AP World History: Modern practice questions and exam guide

Great Zimbabwe (c. 1100–1450) derived its wealth primarily from:

1. Trans-Atlantic slave trade
2. Conquering the Mediterranean coast
3. The European wool trade
4. Gold mining and trade with Swahili coast city-states via the Indian Ocean

Answer: D — Gold mining and trade with Swahili coast city-states via the Indian Ocean

D) Inland southern African kingdom whose stone enclosures and gold trade linked it to Indian Ocean networks via Sofala. A) Pre-dates Atlantic trade. B) Wrong region. C) Anachronistic.

The Treaty of Versailles (1919):

1. Imposed harsh terms on Germany — territorial losses, military restrictions, reparations, and a 'war guilt' clause — sowing economic and political resentments later exploited by extremist movements
2. Established a fair peace acceptable to all parties
3. Restored the German monarchy
4. Was rejected by all Allied powers

Answer: A — Imposed harsh terms on Germany — territorial losses, military restrictions, reparations, and a 'war guilt' clause — sowing economic and political resentments later exploited by extremist movements

A) Standard interpretation. B/C/D) Each contradicts the record.

Ibn Battuta's 14th-century travels are MOST useful as evidence of:

1. European colonization of Africa before 1450
2. The total isolation of the Islamic world
3. The interconnectedness of Dar al-Islam, with shared institutions like sharia courts, hospitality, and trading practices across vast distances
4. Mongol persecution of all Muslim scholars

Answer: C — The interconnectedness of Dar al-Islam, with shared institutions like sharia courts, hospitality, and trading practices across vast distances

C) His Rihla documents how a Moroccan jurist could find employment and welcome from West Africa to South Asia and China. A) Pre-colonial. B) Reverses the evidence. D) Many Mongol successor states converted to Islam.

Enlightenment thinkers (Locke, Montesquieu, Rousseau, Voltaire, Smith) commonly emphasized:

1. Divine right of kings
2. Reason, natural rights, popular sovereignty, separation of powers, and the social contract — ideas that fueled the Atlantic Revolutions
3. Mercantilism only
4. Restoration of feudal hierarchy

Answer: B — Reason, natural rights, popular sovereignty, separation of powers, and the social contract — ideas that fueled the Atlantic Revolutions

B) Standard Enlightenment toolkit applied across politics, economics, and society. A/C/D) Each contradicts Enlightenment thought.

The Meiji Restoration in Japan (1868):

1. Restored samurai feudalism
2. Imposed sakoku isolation
3. Centralized political power under the emperor (in practice oligarchs), abolished samurai privilege, and rapidly industrialized along Western lines while preserving Japanese identity
4. Established a communist regime

Answer: C — Centralized political power under the emperor (in practice oligarchs), abolished samurai privilege, and rapidly industrialized along Western lines while preserving Japanese identity

C) Classic top-down modernization, contrasted with Qing China's slower Self-Strengthening Movement. A/B/D) Each contradicts the record.

The Protestant Reformation, begun by Luther's 95 Theses (1517), had which global consequence?

1. Made Europe religiously uniform
2. Reduced printing
3. Eliminated state involvement in religion
4. Split Western Christianity and intensified religious-political competition that shaped European colonization, warfare, and trade rivalries

Answer: D — Split Western Christianity and intensified religious-political competition that shaped European colonization, warfare, and trade rivalries

D) The Reformation fed into Catholic-Protestant colonial rivalries (e.g., Dutch vs. Spanish). A/B/C) Each reverses the historical impact.

The Ottoman devshirme system involved:

1. Voluntary Muslim enrollment in the bureaucracy
2. Mongol-style nomadic cavalry recruitment
3. Sale of administrative offices to the highest bidder
4. Levying Christian boys from the Balkans, converting them to Islam, and training them as elite Janissaries or administrators

Answer: D — Levying Christian boys from the Balkans, converting them to Islam, and training them as elite Janissaries or administrators

D) The devshirme produced a loyal slave-elite class serving the Sultan. A/B/C) None matches.

