AP EUROPEAN ®

HISTORY
Study Guide Pack

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AP® European History Unit 1
THE RENAISSANCE AND THE AGE OF EXPLORATION

THE ITALIAN RENAISSANCE

The Renaissance (or “rebirth”) was inspired by a revival of interest in classical texts from
ancient Greece and Rome, as well as a shift toward a more secular and individualistic way
humanism, which emphasized the
study of classical history and literature as the foundation for education. Civic humanism,

careers in public service. Increased trade and advancements in banking and bookkeeping
created wealth, and new commercial elites, such as the Medici, became patrons of the
great Renaissance artists.
Francesco Petrarca, known as Petrarch, was a fourteenth-century Italian poet who
developed an interest in classical text from ancient Rome. He journeyed through Italy in
search of lost classical texts, and was able to recover many of the writings of the ancient
Roman philosopher Cicero. Petrarch is known as the “Father of Humanism” for his role in
reviving scholarly interest in classical studies.

RENAISSANCE ART
Renaissance art focused on
naturalistic portrayals of human
subjects in imitation of the classical
art of ancient Greece and Rome.
Renaissance paintings placed great
emphasis on balance, the use of
linear perspective to give a three-
dimensional appearance, and
bright colors. Scenes from classical
literature were favorite subjects of
Renaissance artists, showing the

Renaissance art. This humanistic

Raphael’s famous painting, The

School of Athens, which has the
famous Greek philosophers, Plato
and Aristotle, in the center of a
congregation of philosophers from
classical antiquity.

THE NORTHERN RENAISSANCE

Following the invention of the printing press, interest in humanistic studies
spread to Northern Europe. Northern Renaissance writers, such as Erasmus
and Thomas More, began producing their own printed works that were inspired

Christian humanism, producing works that were more focused on Christian

principles and social reform than Italian Renaissance authors, who were more
individualistic and secular in their approach.
Erasmus of Rotterdam, a Dutch humanist scholar, was one of the best-known
proponents of Christian humanism. In his book, The Praise of Folly, Erasmus
used the Gospels to criticize several Catholic Church practices, such as the
wealth of the bishops. In the Gospels, the Apostles were poor. If the bishops
sought to be like the Apostles (as they claimed to be their successors), they
should be poor as well. In this way, Erasmus used a classical text in order to
advocate for social reform.

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AP® European History Unit 1
THE RENAISSANCE AND THE AGE OF EXPLORATION

NEW MONARCHIES
During the Middle Ages, monarchs were not very powerful and often had to defer

England, France, and Spain began to centralize power by collecting taxes directly and
new monarchs
set the stage for absolute monarchies that rule much of Europe two centuries later.

and Castile in Spain. They styled themselves as the “Catholic monarchs.” In 1492,
Ferdinand and Isabella completed the Spanish Reconquista when they conquered

“crusade tax,” which brought more money into the royal treasury. After conquering
Granada, the Catholic monarchs proclaimed that all of their subjects would be
Catholic and that Muslims and Jews would be expelled from the country if they
refused to convert. They authorized and supported the Spanish Inquisition partly to
make sure that these conversos did not lapse into heresy.

TIMELINE With the wealth that new monarchs gained from centralizing tax collection, they were able
1341 Petrarch is crowned
as poet laureate in
Rome in recognition CAUSATION
for writing Africa, an The voyages of exploration generated wealth through colonization and trade,
epic poem about the which increased the power of Western European monarchs.
Roman general Scipio
Africanus.
THE AGE OF EXPLORATION
1450 A vernacular German
poem is printed on
compass and Mercator projection maps, made it possible for Europeans to sail
printing press. beyond the Mediterranean Sea and the coastline of Europe. After the Fall of

1453 The Byzantine capital The Portuguese sought to sail east around Africa, while Ferdinand and Isabella
of Constantinople
falls to the Ottoman Upon discovering the New World, Europeans conquered native populations using
Turks, impacting trade
routes and leading
The Columbian Exchange is the most important legacy of the Age of Exploration.
to Italy with classical
texts. began a permanent exchange of people, goods, food, animals, ideas, and dis-
eases between the Old and New Worlds. Europeans introduced livestock in the
1492 The Kingdom of Americas and returned to Europe with tomatoes, potatoes, and tobacco. A lack of
Granada falls to
Spanish forces, Spanish and French missionaries spread the Christian religion throughout North
completing the and South America.
Spanish .
In the same year,
Ferdinand and
Isabella expelled
Muslims and Jews
from their kingdom
and commissioned

voyage.

