This video will make you hungry! Learn about the history of gumbo and how the Columbian Exchange between Afro-Eurasia and the Americas cooked up this tasty dish.

The Columbian Exchange linked the world’s great landmasses in a single, connected system. People, ideas, diseases, and species all moved, transforming global power relations, international economies, and local experiences, not always for the better.

Orient yourself in time and space as you begin Unit 4, by using maps to make predictions about transoceanic interconnections you will study in this unit.

A full-color political map of the world in 1550 CE, highlighting the major states, communities, and cities you’ll learn about in WHP.

A black and white version of the world in 1550 CE, that can be cropped to specific regions and easily printed.

A full-color thematic map of Medieval Trade Routes in 1450 CE, meant to help you support, extend, and challenge the frame narratives.

An individualized tracker to new words encountered in Unit 4. Add to it as the unit progresses.

In Unit 4, continue the routine of building a class word wall, an important visual cue and literacy support.

This vocab guide provides a summary of the key vocabulary for the unit.

Vocab cards for each of the key words in this unit.

From 1450 to 1750, European mariners used technologies gained through centuries of trade to explore the world, connect its oceans, and enrich some European states.

When Europeans arrived in the Indian Ocean, they encountered a complex and cosmopolitan world. It would be a long time before Europeans could exert control over this system.

How did innovations in technology impact exploration and trade? Use the Quick-Sourcing Tool to analyze the sources in this collection to find out!

How did cross-cultural interactions facilitate innovations in technology and how did these ideas impact exploration and trade? The primary sources in this collection will help you formulate an answer to this question.

Can you correctly categorize the statements based on the AP themes? Time to find out in the first part of the Unit 4 Themes Notebook activity!

The past was not peaceful. Is there more violent conflict today than in the past? Is war becoming deadlier? The data is more complicated than you might think.

Christopher Columbus was no tourist. His arrival in North America led to a system of exchange that fundamentally altered the environment, economic systems, and culture across the world.

In this activity, students will begin to understand how the world went from where it was in 1450 to how it is today.

The Columbian Exchange changed the face of the world as diseases, animals, plants, and people moved across continents and dramatically remade the societies they reached.

These sixteenth-century documents describe the Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire. Why did they do it? How did Indigenous peoples respond?

Humans have always moved plants around with us. But after 1500, a biological exchange between the Old and New Worlds changed global populations, trade networks, cultures, and environments.

After Spanish conquistadors sacked the Aztec capital of Tenochtitlán in 1521, they tried to convert Mexico City’s indigenous people to a new religion. Results were mixed.

How did the Columbian Exchange impact the food we eat? Create a menu that features both pre- and post-Columbian Exchange items.

European ships linked the world’s oceans and created a global network of colonies and commerce. The changes this created would drive social change, conflict, and economic disruption in the early modern world.

In 1579, an African man arrived in the city of Kyoto, Japan. We know very little about him. He appears in the historical record for less than four years. But in that short time, he became the first foreign-born samurai, befriended the most powerful man in Japan, and fought in the struggle to unify the country.

We’re used to credit cards now, but the very idea of credit, interest, and banking were pretty radical innovations in our economic history—and they led to the emergence of capitalism in Europe.

Be a sneak! Test your understanding of Unit 4 vocabulary by “sneaking” some vocab words into conversation.

The Spanish, and to some degree the Portuguese, built the first colonies in the Americas. But other European countries would challenge Spain and Portugal’s early monopoly.

In 1680, Pueblos in Nuevo México revolted against their Spanish colonizers. It was the first successful revolt against European colonialism in the United States.

The real-life Pocahontas was a Powhatan woman named Amonute, daughter of the powerful ruler Wahunsenacah. As a young woman, she acted as an interpreter between her people and the settlers and delivered gifts of food to the English, as well. The facts of this story are, however, disputed.

The Spanish went looking for gold in the Americas, but they actually found silver. Unfortunately, all that silver led to death, inflation, and other not-so-good things.

We are told that colonial society in America was hierarchical, with race playing a big role in who ruled, and who was ruled. We also learn that these were societies with pretty rigid gender roles and only limited opportunities for women. The story of Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz suggests things were a bit more complex than this generalization suggests.

This overview of the event known as the transatlantic slave trade shows a major economic development depended on the horrific treatment of enslaved humans. The violence and scale of the transatlantic slave trade seems to exceed any other known instance of slavery in history.

Parts of the world benefitted by increased global networks. But the Atlantic slaving system as well as the sharp decline in indigenous populations were among the devastating effects of this period.

Time to test some claims—this time about transoceanic empires.

How did people experience and react to their situation in the transatlantic slave trade? Use the Quick-Sourcing Tool to analyze the documents in this collection to find out.

These primary source excerpts provide a glimpse into the journey of African captives to the New World, including the harsh and dangerous conditions they experienced.

Domingos Álvares was one of more than twelve million Africans enslaved to labor in the Americas. But this did not define his identity. As historian James Sweet tells us, he was a healer who created a community and a network around him wherever he went.

As empires expanded and states centralized, not everybody benefited. In fact, some people found the new system to be terrible, and they found many ways to resist.

What were the causes and effects of imperial expansion from 1450 to 1750? Use the Quick-Sourcing Tool to analyze the documents in this collection to find out!

What were the causes and effects of imperial expansion from 1450 to 1750? Practice your sourcing skills with these primary source documents to find out.

The first movements of large groups of people across the Atlantic Ocean had numerous causes. Migrants were escaping religious and political persecution. Imperialistic nations were competing economically. Forced migration drove convicts and enslaved laborers. Whatever the reason, migration from Africa and Eurasia to the New World increased significantly beginning in the late fifteenth century.

The Americas in 1750 was a period of great change. Both under European empires and independent states, people shared religions, new ideas, and products with each other.

Revisit the Question Parsing Tool and improve your ability to figure out what you are being asked in writing prompts.

The Mughal Empire produced much of the world’s long-distance trade goods in 1750, but its rulers faced enormous challenges in keeping together a vast and diverse society.

In the eighteenth century, not only did the Qing dynasty rule over a massive multi-ethnic empire, it also experienced an economic boom!

Why did labor and social hierarchies change from 1450 to 1750? Use the Quick-Sourcing Tool to analyze the sources to find out!

Why did labor and social hierarchies change from 1450 to 1750? Analyze the primary source excerpts in this collection for evidence to help you answer this question.

Were your predictions and themes categorization correct in the first part of the Themes Notebook activity? Use your knowledge from this unit to decide.

What changed and what stayed the same as the world become more interconnected? That’s your task in this activity—evaluating changes and continuities from Unit 3 to Unit 4.

It’s time to review the map predictions you made at the beginning of the unit, and examine a series of new maps to help you think about the unit problem.

A full-color political map of the world in 1550 CE, highlighting the major states, communities, and cities you’ll learn about in WHP.

A full-color political map of the world in 1750 CE, highlighting the major states, communities, and cities you’ll learn about in WHP.

A full-color thematic map of the Silver Trade and Transoceanic Voyages in 1550 CE, meant to help you support, extend, and challenge the frame narratives.

How do you read visual sources to gather evidence to support claims? Use the tips and techniques in this SAQ activity to help you analyze images like a pro.

How do you prepare for writing an AP LEQ? Read a sample essay to identify evidence, historical reasoning, and complexity to sharpen your skills.

How much did economic developments between 1450 and 1750 impact social structures? Use content from the unit along with your writing skills to answer this question.

Using the sources, develop an argument that evaluates the extent to which economic developments that occurred between 1450 and 1750 impacted social structures over time.