Zheng He's voyages (1405–1433) are BEST understood as:

1. Voyages to the Americas before Columbus
2. Permanent Chinese colonial settlements in East Africa
3. Private merchant ventures unconnected to the state
4. Ming maritime expeditions across the Indian Ocean that projected Chinese tributary diplomacy and were later halted by the court

Answer: D — Ming maritime expeditions across the Indian Ocean that projected Chinese tributary diplomacy and were later halted by the court

D) Massive treasure fleets reached as far as Kenya; after 1433 the Ming court refocused inward. A) Mainstream evidence places Zheng He in the Indian Ocean. B) No permanent colonies. C) State-sponsored, not private.

World War II ended in the Pacific:

1. With a negotiated peace at Versailles in 1919
2. With Soviet occupation of Tokyo
3. After U.S. atomic bombings of Hiroshima (Aug 6) and Nagasaki (Aug 9) and Soviet entry against Japan, Japan announced surrender on August 15, 1945, with formal signing on September 2
4. With British conquest of Tokyo in 1944

Answer: C — After U.S. atomic bombings of Hiroshima (Aug 6) and Nagasaki (Aug 9) and Soviet entry against Japan, Japan announced surrender on August 15, 1945, with formal signing on September 2

C) Standard sequence. A/B/D) Each is incorrect.

The diffusion of gunpowder weapons (14th–15th centuries):

1. Had no effect on warfare or politics
2. Was confined to Western Europe
3. Transformed warfare across Eurasia and contributed to the rise of "gunpowder empires" (Ottoman, Safavid, Mughal, Ming/Qing, Tokugawa)
4. Discouraged centralized states

Answer: C — Transformed warfare across Eurasia and contributed to the rise of "gunpowder empires" (Ottoman, Safavid, Mughal, Ming/Qing, Tokugawa)

C) Standard interpretation. A/B/D) Each contradicts the period.

Mercantilism, a dominant economic theory in early modern Europe, held that:

1. Free trade maximizes wealth
2. Industry has no value
3. Wealth is shared globally
4. National wealth measured by precious metals (gold/silver) accumulated; export more than import; protect domestic industry with tariffs; control colonies for raw materials/markets

Answer: D — National wealth measured by precious metals (gold/silver) accumulated; export more than import; protect domestic industry with tariffs; control colonies for raw materials/markets

Mercantilism: zero-sum view of trade. Goals: positive trade balance, accumulate bullion, develop home manufacturing, establish colonies for cheap raw materials + captive markets. Adam Smith's Wealth of Nations (1776) critiqued this in favor of free trade, division of labor, comparative advantage.

The Atlantic slave trade transported roughly:

1. 100,000 enslaved Africans
2. ~12.5 million enslaved Africans across the Middle Passage (1500s-1800s); ~10.7 million survived to arrival; bulk to Brazil and Caribbean
3. 1 billion
4. 100 million

Answer: B — ~12.5 million enslaved Africans across the Middle Passage (1500s-1800s); ~10.7 million survived to arrival; bulk to Brazil and Caribbean

Slave Voyages database (slavevoyages.org). Brazil ~5M (40%), Caribbean ~5M, North America ~400K. Triangular trade: manufactured goods → West Africa; enslaved people → Americas; sugar/tobacco/cotton → Europe. Foundational to early modern Atlantic economy.

What is theme CDI (Cultural Developments & Interactions)?

Religion, philosophy, art, science — including how cultures spread and synthesize.

What was Indian indentured labor migration?

After abolition of slavery, millions of Indians were sent under indenture contracts to British colonies (Trinidad, Fiji, Mauritius, etc.) — created diasporas.

What was the Amritsar Massacre (1919)?

British troops fired on unarmed Indian crowd in Punjab, killing hundreds — turned Indian opinion decisively against British rule.

What is comparison in AP World?

Analyzing similarities and differences across regions, time periods, or developments.

What was the Holy Roman Empire?

Loose German-centered confederation in Central Europe nominally heir to Charlemagne; central authority weak relative to princes.

What was the impact of New World silver on China?

Ming/Qing economy increasingly relied on silver from Americas (via Manila); silver-based taxation tied China to global system.