Free AP World History flashcards for all 9 units. Study key terms like Silk Roads, Columbian Exchange, industrialization, decolonization, and more.

Study AP World History key terms with flashcards organized by unit. Covers all 9 units from 1200 CE to the present.

Must-Know AP World History Terms

Silk Roads: Overland and maritime trade networks connecting East Asia, Central Asia, South Asia, and the Mediterranean. Facilitated exchange of goods, disease, and ideas.
Columbian Exchange: Transfer of plants, animals, disease, and people between the Americas and Afro-Eurasia after 1492. Transformed global agriculture and caused demographic collapse of indigenous populations.
Gunpowder Empires: Ottoman, Safavid, and Mughal empires that used gunpowder technology to expand control. Characterized by centralized rule, religious legitimacy, and cross-cultural trade.
Mercantilism: Economic theory that a nation's wealth depends on accumulating gold and silver through favorable trade balances and colonial resource extraction.
Decolonization: Post-WWII process by which European colonies in Asia and Africa gained independence, often through nationalist movements and Cold War pressures.
Demographic Transition Model: Model showing population change as a society moves from high birth/death rates to low birth/death rates through industrialization.
Cold War: Geopolitical competition between the US and USSR (1947–1991) fought through proxy wars, nuclear deterrence, and ideological competition.
Neolithic Revolution: Transition from foraging to agriculture (~10,000 BCE), enabling sedentary societies, population growth, and social stratification.

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AP World History Flashcards — Key Terms for All 9 Units