1511 The Praise of Folly,

satirical essay, is

time.

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AP® European History Unit 2
THE AGE OF REFORMATION

THE REFORMATION
The Reformation was inspired by a desire to rectify the problems in the late medieval
Catholic Church, as well as the desire to reinterpret Christian doctrines. The Catholic
Church was criticized for its accumulation of wealth from practices such as simony,
indulgences, which were
papal pardons intended to reduce or even eliminate punishment in the afterlife for sins
committed while alive.
Martin Luther was a sixteenth-century Augustinian monk who challenged the Catholic
Church, beginning with The 95 Theses, which were a list of reasons why indulgences
should not be sold. His challenge to Church practices led him to dispute the very doctrines
that guided the sixteenth-century Catholic Church, especially those that restricted ordinary
people’s access to sacred scripture or to God. He developed the idea of sola scriptura,
which means “only scripture” as a way to argue that people only needed the Bible, not

BAROQUE ART
Baroque art, which used a highly ornate and extravagant
style, was encouraged by the Catholic Church in order to
oppose the austerity of Protestant art and architecture.
Baroque art placed great emphasis on grandeur, sharp
contrasts, and detail in order to inspire an emotional
response in the viewer of awe and religious devotion.
Baroque artists mostly painted religious subjects, which
contrasted with the radical reformation’s support of

The Ecstasy of Saint Teresa, which dramatizes St. Teresa’s

account of a highly emotional visit from an angel.

WARS OF RELIGION
Interest in reforming the Catholic Church spread rapidly after Martin Luther’s initial challenge, due largely to the
ability to disseminate ideas with the printing press. John Calvin wrote the Institutes of the Christian Religion,
which rejected Luther’s approach of incremental reform in favor of an entirely new system of systematic theology.
His approach gained followers among the Huguenots in France, the separatists in England, the Presbyterians in
Scotland, and most of the inhabitants
of the Netherlands.

Reformers and the followers of the

In France, a dynastic power struggle

among several noble families with

to the French Wars of Religion.

During the St. Bartholomew’s Day
massacre, Catholic mobs killed
thousands of Protestants over a

when Henry IV of France, a former

Huguenot, converted to Catholicism
and was crowned king. He issued
the Edict of Nantes, which allowed
religious pluralism.

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AP® European History Unit 2
THE AGE OF REFORMATION

THE CATHOLIC REFORMATION

The ideas of the Protestant Reformation prompted the Catholic
Church to begin an internal process of reform that culminated in
the Council of Trent. In the Catholic Reformation, also called the
Counter Reformation, the Church implemented new practices
meant to curb the worst excesses of the medieval church, while

the humanist movement, the Church began to require a higher

level of literacy among priests. The Church also placed limits on
the sale of indulgences, eliminated the chronic “absenteeism” of

Despite these practical and procedural reforms, the Catholic

Church did not fundamentally alter its interpretation of Christian
doctrine. It explicitly rejected Luther’s idea of salvation by
faith alone
achieved through a combination of faith and good works
for Catholic believers, especially the ultimate authority of the Pope. The Jesuit order, founded by Ignatius of Loyola,
was developed in order to support the Catholic Church in spiritual warfare against the Protestant reformers.

The Reformation challenged Catholic Church’s practices and interpretation of religious

TIMELINE doctrine, which reduced the authority of the Catholic church throughout Europe.

1517 Martin Luther posts

The 95 Theses on the CAUSATION
door of Wittenberg Guided by new ideas of the Protestant Reformation, nations throughout Europe began
Cathedral. to reevaluate their civic governments and challenge the power of monarchs.

