The Essential AP® World History: Modern Key Terms Guide (148 Terms)

By Brian Stewart, Barron’s SAT, ACT & PSAT Author & Perfect SAT/ACT Scorer

AP® World History: Modern covers more than 750 years of global change — from the Song Dynasty and the Silk Roads to globalization and climate change. You can’t memorize everything, and the exam isn’t really a memorization test anyway. But you do need a strong grip on the vocabulary that shows up again and again in the College Board’s materials, because almost every stimulus-based multiple-choice question assumes you can recognize what’s being described and connect it to broader historical patterns.

Below are 148 AP World-relevant terms organized by the nine units of the course, each with a student-friendly definition and a brief “why it matters” takeaway. This is a review list informed by the CED — not an official College Board canon — so treat it as a solid study foundation rather than the last word. For the broader strategic picture of the exam, including how to read stimulus passages and the biggest multiple-choice mistakes students make, see the companion guide on the AP World History practice page.

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Unit 1: The Global Tapestry (c. 1200–1450) — 8–10%

1. Song China. The Chinese dynasty (960–1279) that used Confucian ideology and a civil service examination system to maintain centralized rule. Foundational for understanding East Asian state-building.
2. Neo-Confucianism. The Song-era revival and reinterpretation of Confucian thought, blending classical Confucianism with Buddhist and Daoist ideas. Became the dominant ideological framework of the Song and later dynasties, emphasizing social hierarchy and filial piety.
3. Imperial bureaucracy. An administrative system in which many officials were selected through competitive examinations, helping centralize and legitimize rule. Exams mattered, but elite background still shaped access.
4. Champa rice. A fast-ripening, drought-resistant rice variety introduced from Champa (in present-day Vietnam) that boosted Song China’s agricultural output. A classic example of agricultural diffusion driving population growth.
5. Dar al-Islam. The Islamic world connected by shared religious traditions, legal systems, and trade networks, despite political fragmentation. Shows how belief systems created cultural continuity across political boundaries.
6. Abbasid Caliphate. A major Islamic empire whose political authority fragmented over time, while the caliphs retained important religious prestige until the Mongol sack of Baghdad in 1258. Marks a key arc in Islamic political history.
7. Sufis. Muslim mystics who spread Islam across Africa, South Asia, and Southeast Asia through trade, travel, missionary work, and adaptation to local cultures. Explains Islam’s rapid cultural reach beyond military conquest.
8. Delhi Sultanate. A series of Muslim dynasties that ruled much of northern India from the 13th to the 16th centuries and helped spread Islam and Persianate culture in the region.
9. Vijayanagara Empire. A powerful Hindu-ruled state in southern India (founded in 1336) that prospered through trade and regional military competition in the Deccan.
10. Bhakti movement. A Hindu devotional movement emphasizing personal devotion to the divine over ritual, often challenging caste hierarchy. Shows internal religious reform during the period.
11. Khmer Empire. A Southeast Asian state centered in Cambodia, known for massive temple complexes like Angkor Wat (originally Hindu, later Buddhist). Demonstrates how agriculture and religion supported state power.
12. Majapahit. A Hindu-Buddhist maritime empire based on Java (late 13th–early 16th centuries) that controlled regional trade. Example of naval power and tributary relationships.
13. Srivijaya Empire. A Buddhist maritime empire centered on Sumatra that controlled key Indian Ocean trade routes into the early part of the AP World period. An illustrative example of how strategic geography and Buddhism shaped Southeast Asian state-building.
14. Aztec Empire. The Mesoamerican state that expanded through military conquest and tribute collection. Key example of state-building in the Americas.
15. Inca Empire. A highly centralized Andean empire using roads, mit’a labor, and administrative innovation. Demonstrates complex statecraft without European contact.
16. Mississippian culture. A mound-building cultural tradition in North America marked by hierarchical chiefdoms, intensive maize agriculture, and urban centers such as Cahokia. Represents complex societies in North America beyond Mesoamerica and the Andes.
17. Mali Empire. A wealthy West African empire that controlled trans-Saharan trade and became famous under Mansa Musa. Illustrates Africa’s deep integration into global trade.
18. Great Zimbabwe. A southern African state known for massive stone architecture and regional trade control. Example of African state-building beyond the Sahel.
19. Ethiopia. A major Christian kingdom in the Horn of Africa that remained independent despite centuries of interaction and conflict with neighboring Muslim states. Unique case of Christian continuity outside Europe.
20. Hausa city-states. A network of West African city-states that grew wealthy through trans-Saharan trade. Shows decentralized but economically powerful African polities.
21. Feudalism. A shorthand for the decentralized land-based political relationships of medieval Europe, built around lord-vassal ties and land-for-service exchanges. Useful for comparison, but local realities varied widely.
22. Serfdom. The system binding European peasants to land owned by lords. A coerced labor system that shaped European society for centuries.
23. Manorial system. The largely self-sufficient economic organization of medieval European estates. Explains how rural Europe functioned before market economies.

