the Caribbean Sea
- this region is often/usually grouped with Latin America, as the two regions
share a very common history
3.
Asia
a. Near East: Egypt*, Israel, Syria, Jordan, Turkey*
- this region hosted some of the earliest civilizations and the rise of Judaism
(Period 1)
- this region is one of the modern hotspots of geopolitics (Period 6)
b. Middle East: Saudi Arabia*, Iraq*, Iran, Afghanistan, etc.
- this region hosted the earliest human civilizations in Mesopotamia (Period 1)
and saw the rise of Islam (beginning of Period 3)
c. Arab states: states in which the majority of the populace claims Arab ethnicity (e.g.
Saudi Arabia*, Egypt*, Iraq*, etc.)
- generally speaking, this states are also associated with OPEC, which has had
increasing political and economic importance at the end of Period 6


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d. Central Asia: Mongolia, Uzbekistan, etc.

- the barbarian peoples against which the Han Chinese fought were from the
northern part of Central Asia (Period 2)
- this region fostered the beginnings of the Mongolian khanates (Period 3)
e. South Asia: the Indian subcontinent (India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, etc.)
- this area saw an advanced early civilization at Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro
(Period 1)
- this area was an important part of Britains colonial and imperial empire
(Periods 4 and 5)
f. Southeast Asia: Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, Indonesia, etc.
- this area was heavily influenced philosophically by the Chinese (Periods 1-4)
- this area was one of the first to which Buddhism diffused (Periods 2-3)
- this area was primarily under French control during the Age of Imperialism
(Period 5)
g. East Asia: China, North/South Korea, Japan
- in the modern world, East Asian countries comprise many of the Asian
Tigers, economic powerhouses (Period 6)
4.
Europe
a. Western Europe: European states in the western part of the continent (the UK,
France, etc.)
b. Eastern Europe: European states in the eastern part of the continent (Russia, etc.)
c. Southern Europe: European states that form the northern coastline of the
Mediterranean (Spain, Italy, Greece, etc.)
d. Northern Europe: European states that are generally north of the Alps/Pyrenees
5.
Oceania
: Australia, New Zealand, Polynesia
- this area was subject to migrations of peoples to Polynesia (Period 2)
- this area does not enter the written historical record until the Age of Exploration
(Period 4)
- much of this area falls under British domination during colonialism and imperialism
(Periods 4 and 5)


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Periodization (The 6 Periods and their Major Events)

Period 1 (to 600 BCE)
- Neolithic Revolution (c. 8000 BCE)
- first civilizations/ river civilizations (c. 5000 BCE) & empires (c. 3000 BCE)
- development of major religious traditions:
Hinduism (in India, c. 1500 BCE, from Aryan Vedic traditions)
Buddhism (in N. India, c. 500 BCE, by Siddhartha Gautama)
Judaism (in the Near East, c. 1000-600 BCE, by Abraham/Moses)
- biggest world power(s): Mesopotamia, Egypt
Period 2 (600 BCE - 600 CE)
- expansion of interregional trade routes & empires based on trade
Phoenician Empire in the southern and eastern Mediterranean
Mediterranean Sea trade intensifies
Silk Road intensifies
Indian Ocean basin trade begins
- learning & technological innovations
China: military weaponry (crossbow), astronomy
India: mathematics (the zero)
Ancient Greece: philosophy, astronomy
Hellenic states: mathematics (geometry), astronomy
Rome: engineering
Americas: mathematics (the zero), astronomy
- rise and fall of the first superpower empires
Han China (c. 200 BCE to c. 200 CE)
Imperial Rome (c. 27 BCE/14 CE to 476 CE)
Gupta India (320 - 550 CE)
- development of Christianity (in the Near East, 1st century CE, by disciples of Jesus of
Nazareth, esp. Paul, Peter)
- biggest world power(s): Rome, China
Period 3 (600 - 1450 CE)
- continued expansion of interregional trade routes
development of trade-based cities (e.g., Novgorod, Timbuktu, etc.)
land-based trade routes across Europe intensify (thanks to Roman
roads)
land-based trade routes across the Americas intensify (link N and S)
Indian Ocean basin trade intensifies
foundation of trading city-states in east Africa (e.g. Mogadishu, etc.)
gold-salt trade of Africa begins and intensifies
- learning & technological innovations
China: navigation (magnetic compass, junk), military (gunpowder),
economics (paper money); printing press
Middle East: navigation (dhow, astrolabe), mathematics (algebra),
economics (caravans,
sakk
= check)
Europe: agriculture (heavy mouldboard plow), military (gunpowder,
cannon), printing press
Americas: engineering
-development of new states & state forms


