People moved across the Atlantic Ocean for many reasons, but most migrants didn’t have much of a choice. Some of them were looking to escape from religious persecution or were trying to find jobs, while others were kidnapped into enslavement and forced into lives of hard labor. Combined, this movement of peoples led to huge changes to environments, populations, and cultures.

This article gives you some context about transatlantic migration patterns and why they happened. It shows how events in one region caused global changes that affected many other regions, which gives you evidence you can use to answer the Unit Problem, which is focused on continuity and change. You’ve already learned a lot about the Columbian Exchange’s movement of plants, animals, and germs in previous articles and videos, but this article takes a closer look at the movement of people and its dramatic effects.

Think about the following question as you read the article: To what extent does this article provide evidence to explain the continuities and changes in economic and labor systems? Write this question at the top of the Three Close Reads worksheet. You will be asked to respond to this question again after the third read in the Evaluating and Corroborating section of the worksheet.

Read 1—Skimming for Gist

Fill out the Skimming for Gist section of the Three Close Reads worksheet as you complete your first close read. As a reminder, this should be a quick process!

Read 2—Understanding Content

For this reading, you should be looking for unfamiliar vocabulary words, the major claim and key supporting details, and analysis and evidence. By the end of the second close read, you should be able to answer the following questions:

1. According to the article, what three key events shaped transatlantic migration patterns in this period?
2. What were the main reasons Europeans voluntarily migrated to the Americas in this era?
3. How did the forced labor of African and Indigenous people in the Americas affect the lives of working class Europeans?
4. What nineteenth-century trend began to change transatlantic migration patterns yet again?

Read 3—Evaluating and Corroborating

At the end of the third close read, respond to the following questions:

1. To what extent does this article provide evidence to explain the continuities and changes in economic systems and labor systems?
2. How did the shape of communities change in the Americas due to the circulation of both voluntary and involuntary migrants? Which groups were easily able to shape their new communities, and which groups appear to have had more difficulty? How might these different experiences affect societies in the Americas, still, today?

In 1750, much of the Americas was under the rule of one European empire or another. In some regions, European settlers sat atop the economic pyramid. Many Indigenous Americans worked for them. Enslaved Africans also produced many of the goods being sent back to Europe for profit. All of this worked through a hierarchical, race-based system. But beneath the surface, there was a lot of rule-breaking and resistance. People had relationships and children across the official lines of race. Enslaved people resisted and escaped colonial control, and indigenous people created their own states.

This article will help you understand how social hierarchies began to change in this era. You can then use the evidence in this article to help you respond to the Unit Problem: “How did economic developments and new transoceanic connections affect social structures in different parts of the word from c. 1450 to 1750 CE?”

Think about the following question as you read the article: To what extent does this article provide evidence to explain how economic developments in this period affected social structures over time? Write this question at the top of the Three Close Reads worksheet. You will be asked to respond to this question again after the third read in the Evaluating and Corroborating section of the worksheet.

Read 1—Skimming for Gist

Fill out the Skimming for Gist section of the Three Close Reads worksheet as you complete your first close read. As a reminder, this should be a quick process!

Read 2—Understanding Content

For this reading, you should be looking for unfamiliar vocabulary words, the major claim and key supporting details, and analysis and evidence. By the end of the second close read, you should be able to answer the following questions:

1. Look at the map of colonies in the Americas, which were many times the size of the countries (Spain, Britain, etc.) that controlled them. What does the caption below the image imply about these territories?
2. Like other empires, the European empires in the Americas had diverse populations, including many enslaved people. How did they try to control these populations?
3. What were the roles of the Americas in the global economy in this period?
4. According to the article, what were Indigenous American people doing in this period?
5. According to the author, how did enslaved and subordinated people react to being ruled by European empires?

Read 3—Evaluating and Corroborating

At the end of the third close read, respond to the following questions:

1. To what extent does this article provide evidence to explain how economic developments in this period affected social structures over time?
2. Based on the evidence in this article, what aspects of American societies in 1750 seem unique or distinctive, and what aspects seem to be part of a wider global pattern?

This quick skill-building activity is intended to help you understand what is being asked of you when you’re presented with historical prompts, particularly those you’ll encounter in assessment prompts such as document-based questions (DBQs) and long essay questions (LEQs).

