AP World History covers 10,000 years of human history across 6 periods. Good notes focus on change over time, cross-cultural comparison, and cause-and-effect chains — the frameworks tested in DBQ, LEQ, and SAQ.
Period 1 (1200 BCE–600 CE): Ancient Civilizations
River valley civilizations (Mesopotamia, Egypt, Indus, Huang He), classical empires (Han China, Maurya India, Roman Empire), trade networks (Silk Road, Indian Ocean), religions spreading (Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism), decline of classical empires.
Period 2 (600–1450): Post-Classical Era
Rise of Islam and Islamic caliphates, Mongol Empire and its disruptions, Black Death and demographic collapse, trans-Saharan trade (Mali, Ghana), Song China (gunpowder, printing, compass), Indian Ocean trade networks, Byzantine Empire.
Period 3 (1450–1750): Early Modern Period
Columbian Exchange (hemispheric biological exchange), Atlantic slave trade, European colonialism in Americas, gunpowder empires (Ottoman, Safavid, Mughal), joint-stock companies (VOC, East India Company), mercantilism.
Period 4 (1750–1900): Industrial Revolution and Imperialism
Enlightenment ideas → revolutions (American, French, Haitian, Latin American), Industrial Revolution and social change, European colonization of Africa/Asia, resistance movements, Meiji Japan modernization.
Period 5–6 (1900–Present): Modern Era
WWI causes (MAIN), Russian Revolution, Great Depression, WWII (fascism vs. democracy), decolonization, Cold War, globalization, environmental challenges.
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