Glossary · World history
World history concepts
AP World History: Modern
By the CollegePrepRoom editorial team · Updated · How we write and check these pages
These terms come from AP World History: Modern, which covers c. 1200 to the present. They were chosen because they connect regions and periods, which is exactly what AP World essays and multiple-choice questions ask you to do. Each entry gives context, an example and a note on how the idea is tested.
Index of terms
Terms in chronological order
- Silk RoadsOverland trade routes linking China, Central Asia, the Middle East and Europe, along which goods, ideas, technologies and diseases spread.
- Indian Ocean tradeA maritime trade network linking East Africa, the Arabian Peninsula, South Asia, Southeast Asia and China, driven by monsoon winds.
- Dar al-IslamArabic for 'house of Islam'; the regions where Muslim rulers governed or Islam was the dominant faith, connected by trade, law and scholarship.
- Mongol EmpireThe largest contiguous land empire in history, founded by Chinggis (Genghis) Khan in the early thirteenth century.
- Columbian ExchangeThe transfer of plants, animals, diseases, people and ideas between the Eastern and Western Hemispheres after 1492.
- Encomienda systemA Spanish colonial labor system that granted colonists the right to demand labor or tribute from Indigenous people in exchange for supposed protection and religious instruction.
- Mit'a (mita) systemA system of rotational labor obligation used by the Inca and later adapted by Spanish colonizers, notably to staff silver mines.
- Atlantic slave tradeThe forced transport of millions of enslaved Africans to the Americas from the sixteenth to the nineteenth centuries.
- Gunpowder empiresLand-based empires, especially the Ottoman, Safavid and Mughal, that expanded and consolidated power using firearms and artillery in the early modern period.
- Atlantic revolutionsThe revolutions in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries in North America, France, Haiti and Latin America, inspired by Enlightenment ideas.
- NationalismA sense of shared identity and loyalty to a nation, often based on common language, culture or history, and the belief that the nation should govern itself.
- Industrial RevolutionThe shift from hand production to machine manufacturing, beginning in Britain in the eighteenth century and spreading worldwide.
- ImperialismThe policy of extending a nation's power through territorial conquest or political and economic control over other regions.
- Meiji RestorationThe 1868 restoration of imperial rule in Japan, which launched rapid modernization and industrialization.
- Total warWarfare in which states mobilize their entire economy, population and resources, and civilians become part of the war effort and targets.
- Cold WarThe rivalry between the United States and the Soviet Union and their allies from about 1945 to 1991, fought through ideology, arms races and proxy wars, with no direct war between the two superpowers.
- DecolonizationThe process by which colonies in Asia, Africa and elsewhere gained independence from imperial powers, mainly after World War II.
- GlobalizationThe increasing interconnection of the world's economies, cultures and populations through trade, technology, migration and communication.
Flashcard review
Say each definition aloud, then open the card to check your answer.
What does “Silk Roads” mean?
Overland trade routes linking China, Central Asia, the Middle East and Europe, along which goods, ideas, technologies and diseases spread.
What does “Indian Ocean trade” mean?
A maritime trade network linking East Africa, the Arabian Peninsula, South Asia, Southeast Asia and China, driven by monsoon winds.
What does “Dar al-Islam” mean?
Arabic for 'house of Islam'; the regions where Muslim rulers governed or Islam was the dominant faith, connected by trade, law and scholarship.
What does “Mongol Empire” mean?
The largest contiguous land empire in history, founded by Chinggis (Genghis) Khan in the early thirteenth century.
What does “Columbian Exchange” mean?
The transfer of plants, animals, diseases, people and ideas between the Eastern and Western Hemispheres after 1492.
What does “Encomienda system” mean?
A Spanish colonial labor system that granted colonists the right to demand labor or tribute from Indigenous people in exchange for supposed protection and religious instruction.
What does “Mit'a (mita) system” mean?
A system of rotational labor obligation used by the Inca and later adapted by Spanish colonizers, notably to staff silver mines.
What does “Atlantic slave trade” mean?
The forced transport of millions of enslaved Africans to the Americas from the sixteenth to the nineteenth centuries.
What does “Gunpowder empires” mean?
Land-based empires, especially the Ottoman, Safavid and Mughal, that expanded and consolidated power using firearms and artillery in the early modern period.
What does “Atlantic revolutions” mean?
The revolutions in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries in North America, France, Haiti and Latin America, inspired by Enlightenment ideas.
What does “Nationalism” mean?
A sense of shared identity and loyalty to a nation, often based on common language, culture or history, and the belief that the nation should govern itself.
What does “Industrial Revolution” mean?
The shift from hand production to machine manufacturing, beginning in Britain in the eighteenth century and spreading worldwide.
What does “Imperialism” mean?
The policy of extending a nation's power through territorial conquest or political and economic control over other regions.
What does “Meiji Restoration” mean?
The 1868 restoration of imperial rule in Japan, which launched rapid modernization and industrialization.
What does “Total war” mean?
Warfare in which states mobilize their entire economy, population and resources, and civilians become part of the war effort and targets.
What does “Cold War” mean?
The rivalry between the United States and the Soviet Union and their allies from about 1945 to 1991, fought through ideology, arms races and proxy wars, with no direct war between the two superpowers.
What does “Decolonization” mean?
The process by which colonies in Asia, Africa and elsewhere gained independence from imperial powers, mainly after World War II.
What does “Globalization” mean?
The increasing interconnection of the world's economies, cultures and populations through trade, technology, migration and communication.