In this activity, you will revisit the process of how to parse a prompt. Remember, parsing a prompt is the process of analyzing a string of words—that is, trying to figure out what something is saying and asking!

Take out the Question Parsing Tool and write down the following prompt at the top of the tool:

“Evaluate the extent to which religious responses to wealth accumulation in Eurasia in the period circa 600 B.C.E. to 1500 C.E. differed from state responses to wealth accumulation.”

Now, follow the tool directions. Be prepared to discuss your answers with the class!

The Mughals were a Muslim dynasty who, in the sixteenth century, built an empire stretching over a huge region of South and Central Asia. Their population produced a lot of the world’s most desired goods, including much of its cloth. They dominated the region partly through a vast army and a loyal nobility, and partly through a policy or religious tolerance. But declining tolerance, continuing wars, and a changing global economy created challenges in the eighteenth century.

This article will help you understand how social hierarchies began to change in this era. You can then use the evidence in this article to help you respond to the Unit Problem: “How did economic developments and new transoceanic connections affect social structures in different parts of the word from c. 1450 to 1750 CE?”

Think about the following question as you read the article: To what extent does this article provide evidence to explain how economic developments in this period affected social structures over time? Write this question at the top of the Three Close Reads worksheet. You will be asked to respond to this question again after the third read in the Evaluating and Corroborating section of the worksheet.

Read 1—Skimming for Gist

Fill out the Skimming for Gist section of the Three Close Reads worksheet as you complete your first close read. As a reminder, this should be a quick process!

Read 2—Understanding Content

For this reading, you should be looking for unfamiliar vocabulary words, the major claim and key supporting details, and analysis and evidence. By the end of the second close read, you should be able to answer the following questions:

1. Looking at the map, what do you notice about the changing shape and size of the Mughal Empire in the years leading up to 1750?
2. What groups or classes of people were the most important supporters of Mughal rule?
3. Like other empires, the Mughal Empire had lots of different communities. How did it successfully rule all of these groups until the mid-eighteenth century?
4. According to the article, what was the role of the Mughal Empire in the global economy?
5. What internal challenges did the Mughal emperors face in 1750?
6. What external challenges did the Mughal emperors face in 1750?

Read 3—Evaluating and Corroborating

At the end of the third close read, respond to the following questions:

1. To what extent does this article provide evidence to explain how economic developments in this period affected social structures over time?
2. Based on the evidence in this article, what aspects of the Mughal Empire in 1750 seem unique or distinctive, and what aspects seem to be part of a wider global pattern?

From its start, the Qing ruled over a massive and multi-ethnic empire, including Manchus, Han Chinese, Mongols, Uyghurs, Tibetans, and numerous other groups. China also produced many goods that were in high demand in this period. Despite challenges, the eighteenth century was a time of prosperity and relative peace, with an ethnic minority unifying China under its control for nearly three centuries.

This article will help you understand how social hierarchies began to change in this era. You can then use the evidence in this article to help you respond to the Unit Problem: “How did economic developments and new transoceanic connections affect social structures in different parts of the word from c. 1450 to 1750 CE?”

Think about the following question as you read the article: To what extent does this article provide evidence to explain how economic developments in this period affected social structures over time? Write this question at the top of the Three Close Reads worksheet. You will be asked to respond to this question again after the third read in the Evaluating and Corroborating section of the worksheet.

Read 1 – Skimming for Gist

Fill out the Skimming for Gist section of the Three Close Reads worksheet as you complete your first close read. As a reminder, this should be a quick process!

Read 2 – Understanding Content

For this reading, you should be looking for unfamiliar vocabulary words, the major claim and key supporting details, and analysis and evidence. By the end of the second close read, you should be able to answer the following questions:

1. Why did Manchu rulers in China impose their own kind of dress code?
2. How did the Qing rule over a huge, diverse country and keep it unified?
3. How did the Qing use their imperial power to influence the economy through agriculture?
4. What was China’s relationship with global trade in this period?
5. How did the merchant class, who were traditionally looked down upon in Confucian thought, grow much larger and became powerful both socially and politically? How did Qing rulers react to this new power?

