AP Modern World History Flashcards: Technological Innovations
Written by AP Content Team, Verified for 2026 AP Exams, Last updated: May 2026
Review key ideas with interactive flashcards. This set includes 10 cards to help you master important concepts.
What were the Carrack and Fluyt?
The Carrack and Fluyt were innovative ship designs from the 1450-1750 period that, due to their construction and capacity, helped make long-distance transoceanic trade possible.
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What were the Carrack and Fluyt?
The Carrack and Fluyt were innovative ship designs from the 1450-1750 period that, due to their construction and capacity, helped make long-distance transoceanic trade possible.
What was the ultimate result of innovations like the Fluyt ship and a better understanding of wind patterns?
These developments, stemming from cross-cultural diffusion, made transoceanic travel and trade possible, fundamentally changing patterns of global interaction.
Define technological diffusion in the context of 1450-1750 maritime exploration.
Technological diffusion was the spread of knowledge and innovations, such as the compass and astrolabe, from the Classical, Islamic, and Asian worlds to Europe.
Identify two navigational tools that diffused to Europe and enabled long-distance sea travel.
The astrolabe and the compass were new tools whose knowledge spread from the Classical, Islamic, and Asian worlds, making transoceanic travel possible for Europeans.
How did the diffusion of technology facilitate changes in travel from 1450-1750?
The spread of existing technologies like the compass, combined with new European innovations like the Caravel, directly enabled transoceanic travel, which was previously not possible.
What was the Caravel?
The Caravel was an innovative ship design, along with the Carrack and Fluyt, that was developed between 1450-1750 and made transoceanic travel and trade possible.
What three types of technological developments were essential for making transoceanic trade possible after 1450?
The key developments were new navigational tools like the astrolabe and compass, innovations in ship designs like the Caravel, and an improved understanding of regional wind and currents patterns.
A European explorer in 1490 is planning a voyage. Why would knowledge from the Islamic and Asian worlds be important to them?
This knowledge would be crucial as it provided the basis for key technologies the explorer would use, including navigational tools like the astrolabe and compass.
How did cross-cultural interactions affect European technology from 1450-1750?
Knowledge, scientific learning, and technology from the Classical, Islamic, and Asian worlds spread to Europe, which facilitated European technological developments and innovation.
What was the connection between knowledge of currents and patterns of trade from 1450-1750?
An improved understanding of regional wind and currents patterns was a key technological development that made transoceanic travel safer and more predictable, thus facilitating changes in trade routes.