1521 Pope Leo X

excommunicates REFORMATION SOCIETY
Martin Luther when The Reformation’s challenge to existing norms that started as a debate
he refuses to recant. over religious doctrine led to a broader reorganization of society. Both the
He is protected
Reformation, and the Renaissance prior, had challenged women’s roles in the
from punishment
family, church, and society. Martin Luther married Katherine Von Bora, an
by members of the
educated former nun, in opposition to
Germany nobility.
the Catholic idea of a celibate clergy.
1534 Ignatius of Loyola His marriage provided a model for a
founds the Society Protestant family in which the men
of Jesus in order to and women engaged in separate, but
revive and spread complementary tasks, in order to serve
Catholic teachings. God. Some radical reformers, such
as the Quakers, argued that women
1566 The Council of Trent should be ordained and occupy
issues a Catechism
positions of religious authorities.
that repudiates
the theology of The Reformation also changed the
Protestantism while scope of authority for many civic
reforming some of its governments because challenges
more controversial
to the Catholic hierarchy shifted
practices.
the task of regulating public morals
1598 The Edict of Nantes from Church to state. Many cities
allows French responded by developing policies
Protestants to have regarding prostitution, begging, public
legal, social, and
economic protection
with the Catholic were punished through rituals of
nation. public humiliation, including the use of
stocks, public whipping, or branding.
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AP® European History Unit 3
ABSOLUTISM AND CONSTITUTIONALISM

ABSOLUTISM
When Louis XIV of France ascended to the throne at the age of four, the French nobles
immediately began to plot how to overthrow him during the Fronde, a series of civil wars
in France. When Louis XIV began actively ruling as an adult, he launched a concerted
program to limit the power of the nobility. He moved the capital to Versailles, diluted the
ranks of the nobility by selling titles of nobility, and ensured that the military answered
directly to the king. In doing so, he undermined the actual power of the nobility by making
political and social privileges dependent on the will of the king.
The example of the French led other European monarchs, especially in Prussia and Russia,
to begin to consolidate power and rule as unquestionable absolute monarchs. These
divine right and argued that any
attempt by their subjects to limit their power, through a parliament or a constitution,
could be interpreted as a challenge against God.

DUTCH GOLDEN AGE PAINTING

The art of the Dutch Golden Age
was dominated by genre paintings
focused on either depictions of
real life scenes or illustrations of
Dutch adages and moral lessons.
Dutch Golden Age painters often
depicted individual components
realistically, but combined the

a scene that could not have

of the strongest examples of this

combination of naturalism and
moralizing is Jan Steen’s painting,
The World Turned Upside, which
includes realistic portrayals of
a Dutch home and the material
goods of a wealthy Dutch family
in order to provide a moralistic
treatment on the danger of wealth.

CONSTITUTIONALISM
Charles I of England attempted to begin his reign in 1625 as an absolute
monarch, which led to a contentious relationship with Parliament as well

the gentry, who were large landowners, and religious dissenters like the
Puritans and the English Calvinists. The political ideas of John Locke, who
argued that government should be based on a social contract between the
people and the government, were popular among the Parliamentarians.
English Civil War. Following a short
interregnum period after Charles I was beheaded and a series of short-
ruling monarchs, William III and Mary II in the Netherlands were invited
to rule as joint monarchs in the Glorious Revolution. In order to take the
throne, they signed a Bill of Rights that limited the power of the monarchs
by establishing the Parliament as the governing body of England that was

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AP® European History Unit 3
ABSOLUTISM AND CONSTITUTIONALISM

THE DUTCH GOLDEN AGE

During the seventeenth century, the Netherlands
rapidly rose to a position of economic, political,
and technological prominence. Under the Dutch
Republic, which began as a revolt against the
Catholic Habsburg ruler Philip II of Spain,
various counties came together to form an
independent nation. The resulting oligarchy was
united by a shared language and some shared
economic interests, especially as related to trade
and the maritime economy.

The Dutch Golden Age was fueled by a

combination of the Protestant work ethic,
cheap energy sources in the form of windmills
Dutch East India Company became

Far East. The Dutch East India

Company dominated European
trade in spice, importing spices COMPARISON
in bulk and reaping tremendous Absolute monarchs and constitutional monarchs approached the question

In absolutist states, the sovereignty resides with the monarch.