Read 3 – Evaluating and Corroborating

At the end of the third close read, respond to the following questions:

1. To what extent does this article provide evidence to explain how economic developments in this period affected social structures over time?
2. What impact did the Qing Dynasty have on trading networks in the 1700s? Did this impact the whole world evenly?

3x5 note cards or cut up paper

This sourcing collection, along with the Quick-Sourcing Tool, gives you an opportunity to practice a quicker kind of sourcing than you do in the sourcing practice progression. The tool and the process for using it—specifically designed for unpacking document collections—will help you be successful on both the SAQ and DBQ portions of the AP^® World History: Modern exam.

If you are unfamiliar with the Quick-Sourcing Tool or the process for using it, we recommend reviewing the Quick-Sourcing Introduction activity in Lesson 1.4.

The Quick-Sourcing Tool can be used any time you encounter a set of sources and are trying to respond to a prompt or question, as opposed to the deeper analysis you do when using the HAPPY tool that is part of the sourcing progression.

First, take out or download the sourcing collection and review the guiding question that appears on the first page. Then, take out or download the Quick-Sourcing Tool and review the directions. For Part 1, you’ll write a quick summary of each source in terms of how it relates to the guiding question (we recommend using one note card or scrap of paper for each source).

For Part 2, which uses the first four letters of the acronym from the HAPPY tool, you only have to respond to one of these four questions. This will get you a partial point on the AP^® World History: Modern exam. You should always include the historical significance or “why” (the “Y” in “HAPPY”) for any of the four questions you choose to respond to.

In Part 3, you’ll gather the evidence you found in each document and add it to your note cards so you can include it in a response later. Once each document is analyzed, look at your note cards and try to categorize the cards. There might be a group of documents that support the claim you want to make in your response, and another group that will help you consider counterclaims, for example.

To wrap up, try to respond to the guiding question

This collection of primary sources explores the different ways social life was organized from 1450 to 1750, particularly in imperial contexts. It shows how religion, gender, ethnicity, social class, and occupation determined one’s place in a broader hierarchy. It shows the different kinds of labor in different contexts, and the social value tied to the kind of labor each person did.

The AP^® World History: Modern CED suggests students develop their sourcing skills in line with certain topics. For Unit 4, one of these topics is “Changing Social Hierarchies from 1450 to 1750”; therefore, we’ve compiled a number of primary source excerpts to help you develop these skills in relation to this content. This should help prepare you to be successful on the AP exam.

We recommend using the accompanying Quick Sourcing activity (above) to help you analyze these sources.

Make sure you have the Unit 4 Themes Notebook worksheet that you partially filled out earlier in the unit.

This is a continuation of the Themes Notebook activity that you started earlier in this unit. As part of WHP AP, you are asked to revisit the AP themes in order to maintain a connection to the core themes of the course. Because this is the second time you’re working with the themes questions, you’re asked to explain how your understanding of the unit’s themes has changed since you began the unit. Make sure you use evidence from this unit and sound reasoning in your answers.

Fill out the second table on your partially completed worksheet from earlier in Unit 4. Be prepared to talk about your ideas with your class.

In this activity, you’ll continue to identify, categorize, and evaluate changes and continuities. By focusing on the changes and continuities that took place from one unit to the next, you’ll further develop this historical thinking practice and will apply your historical knowledge to formulate thesis statements for two CCOT prompts.

Comparison, causation, contextualization, writing
As with the other CCOT activities that you’ve encountered, this historical thinking practice combines elements of comparison, contextualization, and causation. You’ll compare events and processes that took place from Unit 3: Land-Based Empires to Unit 4: Transoceanic Interconnections (c. 1450 to c. 1750); you’ll expand the context for the changes and continuities of this period; and you’ll begin to consider what caused these changes to take place. In addition, you’ll be writing thesis statements in response to two CCOT prompts.

By now, you should be familiar with the CCOT Tool (which is included in this activity’s worksheet) and practice. Your teacher will start by either handing out or asking you to download the CCOT – Land-Based Empires to Transoceanic Interconnections worksheet and breaking the class into small groups of three to four students. Once you’re in groups, follow the tool directions and start by adding the timeframe (c. 1450–1750). Then, you’ll identify the continuities and changes that took place from Unit 3: Land-Based Empires to Unit 4: Transoceanic Interconnections. Remember, you can use any of the articles and videos from these units to help you identify continuities and changes—the Units 3 and 4 introduction articles are a good place to start!