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feudal states in Japan and Europe (in response to political instability)

Islamic caliphates (Umayyads, Abbasids, etc.; via military conquest)
American empires (Aztec, Inca; via military conquest)
Mongol khanates (tributary empire; via military conquest)
- development and diffusion of Islam (in Middle East, c. 600 CE, by Muhammad)
- diffusion of Christianity across Europe
- biggest world power(s): Islamic states, China
Period 4 (1450 - 1750 CE)
- Age of Exploration (Europe, China)
- Age of Colonialism (creation of overseas empires; Europe in the Americas)
creation of a true global economy (exploitation of colonies natural
resources)
introduction of labor systems to exploit resources: encomienda,
mita, slavery, indentured servitude
beginning of tensions between traditional participants of Indian
Ocean trade (Asian empires) and the Europeans
introduction of Old World flora and fauna to New World and vice versa
diffusion of Christianity to the Americas, East Asia, and sub-Saharan
Africa
- learning and technological innovations
Europe: naval technology (caravel ships, cartography), agriculture
(Agricultural Revolution, three-field crop rotation), Renaissance,
Scientific Revolution
- development of new states and state forms:
absolutist monarchies in Europe
constitutional monarchies in Europe (England)
overseas colonial empires (England, France, Spain, Portugal)
Japanese shogunate
- challenge to Catholic Christianity: the Protestant Reformation in Europe
- development of new religious practices: Vodun (blend of Christianity and African
animism) in Latin America and the Caribbean
- biggest world power(s): Europe
Period 5 (1750 - c. 1900 CE)
- Industrial Revolution (primarily in the West, Europe and the U.S.)
- Age of Imperialism (c. 1860s - c. 1900)
- learning and technological innovations
the West: Industrial Revolution brings in steam power, the telegraph, and
LOTS of other innovation/invention
- development of new states and state forms:
imperial overseas empires
democracies/representative governments (primarily in the Western
hemisphere)
- biggest world power(s): Europe
Period 6 (c. 1900 - the present)
- Global Wars (WWI, WWII) beginning in Europe but encompassing the world
- Cold War (capitalist West v. communist East)
- Decolonization (Asian and African nation-building and state-building)