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Unit 2: Networks of Exchange (c. 1200–1450) — 8–10%

24. Silk Roads. The overland trade routes connecting East Asia to the Mediterranean. The foundational network for Afro-Eurasian exchange.
25. Caravanserai. Roadside inns that supported long-distance trade across arid regions. Physical infrastructure that made the Silk Roads possible.
26. Bills of exchange. Financial instruments allowing merchants to transfer money across distances without carrying coin. Represent the growing sophistication of commercial practices.
27. Paper money. A Chinese innovation that expanded money economies and facilitated long-distance trade. A major financial innovation of the period.
28. Mongol Empire. Founded by Genghis Khan in 1206, the largest contiguous land empire in history, stretching from Korea to Hungary. Enabled unprecedented levels of cross-cultural exchange.
29. Mongol khanates. The four regional divisions of the Mongol Empire, each ruled by a khan. Show how empires managed vast territories.
30. Uyghur script. A writing system the Mongols adopted and adapted for imperial administration. Classic example of cultural borrowing within empire.
31. Indian Ocean trade network. The maritime system connecting East Africa, the Middle East, South Asia, and Southeast Asia. The most extensive maritime trade network of the period.
32. Monsoon winds. Seasonal wind patterns that enabled predictable Indian Ocean voyages. Environmental knowledge was critical to maritime trade.
33. Lateen sail. A triangular sail that allowed ships to sail more effectively with crosswinds and at angles into the wind. Key technology for Indian Ocean commerce.
34. Magnetic compass. A Chinese navigational innovation that spread globally through Indian Ocean trade networks. Enabled longer and safer ocean voyages.
35. Swahili Coast. A chain of East African city-states that thrived on Indian Ocean trade from roughly 1000–1500 CE. Demonstrates African participation in global commerce.
36. Sultanate of Malacca. A maritime state controlling a key chokepoint in Southeast Asian trade. Example of how geography created wealth.
37. Trans-Saharan trade. The caravan routes connecting West Africa to North Africa across the desert. Linked Africa into Afro-Eurasian commerce.
38. Camel saddle. A specialized saddle enabling efficient desert transport. Technology that made trans-Saharan trade viable.
39. Diasporic communities. Merchant communities from one region settling in distant trading cities. Show how trade spread cultural and religious ideas.
40. Greek and Islamic medical knowledge. Medical theories preserved and expanded in the Islamic world and transmitted to Europe. Example of intellectual transfer through trade networks.
41. Bubonic plague (Black Death). A devastating 14th-century pandemic spread via trade routes, killing tens of millions across Afro-Eurasia. A stark reminder that connectivity carries both goods and disease.

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Unit 3: Land-Based Empires (c. 1450–1750) — 12–15%