VS.
TIMELINE
In constitutional states, the sovereignty resides with the parliament.
1648 The Dutch Republic
gains its independence
MERCANTILISM
1649 Charles I of England is From the sixteenth to the eighteenth century, European nations followed an
found guilty of treason economic philosophy called mercantilism, which was based on the idea that a
as a result of failing to nation should produce as much of its own goods as possible and limit imports
heed Parliament, and
from other countries. By doing so, mercantilist countries attempted to increase
is beheaded.
the wealth of their own nations by preserving their national revenue in the form
1682 Louis XIV of France of bullion. Despite the objections of economists like Adam Smith, European
moves the seat of nations expanded their colonial empires and developed plantations in their
government from colonies in order to cultivate raw materials. These materials were developed
Paris to his palace at
Versailles in order to
exercise total control Mercantilism could serve the interest of absolute monarchs. In France, Louis
over the lives of the XIV Jean-Baptiste Colbert turned the country into
nobles. a manufacturing power
by employing a mercan-
1688 The new English tilist economic approach.
monarchs William
and Mary agree to the putting out system,
be bound by a Bill of Louis XIV and Jean-Bap-
Rights that limits their tiste Colbert were able to
power before taking
establish the reputation of
the throne.
France as a manufacturer
1776 of luxury goods. They were
Wealth of Nations to also able to fund Louis XIV’s
criticize the economic extravagant expenditures,
philosophy of such as Versailles, that en-
mercantilism. hanced his reputation as an
absolute monarch.
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AP® European History Unit 4
SCIENTIFIC, PHILOSOPHICAL, AND POLITICAL DEVELOPMENTS

THE SCIENTIFIC REVOLUTION

After 1648, Scientists began to challenge the teachings of the
Church, as well as the ideas of Ptolemy, Aristotle, Galen,
and other ancient authorities that had gained prominence
during Renaissance Humanism. Participants in the Scientific
Revolution used empiricism, the idea that truth should be
based on observation and experimentation, and rationalism,
the idea that any scientific ideas should be based on reason
rather than emotion, to form their conclusions using the
Scientific Method.

Galileo used the observational techniques of the Scientific

Method, in combination with the Renaissance era ideas
of Copernicus, to argue for heliocentrism. His ideas led
to immediate conflict with the Catholic Church and the
Inquisition, which accused him of heresy. He was forced to
recant before spending the rest of his life under house arrest.
Other scientific thinkers during the Scientific Revolution also faced challenges from the Catholic Church, including
William Harvey, who broke the Church’s ban on autopsies to study the human body, and René Descartes, whose
defense of deductive reasoning landed his book on the Church’s Index of Prohibited Books.

NEOCLASSICISM
Enlightenment ideas about rationality and
seriousness influenced the development of
Neoclassicism in art and architecture. Both art
and architecture drew inspiration from the art of
classical antiquity. The visual arts were distinguished
through the use of clean lines, strong shading,
and the absence of brush strokes in paintings.
Neoclassical architecture, such as the Church of La
Madeleine in Paris, France, featured columns and
friezes that emphasized classical themes, symmetry,
and decorative garlands.

THE ENLIGHTENMENT
Inspired by new innovations in astronomy, anatomy, and mathematics,
many intellectuals in the eighteenth century started to apply the guiding
principles of the Scientific Revolution to questions about society and
human institutions. Many Enlightenment philosophes, such as John
Locke and Jean-Jacques Rousseau, focused on the idea of the social
contract. This was a way of thinking about the relationship between
political leaders and the people they ruled that posited that rational
governments should respect the will of the people as a political force,
rather than simply allowing the ruler to have unchecked power by
claiming the divine right of kings.

Adam Smith, another Enlightenment thinker, challenged the idea of

mercantilism by suggesting that a more rational way of promoting
the economy of nations would be to foster free trade. He argued
that economic liberalism, defined as a free market economy, would
ultimately promote economic growth if each participant in the system
was allowed to act in their own self-interest.

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AP® European History Unit 4
SCIENTIFIC, PHILOSOPHICAL, AND POLITICAL DEVELOPMENTS

THE ENLIGHTENMENT AND GOVERNMENT

Government institutions were not immune from the intellectual challenges of
the Enlightenment. Many states, especially those in the eastern and central
Europe began to explore ways of combining some Enlightenment ideas with
hereditary monarchy. Enlightened absolutist monarchs, such as Frederick
the Great of Prussia developed policies that reflected Enlightenment ideas,
such as his decision to allow religious tolerance towards minorities in his
territory. As a result of the power vacuum that resulted after the Holy Roman
Empire declined after the Peace of Westphalia, Prussia with its enlightened
monarchy took a more active role in European affairs.