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Vocabulary
Agricultural Revolution:
an event which (usually positively) alters the ability to produce
agricultural foods; a major effect of agricultural revolutions is an increase in
population.
- Period 1: Neolithic Revolution (usually referenced as such; c. 8000 BCE) was
the original domestication of plants and animals.
- Period 4: Agricultural Revolution in Europe (c. 17th-18th C) was the effect of
both the introduction of New World crops (like the potato) and the
introduction of the three-field crop rotation.
city-state
: a political organization in which an urban center (city) comes to control its
surrounding countryside, usually so as to exploit natural resources
Period 1: Mesopotamia before c. 3000 BCE
Period 2: Greek polis (e.g., Athens, Sparta)
Period 3: Italian city-states (e.g., Florence); East African trading cities (
e.g.
,
Mogadishu); Mayan city-states
colonialism
: the period of exploration and expansion of overseas empire that took place c.
1460s - 1750 (Period 4)
- rationale: God, Gold, Glory
diaspora
: the migration (often forced) of people away from their place of origin/residence.
- Ex.: there have been multiple Jewish diasporas throughout history:
Periods 1 & 2: by the Neo-Babylonians; resettled from Israel to
Mesopotamia
Period 2: by the Romans, away from Israel
Period 4: by the Spanish, away from Spain throughout N. Africa
and Central/Eastern Europe
Period 6: by the Nazis, from Europe
diffusion:
the geographic spread of a phenomenon (
i.e.
, a religious belief, a cultural
practice, an innovation of technology, etc.) from its place of origin to other parts of the
world.
- Ex.: Buddhism diffuses from N. India (place of origin) to East and Southeast
Asia primarily between 600 BCE and 1450 CE (Periods 2 and 3)
- See also: Syncretism v. Synthesis
divine right of kings
: the belief, held in many periods throughout history, that a
ruler/ruling family has control of a territory because the gods/God have chosen them
to lead.
- Period 1: Mesopotamian empires, Ancient Egypt, Ancient China
- Period 3: European feudal states
- Period 4: European absolutist states
Enlightenment (Age of Reason)
: the 18th century (1700s) in Europe, during which
philosophers (philosophes) introduced ideas of political and civil rights and advocated
for democratic reforms.
imperialism
: the period of overseas territorial expansion spurred in part by the Industrial
Revolution that took place c. 1860-c.1914
- rationale: commerce (industrial revolution), civilization, Christianity (Social
Darwinism)
Industrial Revolution:
the period of time, lasting from about the 1750s to about 1900
(Period 5) during which the manufacture of goods became mechanized, primarily
through the use of steam power.
- 1st Industrial Revolution (c. 1750 - c. 1850) began in Great Britain and was
highlighted by the production of textiles and the innovations regarding


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the steam engine (railroad)

- 2nd Industrial Revolution (c. 1850 - c. 1900) was characterized by the
improvements in steel production and the introduction of electricity,
along with the expansion of transportation (automobiles)
labor system
:
any
method of organizing economic production
- free labor = wage labor (workers are paid for their labor); indentured servitude
- coerced labor = workers sometimes work for themselves and sometimes work for a
landowner (e.g. serfs in the manorial system, Amerindians in the encomienda
or mita system
- unfree labor = slave labor (plantation system, slave soldiery = janissaries)
Mandate of Heaven
: the Chinese belief, dating back to ancient times, that their ruler will
continue to reign so long as s/he maintains the approval of the gods (heaven).
- can also be viewed as a divine right of kings
- more recently is also categorized as the Confucian view of the dynastic cycle
monastic order
: a group of people (order) who choose to live a cloistered life (away from
human settlement) in service to a religious philosophy (e.g., Christian/ Buddhist
monks and nuns)
nationalism
: the feeling of intense pride regarding ones country or ethnicity. Nationalism
really arose in the post-Napoleonic era and includes:
- Latin American independence movements (Period 5)
- European nation-building post-WWI (early Period 6)
- Asian and African nation-building (decolonization) post-WWII (Period 6)
nation-building:
the use of the states institutions (government) to construct or promote a
national identity, especially through the use of propaganda, etc.
- particularly seen during decolonization in Asia and Africa (Period 6)
state-building:
the construction of a functioning state, including its territory and
institutions.
- Period 1: creation of the earliest civilizations (River Civilizations)
- Period 2: establishment of strong city-states (Greece) and major empires
(Han, Rome, Gupta, etc.)
- Period 3: creation of new types of states (feudal in Europe & Japan,
city-states in Italy and Central America, religious-political mixtures like
the Islamic caliphates, etc.)
- Period 4: creation of overseas colonial empires (Spain, Portugal, England)
- Period 5: foundation of independent states in Latin America (Mexico)
- Period 6: foundation of independent states in central and Eastern Europe
(post-WWI), and Asia and Africa (post-WWII)
syncretism v. synthesis
: syncretism is the melding of two, usually quite different, ideas
into a new whole; synthesis is the combination of two different ideas into a new
interpretation/presentation of those ideas.
- Syncretism Ex.:
* Period 3-4: Chinese animism + Buddhism + Christianity
= salvation (Mahayana) Buddhism
* Period 4: African animism + Native American animism + Christianity
= Vodun (Voodoo)
- Synthesis Ex.:
* Period 4: Catholic missionaries in the Americas connect some Native
American gods with Catholic saints (such as Tonantzn, the
Mother Goddess, with the Virgin Mary)