42. Ottoman Empire. A massive Sunni Islamic empire (c. 1299–1922) spanning three continents. The dominant Islamic power for centuries.
43. Safavid Empire. A Persian empire (1501–1736) that established Twelver Shi’ism as the state religion, helping define Persia’s political and religious identity in contrast to the Sunni Ottomans and Mughals.
44. Mughal Empire. A Muslim-ruled empire over Hindu-majority India (1526–1857), known for religious accommodation under rulers like Akbar. Key example of administering diverse populations.
45. Qing Dynasty. The Manchu-led final imperial dynasty of China (1644–1912). Represents non-Han rule over Chinese civilization.
46. Songhai Empire. A major West African empire dominant in the 15th–16th centuries. Shows African state-building alongside European expansion.
47. Devshirme. The Ottoman system of recruiting Christian boys, converting them to Islam, and training them to serve as elite soldiers (Janissaries) and officials. Strengthened central authority by creating a loyal administrative and military class.
48. Tax farming. A system where private individuals collected taxes for the state in exchange for a share. Common revenue method across early modern empires.
49. Zamindars. Local elites in Mughal India who collected revenue and exercised regional influence. Example of decentralized imperial administration.
50. Samurai. Japanese warriors whose status and compensation shifted during centralization under the Tokugawa shogunate. Show changing relationships between military elites and central power.
51. Divine right. The European doctrine that monarchs ruled by God’s will. Key method of legitimizing absolute monarchy.
52. Tribute collection. Demanding goods or payments from conquered peoples. A common legitimization and revenue strategy across empires.
53. Monumental architecture. Large-scale buildings (like the Taj Mahal) used to display imperial power and project state authority.
54. Protestant Reformation. The 16th-century religious movement, launched by Martin Luther in 1517, that split Western Christianity. Reshaped European politics and global religious conflict.
55. Catholic Reformation. The Catholic Church’s response to Protestantism through internal reform and the Council of Trent. Shows institutional adaptation to challenge.
56. Sikhism. A monotheistic religion founded by Guru Nanak in Punjab in the late 15th century, emerging in a region shaped by both Hindu and Islamic traditions. Example of religious innovation in Mughal India.

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Unit 4: Transoceanic Interconnections (c. 1450–1750) — 12–15%

57. Caravel. A small, maneuverable ship developed by the Portuguese for Atlantic exploration. Made long voyages possible.
58. Astrolabe. A navigational instrument used to determine latitude by measuring the altitude of celestial bodies. Essential for crossing oceans out of sight of land.
59. Columbian Exchange. The transfer of plants, animals, diseases, and people between the Eastern and Western Hemispheres after 1492. One of the most consequential biological events in human history.
60. Smallpox. An Old World disease that devastated Indigenous populations in the Americas and greatly aided European conquest and colonization.
61. Mercantilism. An economic theory in which states regulated trade, especially with colonies, to maximize exports, accumulate precious metals, and increase national power. Drove European colonial competition.
62. Joint-stock company. A business structure pooling investor capital for risky ventures. Financed early European colonial expansion.
63. Chartered monopoly companies. State-authorized trading companies like the Dutch East India Company (VOC) and British East India Company. Blended commerce and colonialism, and ultimately paved the way for direct imperial rule.
64. Encomienda. The Spanish labor system granting colonists the right to extract labor and tribute from Indigenous peoples. Early coerced labor institution in the Americas.
65. Hacienda. Large Spanish colonial agricultural estates. Shows the evolution of colonial land tenure.
66. Mit’a. The Inca labor system adapted by Spanish colonizers for silver mining at sites like Potosí. Example of colonial adaptation of Indigenous institutions.
67. Atlantic slave trade. The forced transportation of roughly 12–12.5 million Africans to the Americas between the 16th and 19th centuries, with millions more dying during capture and transit. Central to the Atlantic economic system.
68. Middle Passage. The brutal transatlantic voyage endured by enslaved Africans. The human cost of the Atlantic trading system.
69. Chattel slavery. A racialized system treating enslaved people as inheritable property. Distinguishes American slavery from earlier forms.
70. Plantation economy. Large-scale agricultural production of cash crops (sugar, tobacco, cotton) using enslaved labor. Organized much of the Atlantic world’s economy.
71. Atlantic trading system. The term the CED uses to describe the interconnected trade linking Africa, Europe, and the Americas.
72. Global flow of silver. The large-scale movement of American silver (especially from Potosí) into Europe and especially Asia, where Chinese demand for silver made it central to early modern global trade.
73. Casta system. The Spanish American racial hierarchy categorizing people by ancestry. Central to Unit 4’s focus on race and class.
74. Maroon societies. Communities of escaped enslaved people in the Americas, like those in Jamaica, Suriname, and Brazil. Show resistance to slavery beyond individual acts.
75. Pueblo Revolt. The 1680 uprising in which Pueblo peoples temporarily drove the Spanish out of New Mexico. Example of successful anti-colonial resistance.
76. Ana Nzinga. The 17th-century queen of Ndongo and Matamba (in present-day Angola) who used diplomacy, warfare, and shifting alliances to resist Portuguese expansion and defend her kingdoms in a brutal regional context shaped by the slave trade. Key figure in anti-imperial resistance.
77. Metacom’s War (King Philip’s War). A major Native American resistance (1675–1678) against English colonists in New England. Indigenous challenge to colonial expansion.
78. Syncretism. The blending of different religious or cultural traditions, such as Vodun or Santería in the Americas. Characterized colonial American religious life.

