Question 1

What effect did the Mongols have on the Silk Road?

Accepted Answer

Made it more stable and safe by improving roads and punishing bandits

Question 2

What is a magnetic compass?

Accepted Answer

An instrument that indicates direction and is used for navigation

(developed by the Chinese)

Question 3

What is a rudder?

Accepted Answer

An underwater blade used to control ships

Question 4

What is a Chinese junk?

Accepted Answer

A huge type of ship developed in the Han dynasty

(multiple sails; sometimes as long as 400 feet; much larger than European ships)

Question 5

What was the effect of Chinese naval technology on the Silk Road?

Accepted Answer

Trade was much more efficient, overall

China could control sea-based ports in the South China sea

(enabled by the magnetic compass, improved rudder, and the junk, all developed a few centuries before the Silk Road)

Question 6

Why did Cities and Oases develop along the Silk Road?

Accepted Answer

Lots of the Silk Road was inhospitable, so cities near rivers became centers of trade

Question 7

What is Kashgar?

Accepted Answer

An oasis-city along the Silk Road, where merchants would get food and water

(located near the Kashgar River, in Western China, where northern and Southern routes of the Silk Road cross)

Question 8

What is Samarkand?

Accepted Answer

A city that was a center of cultural exchange and trade along the Silk Road

(located in present-day Uzbekistan, near the Zeravshan river)

Question 9

What are caravanserai?

Accepted Answer

Inns along the Silk Road, where traders and their camels could rest and restock

Question 10

What is flying cash?

Accepted Answer

An early banking system, where a merchant could deposit cash somewhere and withdraw the same amount somewhere else

(developed by the Chinese government)

Question 11

Why was flying cash developed?

Accepted Answer

It became too bulky to carry lots of coins on the Silk Road

Question 12

How did the Silk Road affect banking?

Accepted Answer

New banking innovations needed to be invented, so that traders could bring money more easily

(see: flying cash, banking houses, bill of exchange)

Question 13

What is the Hanseatic League?

Accepted Answer

A commercial alliance between cities in Northern Germany and Scandinavia

Helped control trade and reduce piracy

Question 14

How did the Crusades affect European views towards Asia?

Accepted Answer

The Crusades awakened European interest in luxury goods from Asia

Question 15

Who was Marco Polo?

Accepted Answer

A famous Venetian merchant who traveled along the Silk Road

(his experiences were later turned into a book that invoked European interest in Asia; his accuracy is greatly disputed)

Question 16

What was the Gobi Desert?

Accepted Answer

A vast and harsh desert, south of Mongolia

Question 17

Who was Genghis Khan?

Accepted Answer

A powerful Mongolian leader that formed the Mongolian empire

(born as "Temüjin"; Genghis Khan means "ruler of all"; spent his early life forming connections and alliances with other tribes)

Question 18

What is a khan?

Accepted Answer

A Mongolian king

Question 19

What is a kurultai?

Accepted Answer

An ancient meeting of Mongolian chiefs

(Temujin became Genghis Khan at a kurultai)

Question 20

What is a khanate?

Accepted Answer

A Mongolian kingdom

Question 21

What is Pax Mongolica?

Accepted Answer

Latin for "Mongol Peace" - a period of peace and stability under the Mongolian empire

Question 22

What is the Uyghur alphabet?

Accepted Answer

An alphabet used by Uyghurs that Genghis Khan attempted to adopt to unify Mongolia

Question 23

What was the Golden Horde?

Accepted Answer

A Mongolian army sent into Russia, conquering Russian kingdoms and forcing them to pay tribute

(led by Genghis' grandson, Batu)

Question 24

Why did the Golden Horde stop advancing into Europe?

Accepted Answer

Ogodei Khan, Genghis' successor, had died, so Batu called off the attacks and returned home

Question 25

What was the Il-Khanate?

Accepted Answer

A Mongolian Kingdom that ruled a lot of the Middle East

(created by Hulegu, a grandson of Genghis; took over power from the Abassids)

Question 26

What was the Yuan Dynasty?

Accepted Answer

An empire built as Mongolian forces attempted to conquer China

(created by Kublai Khan, a grandson of Genghis)

Question 27

What was the Chagatai Khanate?

Accepted Answer

A Mongolian Kingdom located in the center of the Mongolian empire

(ruled by Chagatai Khan, second son of Genghis)

Question 28

What was the White Lotus Society?

Accepted Answer

A Chinese group that organized to overthrow the Mongols

Question 29

Who was Zhu Yuanzhang?

Accepted Answer

A poor Buddhist monk that led a revolt to overthrow the Yuan Dynasty, creating the Ming Dynasty in its place

Question 30

What was the bubonic plague?

Accepted Answer

A horrible disease, transmitted by fleas, that killed 1/3 of Europe

Question 31

How did the Mongols affect the bubonic plague?