In western Europe, the ideas of the Enlightenment led to more direct

challenges to the structure of national governments and concepts of hereditary
social authority. Resentment against hereditary monarchy began to lead to
increasing secularization and a gradual loss of authority for the Church and
the hereditary nobility. In France, this discontent over hereditary authority
would become a long term cause of the French Revolution.

TIMELINE The Scientific Revolution developed a new way of understanding the world by placing an
emphasis on observation and rationality, which led to advances in astronomy, anatomy,
1632 Galileo publishes mathematics, and philosophy.
“Dialogue on the Two
Chief Systems of the
CAUSATION
Guided by new methods of the Scientific Revolution, Enlightenment philosophes began
World,” which used to reevaluate the political structures and social values of European nations.
scientific observation
to argue that the earth
rotated around the sun.
18th-CENTURY SOCIETY AND CULTURE
1648 The Peace of
Westphalia ends the In the British Agricultural Revolution, new agricultural technologies meant that
Thirty Years War and more food could be produced with less effort. This led to a chain reaction where
leads to the rise of the population expanded, and the new availability of healthy food, in conjunction
Prussia in European with the development of
politics. the inoculation against
smallpox, led to overall
1689 Locke publishes his higher levels of health and
“Second Treatise higher life expectancies.
on Government,” The British Agricultural
which argues that Revolution also displaced
governments derive many people from rural
their power through areas who were forced to
the consent of the
seek increased economic
governed.
opportunity in urban
1740 Frederick the Great settings. Cities offered
begins his reign economic opportunities
in the Kingdom of for the people displaced
Prussia. He attempts by agricultural technology, but also created social challenges for new urbanites
to implement many and city governments that needed to address challenges of communal living and
Enlightenment ideas urban health and sanitation. Intellectual life in the cities centered around the
while ruling as an coffeehouses, where people gathered together to discuss Enlightenment ideas.
absolute monarch.
With Europeans living longer overall, and infant mortality decreasing as a
1776 Adam Smith result of new scientific innovations, Europeans began to dedicate more time
challenges the and resources to domestic family life. Jean-Jacques Rousseau, notable
principles of for his Enlightenment ideas in political theory, also developed ideas about
mercantilism in “The the education of children that encouraged free thinking and reduced rote
Wealth of Nations.”
memorization in the classroom.

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AP® European History Unit 5
CONFLICT, CRISIS, AND REACTION IN THE LATE 18th CENTURY

EUROPEAN COMPETITION IN THE 18th CENTURY

In the 18th century, intellectual movements like capitalism helped
European countries expand their commercial systems into a worldwide
network of trade. Commercial rivalries developed among European

control lucrative trade routes. After much diplomatic and economic

maneuvering, the Dutch gained almost complete control of the East
Indies and Britain extended its dominion into India.
France challenged the growing power of the British Empire in a series of

French and Indian War

and reached their height in the Seven Years’ War. France also provided

against British rule in the American Revolution. Even with the loss of its
colonies in North America, Britain was able maintain an empire so vast
that it was said that “the sun never set on the British Empire.”

ROMANTICISM
The rise of Romanticism was a response to the emphasis on rationality in the

Lyrical Ballads

painting Wanderer Above the Sea of Fog

THE FRENCH REVOLUTION

The French Revolution exploded in the 18th century as a result of a combination of long-simmering tensions

necessary to maintain peace among the population. Enlightenment ideas questioned the ancien régime that
categorized society into three groups—clergy, nobility, and everyone else—that were all given equal political power
despite their disparate populations. When France was forced to raise taxes to compensate for its expenditures
helping American colonists, the additional taxes were
too much for the population to bear. The French
Revolution began when the bourgeoisie forced the
French monarch to accept limitations and become a
constitutional monarchy.
The initial liberal phase of the French Revolution
established a constitution, abolished hereditary noble
privilege, and nationalized the Catholic Church, but
these attempts at reform were quickly supplanted by
a more radical phase dominated by the Jacobins and
the sans-culottes. The Jacobin leader Maximilien
Robespierre led a government that used violence,
especially through summary executions by guillotine,
to eliminate any person associated with pre-
Revolutionary French ideas. The “Reign of Terror” of

was replaced by the Directory and the subsequent rise

of Napoleon Bonaparte.