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Unit 5: Revolutions (c. 1750–1900) — 12–15%

79. Enlightenment. The 18th-century intellectual movement emphasizing reason, individual rights, and scientific inquiry. The ideological foundation of modern revolutions.
80. Natural rights. The Enlightenment concept that all humans possess fundamental rights. Central to revolutionary rhetoric worldwide.
81. Social contract. The idea that governments derive authority from the governed. Justified overthrowing “illegitimate” rulers.
82. Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen. The 1789 French document asserting individual rights. Inspired revolutions globally.
83. American Revolution. The 1775–1783 colonial revolt creating the United States. The first major Enlightenment-inspired revolution.
84. French Revolution. The 1789–1799 upheaval that overthrew the French monarchy. Reshaped European politics for a century.
85. Haitian Revolution. The 1791–1804 slave revolution that overthrew French rule in Saint-Domingue, creating the first independent Black republic — and the only successful slave revolution to found an independent state.
86. Latin American independence movements. The early 19th-century revolts led by figures like Simón Bolívar that freed Spanish and Portuguese colonies. Completed the revolutionary wave in the Americas.
87. Nationalism. The ideology that people sharing identity deserve their own state. Drove unifications (Italy, Germany) and independence movements.
88. Industrial Revolution. The transformation from agrarian to industrial economies beginning in Britain in the late 18th century. Reshaped global economic life.
89. Steam engine. The machine (perfected by James Watt) that powered factories, railroads, and steamships. A defining technology of early industrialization.
90. Second Industrial Revolution. The late 19th-century expansion into steel, chemicals, and electricity. Made industrialization truly global.
91. Meiji Restoration. Japan’s 1868 coup that ended the Tokugawa shogunate and launched state-led industrialization. Key example of non-Western industrialization.
92. Capitalism. The economic system based on private ownership and markets. Dominant economic ideology of the industrial era.
93. Laissez-faire. The economic doctrine of minimal government intervention, associated with Adam Smith. Ideological framework of industrial capitalism.
94. Socialism. The ideology advocating collective ownership of production. Major challenge to industrial capitalism.
95. Communism. The revolutionary ideology, articulated by Marx and Engels, seeking a classless society through the overthrow of capitalism. Shaped 20th-century global politics.
96. Labor unions. Worker organizations demanding better conditions and wages. Major response to industrial exploitation.
97. Feminism. The 19th-century movement, exemplified by the 1848 Seneca Falls Convention, advocating women’s rights in the context of industrial reform politics. Emerged alongside other Enlightenment-inspired reforms.

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Unit 6: Consequences of Industrialization (c. 1750–1900) — 12–15%

98. Imperialism. The extension of state power over foreign territories. A major global consequence of industrialization.
99. Civilizing mission. The ideological justification that Western powers had a duty to “uplift” non-Western peoples. The CED uses this term to capture what is often popularly called “The White Man’s Burden.”
100. Social Darwinism. The misapplication of Darwin’s theory to justify racial and imperial hierarchies. Pseudo-scientific justification for imperialism.
101. Berlin Conference. The 1884–1885 meeting where European powers established rules for partitioning Africa. Symbolic of the “Scramble for Africa.”
102. Spheres of influence. Regions where foreign powers held exclusive economic privileges. Common in China during the late 19th century.
103. Opium Wars. British-Chinese conflicts (1839–1842 and 1856–1860) that opened China to Western economic imperialism. Classic case of economic imperialism backed by force.
104. Economic imperialism. Domination through trade and investment rather than direct rule. Allowed imperial influence without full colonization.
105. Settler colonies. Colonies populated by permanent European settlers displacing Indigenous peoples, like Australia and Algeria. Distinct from extractive colonies.
106. Dutch East India Company (VOC). The chartered company that extended corporate-controlled imperial rule over Indonesia before the Dutch state takeover. Classic example of non-state imperial actors and the transition from commercial to direct imperialism.
107. Indentured servitude. Contract labor, especially of Chinese and Indian workers, that supplemented and in some regions replaced enslaved labor in the 19th-century world. Major form of global migration.
108. Sokoto Caliphate. A large Islamic state in West Africa founded in the early 19th century after the Fulani jihad led by Usman dan Fodio in 1804. Example of internal African religious and political transformation before European conquest.
109. Zulu Kingdom. The southern African state, built by Shaka in the early 19th century, that resisted expanding British power during the Anglo-Zulu War of 1879. Famous case of military resistance to imperialism.
110. Cherokee Nation. A Native American nation that pursued state-building and modernizing reforms (written constitution, newspaper) in response to U.S. expansion, only to be forcibly removed on the Trail of Tears (1838–1839).
111. Chinese Exclusion Act. 1882 U.S. legislation restricting Chinese immigration. Example of racial responses to global migration.
112. Ethnic enclaves. Immigrant communities that preserved cultural practices while adapting to new economic and social environments. Product of 19th-century migration patterns.

