AP World History, Period 4: The Early Modern Era 1450 to 1750

World Trade in the Early Modern Era

A sequence of maps traces the development of trade routes across the world in the early modern era, between 1453 and 1789. The sequence shows the dramatic expansion of European-controlled maritime trade routes as they grow to link the oceans fo the world within one trading system, and references the impacts this global system has on different regions of the world.

India: the Mughal era: 1450 to 1750 CE

Covers the early modern period in the history of the Indian subcontinent, dominated by the  rise and fall of the glorious Mughal empire.

Teaching about the Early Modern World using the TimeMap of World History

Suggestions on how to use the TimeMap of World History with your students.  They focus on using the free maps, but are equally relevant to the premium maps.

These suggestions are in addition to those offered in the teaching notes which accompany the other Premium resources.

Introduction

This page contains links to useful teaching and learning resources within the Timemap of World History for AP World History, Period 4 (1450 CE to 1750 CE). These consist of maps and articles.

(Please also note: the maps in the Timemap of World History do not quite conform to the AP periodization, in that there is no map for the end date for this period, 1750. Instead, there is one for 1789. We note below where the teacher has to make a bit of an adjustment.)

World

Maps:

For a global perspective on this period, see

World maps for 1453 – 1638 – 1789.

NB: the one major difference between the world map for 1789 (as in the Timemap of World History) and 1750 (as specified by the AP program) is that in 1750 the USA did not exist.

Europe

Maps:

For a birds-eye view of Europe during the early modern period, see:

Europe 1453 – 1648 – 1789

The above maps give access to the individual countries of Europe, but see especially:

• Italy 1453 – 1648 – 1789 (this is a story of decline during the early modern period, from the glories of the Italian Renaissance to domination by other Powers)
• Spain and Portugal 1453 – 1648 – 1789 (the rise and decline of the greatest power on earth, by some measures at least)
• France 1453 – 1648 – 1789 (the quintessentially absolutist monarchy, and centre of the Enlightenment)
• Britain 1453 – 1648 – 1789  (the critical period in which the groundwork was laid for the rise of the first parliamentary democracy and the first industrial state)
• Russia 1453 – 1648 – 1789 (for the rise of Muscovy and imperial Russia)
• Germany 1453 – 1648 – 1789  (notable for the continued presence of that medieval oddity, the Holy Roman Empire; for the terrible 30 Years’ War; and for the rise of Prussia, the forebear of modern Germany)
• Eastern central Europe – 1453 – 1648 – 1789 (usually seen as not very important, but in fact very full of history: the decline of the Poland-Lithuanian commonwealth, the coming and going of the Ottoman empire, the rise of the Hapsburgs, and the relentless expansion of Russia)
• Scandinavia 1453 – 1648 – 1789 (saw the rise and decline of the great northern power, Sweden)
• Greece 1453 – 1648 – 1789 (how did the European provinces of the Ottoman empire fare?)

Articles:

The West – looks at the rise of Western civilization from early modern times onwards. Has a short section on early modern Europe. For a more in-depth look at this period, see:

Early Modern Europe

and European World Empires – which has short sections on the foundations of these empires in the early modern period

Also, Imperial Russia includes the early modern history of this giant nation

The Middle East

Maps:

For a broad perspective on the Middle East in this period, especially noteworthy for the expansion of the Ottoman Empire:

Middle East 1453 – 1648 – 1789

Follow the links in these maps to the individual countries for more detail. Especially useful for the Ottoman empire  (with Greece and the Balkans, see Europe section above, and to some extent Central Europe and Russia):

• Turkey 1453 – 1648 – 1789 (especially for internal developments within the Ottoman empire)
• Syria 1453 – 1648 – 1789
• Iraq 1453 – 1648 – 1789
• Egypt 1453 – 1648 – 1789

and Arabia 1453 – 1648 – 1789 (interesting for the Omani state, in some ways a successful competitor to European colonial powers; and for the origins of the House of Saud)

Also useful is:

Iran 1453 – 1648 – 1789 (for the rise and fall of the Safavid state)

Articles:

The Ottoman Empire – a short survey of the history of the Ottomans

Africa

Maps:

At present, the maps showing the whole of Africa are the best ones to go to. The regional texts are currently  incomplete for West, East, Central and South Africa. The Africa-as-a-whole maps provide a stong coverage of the hugely important historical episode affecting most of sub-Saharan Africa, the Atlantic Slave Trade.

Africa 1453 – 1648 – 1789

Article:

The Atlantic Slave Trade 

India

Maps:

For India of the Moghul and early European period, see:

India and South Asia 1453 – 1648 – 1789

Article:

The Moghul Empire – a very short entry, awaiting a full article on this important subject

Imperial China at its height, and its East Asian neighbours

Maps:

For China at the time of the late Ming and early Qing dynasties, when the imperial system arguably reached its height, see:

China 1453 – 1648 – 1789

For more detail on neighbouring countries, when both came to flourish under native dynasties, see:

Japan (of the Tokugawa period) 1453 – 1648 – 1789

Korea (of the Koreo and Choson dynasties) 1453 – 1648 – 1789

For a broader perspective on East Asia, showing the tributary system which spanned much of East and South East Asia (but not Japan), see:

East Asia 1453 – 1648 – 1789

Articles:

Imperial China – includes short sections on Ming dynasty China and Qing dynasty China; full articles on these subjects coming soon

Japanese civilization – includes a short section on the Tokugawa period

South East Asia

Maps:

This period sees the basis being laid for much of modern SE Asia, with the spread of Islam and the emergence of Burma and Thailand as powerful states.

SE Asia 1453 – 1648 – 1789

Oceania

Maps:

For Oceania:

Oceania  1453 – 1648

And Australia just before the arrival of Europeans, see:

Australia 1648

The Americas

Maps:

South America: For the end of the Pre-Columbian period and the rise of Latin America, see:

South America  1453 – 1648 – 1789

For individual countries, showing their absorption into Latin America, see:

Peru, Ecuador and Bolivia 1453 – 1648 – 1789

Venezuela, Colombia and the Guianas 1453 – 1648 – 1789

Brazil 1453 – 1648 – 1789

For Mexico and Central America, see:

Mexico and Central America  1453 – 1648 – 1789

Early colonial United States: 1648

Early colonial Canada: 1648

For North America as a whole, with emphasis on the Native Americans:

North America 1453 – 1648

Articles:

For the late Pre-Columbian period, see the short sections on the Inca and Aztex empires in

Pre-Columbian civilization

European World Empires – has short sections on the Conquistadors of Latin America and the colonization of North America.