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AP® European History Unit 5
CONFLICT, CRISIS, AND REACTION IN THE LATE 18th CENTURY

NAPOLEON BONAPARTE
Napoleon Bonaparte emerged as leader of France out of the turmoil of
the French Revolution, quickly rising from his role as a military leader in the
French Revolutionary Wars to becoming Emperor of the French in 1804.
The Revolution had broken down the traditional institutions of France, and in
doing so it had destabilized the sense of what it meant to be part of the French
nation. Napoleon rose to power by claiming that the new nation emerging from
the revolution could live up to the revolution’s ideas of equality, fraternity, and
liberty.

As emperor, he used his unchallengeable authority to impose a series of social

and cultural reforms. He aligned himself with the Catholic Church but followed
the pattern of other enlightened absolutist monarchs by allowing religious
tolerance. He implemented the Napoleonic Codes, which applied a single set
of laws that applied to all members of society equality. Although Napoleon was
almost universally opposed by the European aristocracy, he was able to use his
popularity within France and the strength of the French military to dominate
European politics.

Ideas about empire, rooted in competition over global markets, combined with long-term and
short-term factors to destabilize France’s role in Europe. Within France, Enlightenment ideas
TIMELINE motivated the French Revolution, which included both liberal and radical phases.

CAUSATION
1763 The Seven Years’ War
comes to an end,
leading Britain to take Napoleon Bonaparte imposed a sense of order on the French after the French Revolution,
on an increased role in but he was seen as a threat by other European nations who conspired to overthrow him
and develop a more favorable balance of power at the Congress of Vienna.
European politics.

1789 The French Revolution

begins. The initial THE CONGRESS OF VIENNA
liberal stages of the The political upheaval of the French Revolution, in combination with its ideas
revolution are followed of social equality and the abolition of hereditary privilege, was incredibly
by more radical and threatening to surrounding European nations. Many European leaders felt that
violent stages.
ideas of equality enshrined in French documents like the Declaration of the
1794 Maximilien Rights of Man and the advocacy for women’s rights by French revolutionaries
Robespierre was like Olympe de Gouges could permanently upset established political
executed, ending the institutions throughout Europe.
“Reign of Terror” in
the French Revolution.
the European aristocracy seized the
1804 Napoleon opportunity to create a new European
Bonaparte declares order at the Congress of Vienna under
himself Emperor the conservative leadership of Prince
of the French. Metternich of Austria. The Age of
He immediately Metternich, which ran from the end
establishes the of the Napoleonic Wars in 1815 to the
Napoleonic Code. start of the revolutions of 1848, saw the
1815 The Congress of Vienna
development of a conservative ethos
concludes and imposes across Europe that opposed revolutionary
a conservative balance movements, attempted to weaken the
of power across forces of nationalism, and used the
Europe through the political authority of Prussia, Russia,
mutual agreement of Britain, France, and Austria to maintain
the Great Powers of the balance of power. The balance of
Austria, Britain, France, power established at the Congress of
Russian, and Prussia. Vienna led to an unprecedented stability
in European politics for several decades.
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AP® European History Unit 6
INDUSTRIALIZATION AND ITS EFFECTS

THE FIRST INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION

The Industrial Revolution developed in two stages: The
First Industrial Revolution occurred from 1750 to 1830,
and the Second Industrial Revolution covered the span
from 1870 to 1914. The First Industrial Revolution
began in Britain due to both natural factors, such as an
availability of coal, iron, and rivers, and human factors,
such as a political climate that was more favorable to
property rights and the presence of surplus labor as
a result of the British Agricultural Revolution. The
First Industrial Revolution, which was primarily focused
on textiles, began with the cottage industry before
moving to a more formalized system of production
within factories. These advances were made possible
by the invention of the water frame and the steam
engine. Large populations moved from rural areas to
urban areas, such as Manchester, to work in factories.
In continental Europe, industrialization was slower,
but less socially disruptive. In France, industrialization happened with more direct government support but was much
more gradual. Germany, while initially slow to industrialize, turned into an industrial leader under Bismarck.

REALISM
Realism emerged in the Second Industrial Revolution as a response to
Romanticism’s emphasis on emotionality, often to the exclusion of depicting
real events. Realism focused on depicting life in all of its imperfections. It found
fertile material in the harsh social realities of the industrialization and its ensuing
questioning of the social order. Realist art was dominated by the work of Gustave
Courbet, Jean Francois Millet, and Honore Daumier. In Gustave Courbet’s self-
portrait, Le Désespéré, the artist stares wild-eyed at the viewer, demonstrating
both raw emotion and an attempt to depict the subject in a realistic manner.