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Unit 7: Global Conflict (c. 1900–present) — 8–10%

113. Alliance system. The network of entangling defense agreements (Triple Entente vs. Triple Alliance) that turned local conflict into world war. A key cause of WWI’s scale.
114. World War I (1914–1918). The conflict that contributed to the collapse of major land-based empires (Ottoman, Russian, Austro-Hungarian, and German imperial systems) and reshaped the global order. A defining example of total war.
115. Total war. Warfare mobilizing entire societies and economies. Characterized 20th-century conflicts.
116. Russian Revolution. The 1917 overthrow of the Russian monarchy, led by the Bolsheviks, that established the world’s first communist state.
117. Mexican Revolution. The 1910–1920 upheaval that transformed Mexico’s political and social order. Major early 20th-century political transformation.
118. Great Depression. The global economic crisis that began with the 1929 crash and dominated the 1930s. Created conditions for fascism and WWII.
119. Fascism. The authoritarian, ultranationalist ideology of interwar Europe, exemplified by Mussolini and Hitler. Ideological driver of WWII.
120. Holocaust. The Nazi genocide of approximately six million Jews during WWII, along with millions of other victims. One of the defining mass atrocities of the 20th century.

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Unit 8: Cold War and Decolonization (c. 1900–present) — 8–10%

121. Cold War. The post-WWII geopolitical rivalry (c. 1947–1991) between the United States and the Soviet Union, defined by ideology, nuclear deterrence, and proxy conflicts rather than direct war.
122. Containment. The U.S. policy of preventing Soviet expansion, articulated by George Kennan. Framework for American Cold War strategy.
123. NATO and the Warsaw Pact. The rival U.S.- and Soviet-led military alliances that divided Cold War Europe. Institutionalized the bipolar order.
124. Proxy wars. Conflicts (Korean War, Vietnam War, Angolan Civil War, Afghanistan) where the superpowers supported opposing sides without fighting each other directly. Exported the Cold War globally.
125. Decolonization. The post-WWII process by which Asian, African, and Caribbean colonies gained independence from European empires. Reshaped the map of the world.
126. Indian independence (1947). The end of British rule, led by Gandhi and Nehru, resulting in the partition of India and Pakistan. Model for negotiated decolonization and a cautionary tale of communal violence.
127. Nonalignment. The movement, formalized at the 1955 Bandung Conference and led by figures like Nehru, Nasser, and Tito, by which newly independent states refused to join either Cold War bloc in order to maintain independence from both superpowers. Asserted Global South agency in a bipolar world.
128. Mao Zedong and the Chinese Communist Revolution. The 1949 communist victory in China, followed by the Great Leap Forward and Cultural Revolution. Second major communist state and a major Cold War flashpoint.
129. Cuban Revolution. Fidel Castro’s 1959 overthrow of the Batista government, which aligned Cuba with the Soviet Union and brought the Cold War into the Western Hemisphere.
130. Vietnam War. The conflict (c. 1955–1975) in which communist North Vietnam ultimately defeated U.S.-backed South Vietnam. Major example of decolonization intersecting with Cold War proxy conflict.
131. Apartheid. The South African system of legal racial segregation (1948–1994). Key example of institutionalized racism challenged by global anti-colonial and civil rights movements.
132. Negritude movement. A mid-20th-century literary and political movement led by Francophone African and Caribbean intellectuals (Aimé Césaire, Léopold Senghor) that celebrated Black identity and challenged colonial culture.
133. Partition. The 1947 division of British India into India and Pakistan, which displaced millions and caused mass communal violence. Shows the human cost of decolonization.
134. Iranian Revolution. The 1979 overthrow of the Shah that established an Islamic republic under Ayatollah Khomeini. An example of religiously grounded political change during the late Cold War.
135. Green Revolution. The mid-20th-century spread of high-yield seeds, fertilizers, and irrigation that dramatically increased global food production, though with uneven benefits and significant environmental costs. Transformed agriculture and population growth in the developing world.