Once your group has identified the continuities and changes, write these on sticky notes (one change or continuity per note). Then, decide if the continuities and changes you identified are positive or negative and place them on the graph in the tool.

Next, your group will join up with another group to share your continuities and changes and reasons for their positions on the graph. Members of each group are allowed to reposition the other group’s sticky notes as long as they justify their reasoning.

Then, return to your original group to complete the remaining questions on the tool. Be prepared to share your most significant continuity and change. Remember that you can use the acronym ADE to determine historical significance. Consider if most people’s lives were affected by these changes and continuities (amount); if people living in this time period were deeply affected by these changes and continuities (depth); or if these changes and continuities were long lasting (endurance).

After your group has completed the tool, work together to craft thesis statements in response to the following CCOT prompts:

• To what extent were the changes that occurred from c. 1450 to c. 1750 positive?
• To what extent were the continuities that occurred from c. 1450 to c. 1750 positive?

Write your thesis statements on large pieces of paper and post your paper on the board. Then, walk around the classroom and read other groups’ thesis statements. You’ll write at least two comments on the thesis statements of at least three other groups in the class. One comment should be a suggestion for how to improve the thesis statement and the second comment should be a counterclaim—an argument against the thesis statement.

Finally, you’ll write down the thesis statement that you think best answered or addressed one of the prompts. Note that it cannot be your own group’s thesis statement. Then provide a one- to two-sentence explanation for why you believe the thesis statement you chose best answers the prompt. Hand this in as an exit ticket; your teacher will use this to assess your understanding of CCOT and the content addressed in this activity.

This activity will provide additional evidence to help you respond to the Unit Problem: “How did economic developments and new transoceanic connections affect social structures in different parts of the world from c. 1450 to 1750 CE?” In this activity, you will look back on what you’ve learned during this unit by comparing two political maps. And you’ll review your predictions about the changes in long-distance trade and empires from the Unit 4 Part 1 activity. Finally, you’ll examine a map showing transoceanic voyages and the silver trade as you discuss how these voyages and trade reshaped the world.

This activity begins with an identification opening in which you identify 10 political communities in the year 1750 CE. Next, you’ll compare the maps of political communities in 1550 and 1750 CE as you evaluate how communities changed and stayed the same over this 200-year period after the first transoceanic connections. Finally, you will compare your predictions from the Part 1 activity to a map of the silver trade and transoceanic voyages and write a response to a prompt about how these connections transformed economic systems and societies.

Step 1

Identify the political communities associated with the numbers on the black-and-white map of the world in 1750 CE and record your answers on the worksheet. If applicable, indicate which empire controlled the territory.

Step 2

In small groups, examine the 1750 Political Map alongside the 1550 Political Map that you saw in the Part 1 map activity at the start of the era. Compare these two maps and identify three significant changes and continuities between the two.

Step 3

Remaining in small groups, open and review the Silver Trade and Transoceanic Voyages Thematic Map. Review the predictions you made in the Part 1 map activity for this era. What did you get right? What did you miss? Finally, prepare a short paragraph or bullet list in response to this prompt:

The first sustained transoceanic connections that you’ve learned about in this unit reshaped life on Earth. Using the maps you encountered in this unit as evidence, explain one way that transoceanic connections transformed long-distance trade and one way that these connections reshaped one political community of your choice.

It can be challenging to figure out what evidence can be used from visual sources to help you support claims. In this SAQ practice activity, you’ll work on using visual sources related to the Unit 4 topics about the expansion of social categories and categorization that resulted from the Columbian Exchange, the transatlantic slave trade, and the expansion of European state power. This will prepare you for responding to SAQs that include images.

In this activity, your teacher will walk you through a process to help you get more familiar with analyzing images and using that information to help you respond to SAQs. Here is the SAQ you will respond to at the end of this activity:

• Identify ONE reason why the Spanish government created social categories in the Spanish colonies in the Americas from 1500 to 1750.
• Identify ANOTHER reason why the Spanish government created social categories in the Spanish colonies in the Americas from 1500 to 1750.
• Explain ONE social effect of the arrival of the Spanish colonists from 1500 to 1750.