Accepted Answer

The Mongolian conquests spread the bubonic plague from China to Europe

Question 32

What geographic factor allowed for lots of trade in South Asia?

Accepted Answer

The Indian Ocean Basin

(It is easier to move large amounts of goods by water, making the Indian Ocean a huge hub for trade)

Question 33

What religion was predominantly spread by Indian Ocean trade?

Accepted Answer

Islam

(The Indian Ocean was an easy access route between the Middle-East and parts of Asia)

Question 34

What was Calicut?

Accepted Answer

A large center of trade along the west coast of India

Question 35

What were the Spice Islands?

Accepted Answer

Modern-day Malaysia and Indonesia, which exported a lot of spices

Question 36

What was the Indian Ocean slave trade?

Accepted Answer

A network of slaves in the Indian Ocean

(these slaves were given better lives than American slaves, but still had harsh conditions; diffused parts of African culture into South Asia)

Question 37

What are monsoon winds?

Accepted Answer

Powerful winds that carry rain around South Asia

Question 38

Why were the monsoon winds important in the Indian Ocean?

Accepted Answer

Merchants had to time their voyages, so that the winds wouldn't block them

Question 39

What was an effect of Indian monsoon winds on culture?

Accepted Answer

Merchants that were trapped in a foreign community would often spread their culture

Question 40

What were lateen sails?

Accepted Answer

Triangular sails that could catch wind from all direction, used in the Indian Ocean

Question 41

What is the stern rudder?

Accepted Answer

An improved rudder, invented by the Chinese, that gave ships more stability

Question 42

What was the astrolabe?

Accepted Answer

A device for determining latitude (how far north/south from the equator)

Question 43

What was Malacca/Melaka?

Accepted Answer

A Muslim city-state that became wealthy by building a navy and taxing ships that passed through the Strait of Malacca

(the Strait of Malacca was a thin inlet that many ship captains passed through between journeys in India)

Question 44

What was Gujarat?

Accepted Answer

A wealthy west-Indian kingdom that trade between the East and West passed through

Question 45

What are diasporas?

Accepted Answer

Communities of similar people in a foreign place

(merchants in the Indian Ocean trade set up diasporas in the places they traded)

Question 46

What are Swahili city-states?

Accepted Answer

Thriving city-states along East Africa, created by the Indian Ocean trade

Question 47

Who was Zheng He?

Accepted Answer

A Chinese-Muslim admiral that led a fleet across the Indian Ocean

Question 48

Why was Zheng He sent on his voyages?

Accepted Answer

Demonstrate the power of the Ming Dynasty and collect tribute from the people he found

Question 49

What is the Sahara Desert?

Accepted Answer

A huge desert in north-Africa, where farming was near impossible

Question 50

What are oases?

Accepted Answer

Places (in deserts) where human settlement is possible, due to underground water making land fertile

(the term can also be figurative, referring to a thriving place in an otherwise hostile environment)

Question 51

What is the Arabian Desert?

Accepted Answer

A large desert in the Middle-East, mostly centered on Saudi Arabia

Question 52

Why were camels important in North Africa?

Accepted Answer

Camels could go without water for much longer than horses; there were vast deserts in North Africa

Question 53

What are camel saddles?

Accepted Answer

A type of saddle that allowed riders to mount camels

(There were many types of saddlers, some putting riders between the humps for stability, while others put riders on top the humps for visibility)

Question 54

What was Mali?

Accepted Answer

A kingdom in West Africa that greatly profited from gold trade

Question 55

What was Timbuktu?

Accepted Answer

A great city in Mali that accumulated wealth and became a center of life

Question 56

Who was Sundiata?

Accepted Answer

The founder of Mali who became a warrior and a powerful leader

(His life was spared after his father was killed, as he was crippled and not seen as a threat.  He went on to become a fierce warrior and powerful leader)

Question 57

Who was Mansa Musa?

Accepted Answer

A ruler of Mali who became the richest person of all time

(grand-nephew of Sundiata)

Question 58

What was the Songhai Kingdom?

Accepted Answer

A powerful state in west-Africa, that took place after Mali declined

Question 59

Who was Ibn Battuta?

Accepted Answer

A midevil Muslim traveler who documented many places along the trans-Saharan trade network

Question 60

Who was Margery Kempe?

Accepted Answer

An English mystic that described her pilgrimages around Europe and the Middle-East

Question 61

How did bananas affect Subsaharan Africa?

Accepted Answer

Population spiked, after bananas were introduced by Indonesians

Question 62

How did an increased population in the 12-1300s affect the environment?

Accepted Answer

More farms were used putting a strain on the environment

(processes such as overgrazing, deforestation, and soil erosion were all common)

Unit 2: Networks of Exchange, AP World History: Modern Flashcards