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Unit 9: Globalization (c. 1900–present) — 8–10%

136. Globalization. The accelerating integration of economies, cultures, and technologies, especially after 1900 and intensifying in the late 20th century. The central process of Unit 9.
137. Multinational corporations. Companies operating across national borders, like Toyota, Apple, and Shell. Key actors in the global economy, sometimes rivaling states in power.
138. Neoliberalism. The late 20th-century economic ideology favoring free markets, deregulation, and privatization, associated with Reagan, Thatcher, and the “Washington Consensus.”
139. WTO, NAFTA, and ASEAN. International organizations and regional frameworks that promoted economic integration (World Trade Organization, North American Free Trade Agreement, Association of Southeast Asian Nations). WTO and NAFTA focus on trade; ASEAN is a broader regional intergovernmental organization. The examples the CED uses to illustrate economic globalization.
140. Internet and digital communications. Technologies that collapsed distance and transformed commerce, politics, and culture worldwide. A defining technology of the late 20th and early 21st centuries.
141. Global migration. Large-scale movement of people for work, refuge, or family reunification in an interconnected world. Continues earlier migration patterns at a scale and speed enabled by modern transportation and economic integration.
142. Global pandemics. Diseases like HIV/AIDS, influenza pandemics, and COVID-19 that spread rapidly through global networks. Shows how global connectivity continues to facilitate the spread of disease.
143. Climate change. The warming of the planet caused primarily by fossil fuel emissions since the Industrial Revolution. A major global challenge of the 21st century.
144. United Nations. The international organization founded in 1945 to promote peace, human rights, and cooperation. Key framework for addressing global issues.
145. Human rights movements. Global campaigns (civil rights, women’s rights, Indigenous rights, and others) often connected to the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights, though many also grew from older anti-colonial, civil rights, feminist, labor, and Indigenous traditions.
146. Global feminism. The late 20th-century expansion of feminist organizing across borders, linked to UN women’s conferences and transnational networks. Extends Unit 5’s feminism into the contemporary era.
147. Economic inequality (Global North/South divide). The persistent gap in wealth and development between wealthy industrialized regions and poorer ones. Frames many contemporary political debates.
148. Popular culture and cultural exchange. The global spread of film, music, sports, and consumer brands (global film industries, K-pop and other international music, international sports, multinational consumer brands). Shows cultural globalization alongside economic globalization.

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How to Use This List

Don’t try to memorize 148 terms in one sitting, and don’t just memorize definitions. For each term, ask yourself three questions: What unit does this belong to? What theme (governance, economic systems, cultural developments, social interactions, technology, environment) does it connect to? What other terms is it linked to across units? The exam consistently rewards students who can connect developments across time and space, not students who treat each unit as an isolated silo.

A good rhythm is one or two units per week, reviewing earlier units as you add new ones. After you’ve worked through a unit’s terms, run the corresponding stimulus-based drills on the AP World History practice page — that’s where you’ll see these terms in the actual form the exam tests them, embedded in primary and secondary sources with multiple-choice questions about sourcing, causation, and comparison.

Beyond content, the AP exam rewards mastery of historical thinking skills — contextualization, comparison, causation, continuity and change over time, sourcing, and argumentation — so practice applying these terms in analytical writing, not just identifying them. When you’re ready, pull a released DBQ from AP Central and try writing one under timed conditions using these terms as evidence.

AP® is a trademark registered by the College Board, which is not affiliated with, and does not endorse, this website. Term list derived from the College Board’s AP World History: Modern Course and Exam Description. See full Trademark & Disclaimer.