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History and Social SciencesEuropean History

AP European History

Trace political, economic, social, scientific, and cultural change in Europe from the Renaissance to the present while developing historical arguments from evidence.

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Unit 1Renaissance and Exploration11 topics

Connect Renaissance thought, state building, print, exploration, colonial expansion, slavery, and commercial change in the making of early modern Europe.

  1. 1.1Contextualizing Renaissance and Discovery
  2. 1.2Italian Renaissance
  3. 1.3Northern Renaissance
  4. 1.4Printing
  5. 1.5New Monarchies
  6. 1.6Technological Advances and the Age of Exploration
  7. 1.7Rivals on the World Stage
  8. 1.8Colonial Expansion and Columbian Exchange
  9. 1.9The Slave Trade
  10. 1.10The Commercial Revolution
  11. 1.11Causation in the Renaissance and Age of Discovery

Unit 2Age of Reformation8 topics

Examine the causes, spread, conflict, social consequences, and artistic expression of religious reform in 16th- and 17th-century Europe.

  1. 2.1Contextualizing 16th- and 17th-Century Challenges and Developments
  2. 2.2Luther and the Protestant Reformation
  3. 2.3Protestant Reform Continues
  4. 2.4Wars of Religion
  5. 2.5The Catholic Reformation
  6. 2.616th-Century Society and Politics
  7. 2.7Art of the 16th Century: Mannerism and Baroque Art
  8. 2.8Causation in the Age of Reformation and the Wars of Religion

Unit 3Absolutism and Constitutionalism8 topics

Compare paths toward absolutist and constitutional rule while relating state power to economic systems, diplomacy, and changing social structures.

  1. 3.1Contextualizing State Building
  2. 3.2The English Civil War and the Glorious Revolution
  3. 3.3Continuities and Changes to Economic Practice and Development
  4. 3.4Economic Development and Mercantilism
  5. 3.5The Dutch Golden Age
  6. 3.6Balance of Power
  7. 3.7Absolutist Approaches to Power
  8. 3.8Comparison in the Age of Absolutism and Constitutionalism

Unit 4Scientific, Philosophical, and Political Developments7 topics

Follow how new scientific methods, Enlightenment arguments, demographic change, culture, and political reform transformed 18th-century Europe.

  1. 4.1Contextualizing the Scientific Revolution and the Enlightenment
  2. 4.2The Scientific Revolution
  3. 4.3The Enlightenment
  4. 4.418th-Century Society and Demographics
  5. 4.518th-Century Culture and Arts
  6. 4.6Enlightened and Other Approaches to Power
  7. 4.7Causation in the Age of the Scientific Revolution and the Enlightenment

Unit 5Conflict, Crisis, and Reaction in the Late 18th Century9 topics

Analyze global markets, Britain’s power, revolution in France, Napoleon, the postwar settlement, and Romantic responses to rapid upheaval.

  1. 5.1Contextualizing 18th-Century States
  2. 5.2The Rise of Global Markets
  3. 5.3Britain’s Ascendency
  4. 5.4The French Revolution
  5. 5.5The French Revolution’s Effects
  6. 5.6Napoleon’s Rise, Dominance, and Defeat
  7. 5.7The Congress of Vienna
  8. 5.8Romanticism
  9. 5.9Continuity and Change in 18th-Century States

Unit 6Industrialization and Its Effects10 topics

Connect industrial growth to urban and social change, conservative reaction, revolution, reform, and new political ideologies.

  1. 6.1Contextualizing Industrialization and Its Origins and Effects
  2. 6.2The Spread of Industry Throughout Europe
  3. 6.3Second Wave Industrialization and Its Effects
  4. 6.4Social Effects of Industrialization
  5. 6.5The Concert of Europe and European Conservatism
  6. 6.6Reactions and Revolutions
  7. 6.7Ideologies of Change and Reform Movements
  8. 6.819th-Century Social Reform
  9. 6.9Institutional Responses and Reform
  10. 6.10Causation in the Age of Industrialization

Unit 719th-Century Perspectives and Political Developments9 topics

Study nationalism, unification, modernity, imperialism, scientific ideas, and cultural movements as Europe’s power and internal tensions expanded.

  1. 7.1Contextualizing 19th-Century Perspectives and Political Developments
  2. 7.2Nationalism
  3. 7.3National Unification and Diplomatic Tensions
  4. 7.4Darwinism, Social Darwinism
  5. 7.5The Age of Progress and Modernity
  6. 7.6New Imperialism: Motivations and Methods
  7. 7.7Imperialism’s Global Effects
  8. 7.819th-Century Culture and Arts
  9. 7.9Causation in 19th-Century Perspectives and Political Developments

Unit 820th-Century Global Conflicts11 topics

Trace world wars, revolution, economic crisis, totalitarianism, genocide, and cultural change across Europe’s most destructive era.

  1. 8.1Contextualizing 20th-Century Global Conflicts
  2. 8.2World War I
  3. 8.3The Russian Revolution and Its Effects
  4. 8.4Versailles Conference and Peace Settlement
  5. 8.5Global Economic Crisis
  6. 8.6Fascism and Totalitarianism
  7. 8.7Europe During the Interwar Period
  8. 8.8World War II
  9. 8.9The Holocaust
  10. 8.1020th-Century Cultural, Intellectual, and Artistic Developments
  11. 8.11Continuity and Changes in an Age of Global Conflict

Unit 9Cold War and Contemporary Europe15 topics

Explain reconstruction, superpower rivalry, decolonization, democratization, European integration, migration, technology, globalization, and contemporary culture.

  1. 9.1Contextualizing Cold War and Contemporary Europe
  2. 9.2Rebuilding Europe
  3. 9.3The Cold War
  4. 9.4Two Super Powers Emerge
  5. 9.5Postwar Nationalism, Ethnic Conflict, and Atrocities
  6. 9.6Contemporary Western Democracies
  7. 9.7The Fall of Communism
  8. 9.820th-Century Feminism
  9. 9.9Decolonization
  10. 9.10The European Union
  11. 9.11Migration and Immigration
  12. 9.12Technology
  13. 9.13Globalization
  14. 9.1420th- and 21st-Century Culture, Arts, and Demographic Trends
  15. 9.15Continuity and Change in the 20th and 21st Centuries