THE SECOND INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION

In the Second Industrial Revolution, which occurred from
1870 to 1914, production moved from a focus on textile
production to a focus on the mass production of steel and
machinery. The mass production of steel, made possible by
the discovery of the Bessemer process, led to infrastructure
advances in railroads. In turn, railroads led to more fully
integrated economic systems where manufactured goods
could be transported across greater distances. Industrial
urban centers developed around railroad hubs, but the
resulting cities were often densely populated and rife with
social problems and health concerns.
During the Second Industrial Revolution, developments

the economic landscape. The creation of the internal

combustion engine, the telegraph, the telephone, and
the radio created new industries, while also enhancing the
quality of life for many people. Many of the technologies
developed in the Second Industrial Revolution would be
used in World War One.
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AP® European History Unit 6
INDUSTRIALIZATION AND ITS EFFECTS

REACTIONS AND REVOLUTIONS

The First Industrial Revolution took place against the backdrop
of the Age of Metternich, which was a time of conservative
political thought across Europe. The balance of power was
maintained through the Concert of Europe, an alliance system
that attempted to maintain the status quo by suppressing
nationalism and liberalism. Liberalism, which advocated for
limited regulation and individual rights, rose in popularity as the
industrial revolutions progressed.

Conservatives were able to maintain their authority in European

challenged the underlying philosophies of the Concert of

Europe. The revolutions in France, Italy, and the German states
were ultimately unsuccessful in achieving their broader goals,
but they did contribute to the breakdown of the Concert of
Europe and the general decline of conservatism across Europe.
Even countries that did not experience revolutions, such as Britain, were forced to address the political trends by
passing several parliamentary reforms that expanded and improved conditions for the working class.

Industrialization challenged traditional models of production and the traditional order of

popularity of liberal ideas of individual rights and popular sovereignty.

TIMELINE CAUSATION
1781 James Watts patents The rise of liberalism led to direct challenges of the conservatism embodied in the Concert
an improvement to of Europe, as well as social reform movements and institutional responses to address the
worst excess of industrialization.
the steam engine.
The steam engine
becomes the main
power source of 19TH CENTURY SOCIAL REFORMS
industrial factories. The migration of large populations from rural to urban areas led to the
development of a class consciousness, as a wide gap emerged between the
1824 Great Britain passes bourgeoisie, who owned the factories,
legislation to allow for
and the proletariat, who worked in
legal trade unions.

1833 The 1833 Factory bourgeoise challenged the traditional

Act in Britain passes. authority of landed gentry and nobility,
while also leading to the development
attempt to regulate of a social underclass of workers who
child labor in textile labored in poorly regulated conditions.
factories. Socialists, such as Karl Marx, argued
that these social divisions would
1848 Karl Marx and eventually lead to the destruction of
Friedrich Engels the economic system.
publish The
The working conditions in the factories
Manifesto, which slowly improved through the work of
critiques the class labor unions to advocate for laws that
reduced the workday to ten hours,
out of capitalism.
improved working conditions for
1856 Henry Bessemer women and children, and regulated
invents the Bessemer the rights of factory owners over their
process, which workers. Cities responded by using public health campaigns, police forces, and
allows for the mass modernized urban infrastructure to transform unsafe and overcrowded urban
production of steel. housing. Liberals argued that the social challenges of industrialization could best
be addressed through popular sovereignty and .
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AP® European History Unit 7
19TH-CENTURY PERSPECTIVES AND POLITICAL DEVELOPMENTS

NATIONALISM

by the idea of the nation, which was understood to be

a community bounded together by a shared language
and culture. Loyalty to the nation was encouraged
through romantic idealism, liberal reforms, political
and, in the case of Zionism, an attempt to
counteract the growing anti-Semitism

to unify the various principalities in 1848. Although that

revolution for Risorgimento failed, it inspired Giuseppe
Garibaldi and the Count of Cavour

Otto von Bismarck used realpolitik, a political

philosophy that emphasized practicality along with some
ideas of nationalism, liberalism, and socialism, to unify the disparate and warring states left over from the dissolution

POST-IMPRESSIONISM
Art mirrored the broader intellectual shift from objectivity to
subjectivity and generally moved away from representational forms.
Post-impressionist artists focused on abstract forms and expressive
representations in order to challenge the idea of what art should be.
Unlike impressionist artists, who were primarily interested in depictions
of nature and light, post-impressionists often depicted distorted forms
and geometric shapes using unnatural colors and thick applications of
paint. Emile Bernard’s painting Breton Women in a Meadow

geometry that characterized post-impressionist art.