If you don’t remember a lot about this time period or about castas paintings, you might want to review the article “European Colonies in the Americas” to refresh your memory. As a group, you’re going to analyze one image together as you think about how you might respond to the SAQ. Then, you’ll analyze a second image in small groups and respond to the SAQ prompt. Before really digging in, what do you notice about the image and the caption, and how does what you notice relate to the prompt?

After you and your classmates have come up with some ideas, your teacher will introduce you to a three-step process for SAQ image analysis.

The process includes the following steps:

1. Summarize—Describe, in detail, what you see in the image.
2. Analyze—Explain how this image contributes to your understanding of the SAQ topic.
3. Relate—How does this image help you respond to the SAQ prompt?

Now it’s time for more formal image analysis. Download or take out the SAQ Practice—Unit 4 worksheet and work with your class to respond to the questions in Step 1. Once you’ve done that, your teacher will likely split you into small groups or pairs to analyze the second image and respond to the SAQ.

Once you’ve completed your image analysis and SAQ responses, review your answers with your class. This will give you an opportunity to correct any responses that could be improved, which will help you build your image analysis and SAQ skills.

This activity is designed to further your understanding of the elements of a strong essay by providing a more detailed look at the Evidence, Historical Reasoning, and Complexity rows of the WHP LEQ Writing Rubric. Through analysis of a strong sample essay, you will have a chance to see what well-supported evidence looks like in writing. This will help you learn how to make well-developed and supported statements in your own LEQ responses later in this course, as well as on the AP^® World History: Modern exam.

In this activity, you will take a detailed look at the Evidence, Historical Reasoning, and Complexity rows of the WHP LEQ Writing Rubric and analyze a sample student essay against the criteria provided in the rubric.

This will be a similar activity to one you did in Unit 3, where you analyzed a sample DBQ to look for evidence, sourcing, and complexity. This time, you will look for evidence and the use of historical reasoning, as well as complexity, in a student essay that was written in response to the Unit 2 LEQ prompt: Develop an argument that evaluates the similarities and differences between various networks of exchange from c. 1200 to 1450.

Take out the Writing – LEQ Evidence, Historical Reasoning, and Complexity worksheet and download the WHP LEQ Writing Rubric. With your class, examine the Evidence, Historical Reasoning, and Complexity rows of the rubric. Once you’ve gone over the rubric, your teacher will have you get into groups. With your group, find the thesis or main claim in the essay. Once you have identified the main claim, circle it on your worksheet. Be prepared to discuss the claim you decided on with your class.

Now, work with your group to complete steps 2 through 4 of the worksheet. Identify evidence in the essay that supports an argument that is relevant to the prompt. Next, look for use of historical reasoning. Discuss with your group whether the author has used the appropriate form of historical reasoning— such as causation, comparison, or CCOT—that frames and supports the argument they’re making. Finally, review the essay for complexity. You should be looking for a logical argument that recognizes historical complexity (such as explaining both similarities and differences, or discussing multiple causes or effects). Note in the margins where you find it. Be prepared to share your findings with the class.

• Have the Comparison, CCOT, and Causation tools available (find all resources on the Student Resources page)

At this point, you should be well versed in responding to LEQs. This deliberate writing practice will not just make you a better historical writer, it will help you be a better writer across the board. Additionally, this is a great way to look at your growth in different areas of writing to see where you might focus some of your efforts between now and the AP^® World History: Modern exam.

Day 1

Another LEQ! The prompt is: Develop an argument that evaluates the extent to which economic developments that occurred between 1450 and 1750 impacted social structures over time.

To make sure you’re clear on what the prompt is asking, take out the Question Parsing Tool and deconstruct the prompt. Once you have deconstructed the prompt, choose the relevant historical thinking tool to help you organize your research findings.

Next up—research. You can use materials from the course and conduct further research online for additional evidence. Then, use the evidence you gathered to help you form a thesis statement that directly responds to the question. As always, wrap up by figuring out how to appropriately contextualize your response.

Day 2

This second day is your writing day. Feel free to use your tools and notes from any prewriting work you completed as you craft your essay response. Make sure you have a copy of the WHP LEQ Writing Rubric available to remind you of what’s important to include in your essay. And don’t forget to contextualize! Your teacher will give you a time limit for completing your five- to six-paragraph essay responding to the LEQ.