AP Modern World History Flashcards: Maritime Empires Established
Written by AP Content Team, Verified for 2026 AP Exams, Last updated: May 2026
Review key ideas with interactive flashcards. This set includes 19 cards to help you master important concepts.
Name two African states that grew in influence due to their participation in expanding maritime trading networks.
The Asante and the Kingdom of the Kongo both experienced an increase in their influence through participation in trading networks.
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Name two African states that grew in influence due to their participation in expanding maritime trading networks.
The Asante and the Kingdom of the Kongo both experienced an increase in their influence through participation in trading networks.
What is chattel slavery?
Chattel slavery was a new labor system introduced in the Americas where an enslaved person is the legal property (chattel) of the owner.
What were the broader consequences of the increased demand for enslaved labor in the Americas?
The increased demand for enslaved labor led to significant demographic, social, and cultural changes in the Americas.
What were the primary motivations for European states to establish new maritime empires between 1450 and 1750?
Driven largely by political, religious, and economic rivalries, European states sought to establish new maritime empires.
Besides introducing new labor systems, how did colonial economies in the Americas utilize existing labor?
Colonial economies in the Americas utilized existing labor systems, such as the Incan mit'a system.
How did the growth of the plantation economy in the Americas impact the demand for labor?
The growth of the plantation economy significantly increased the demand for enslaved labor in the Americas.
Identify some of the Asian merchant groups that continued to thrive in the Indian Ocean trade despite European disruption.
Asian merchant groups like the Swahili Arabs, Omanis, Gujaratis, and Javanese continued to flourish in the Indian Ocean.
What was the effect of European merchants on existing trade networks in the Indian Ocean?
Despite disruption by European merchants, existing trade networks in the Indian Ocean continued to flourish, including intra-Asian trade.
How did some Asian states react to the establishment of European trading posts in their regions?
Some Asian states, like Ming China and Tokugawa Japan, sought to limit European effects by adopting restrictive or isolationist trade policies.
What is indentured servitude?
Indentured servitude was a new labor system introduced in the Americas where a person worked for a set number of years in exchange for passage.
List five major European states that established new maritime empires.
The five major European maritime empires included the Portuguese, Spanish, Dutch, French, and British.
What was the economic foundation of the newly developed colonial economies in the Americas?
The colonial economies in the Americas largely depended on agriculture, which in turn created a high demand for labor.
What were the encomienda and hacienda systems?
These were new labor systems introduced in the Americas by colonial powers to support agricultural economies.
What was a key process of political development for various empires and states between 1450 and 1750?
The process of state building and expansion was a key feature of various empires and states in this period.
Which two specific states are mentioned as examples of adopting restrictive trade policies against Europeans?
Ming China and Tokugawa Japan are cited as examples of states that adopted restrictive or isolationist trade policies.
Describe the traditional forms of enslavement that continued in Africa from 1450 to 1750.
Enslavement in Africa continued in its traditional forms, which included incorporation of enslaved people into households and their export to the Mediterranean and Indian Ocean regions.
How did Europeans initially establish their economic presence in Africa and Asia?
Europeans established new trading posts in Africa and Asia, which proved profitable for rulers and merchants within the new global trade networks.
How did systems of slavery evolve between 1450 and 1750?
Systems of slavery in this period experienced both continuities, such as traditional forms in Africa, and changes, like the rise of chattel slavery in the Americas.
What general trend characterized economic and labor systems from 1450 to 1750?
Economic systems and labor systems experienced both significant continuities and widespread changes during this period.