DARWINISM
New developments in science in the 19th century emphasized
rationality and the power of observation through positivism.
Using this framework, Charles Darwin concluded, based

all animals undergo a process of evolution over time during

which they become increasingly adapted to their environment.
Although many religious leaders in the 19th century opposed

Social Darwinism argued that human civilizations were also

that Darwin observed in the animal kingdom. Social Darwinists

argued for limited government regulation, low taxes, and
unbridled self-interest with limited government intervention
to protect the socially marginalized. This approach rapidly
became one of the most prevalent philosophical approaches
of the late 19th century.

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AP® European History Unit 8
20TH-CENTURY GLOBAL CONFLICTS

WORLD WAR I
During the early 20th century, imperialism and
nationalism were often combined with militarism, in
which European counties competed in the number and
types of military technologies that they could amass to
their cause. Many of the newly developed technologies
of the Second Industrial Revolution were utilized in the

guns, poison gas, tanks, and submarines.

The Alliance System developed by Otto von Bismarck
was able to maintain peace for a period of time despite
these tensions, but the assassination of Archduke Franz
Ferdinand in 1914 turned a regional dispute in the
Balkans into a worldwide war when nation after nation
joined their allies. Troops were not able to advance against
new technologies, eventually leading to the development
of trench warfare. When World War I ended in 1918, the
Treaty of Versailles punished Germany for its role in the
war by requiring that Germany admit guilt and pay reparations to the Allies. President Woodrow Wilson of the
United States proposed a League of Nations to negotiate further disputes, but he was unable to convince the U.S.
Congress to allow the United States to join with its European allies.

DADA
Developed as a reaction to the senseless losses and widespread
disillusionment of World War I, Dadaism emphasized irrationality
and nonsense in art. It was an explicit rejection of logic, reason, and
predictable responses under the belief that rationality had led to World

found art, collage, and illustration. In 1917, Marcel Duchamp submitted

Fountain, a signed urinal, to the Society of Independent Artists. Although
it was rejected, it has become one of the most recognizable pieces of
Dada art for its rejection of social norms.

THE RUSSIAN REVOLUTION

Against the backdrop of growing nationalism and
imperialism across Europe, the Russian people
began to express discontent with their political
governance. In the 1905 Revolution, a group of
unarmed demonstrators attempted to petition
Tsar Nicholas for more rights and protections
for the working poor. The Russian Imperial Guard
Bloody Sunday, which led to
an upwell of sentiment in favor of the protesters
that forced the Tsar to release the October
Manifesto, stating that Tsar’s power would be
checked by a constitution and a parliamentary
body called the Duma.
These changes were not enough for more radical
Russians, especially after the stresses of World
War I led to devastating losses to both Russia’s population and Russia’s economy. With living conditions worse than
they were in 1905, Vladimir Lenin and the Bolsheviks were able to overthrow the existing government in 1917 and

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AP® European History Unit 8
20TH-CENTURY GLOBAL CONFLICTS

FASCISM AND TOTALITARIANISM

Although the Treaty of Versailles resolved the military tensions of World
War I, it exacerbated social and economic tensions. The War Guilt Clause,
in combination with the crushing expectations of reparations, destroyed the
German economy. Germany fell from being the primary industrial manufacturer
in Europe to an economy characterized by , low employment,
and debt. Although many other countries also experienced a Great Depression
following the war, the economic devastation in Germany, combined with a
sense of disillusionment and dissatisfaction, led to the rise of the Nazi Party
and its promise to restore Germany to its former glory. The leader of the Nazi
Party, Adolf Hitler, utilized fascist and racialized rhetoric to begin a program
of military rearmament and expansion. His policies of racial superiority and
bigotry would culminate in the Holocaust.

The poor conditions in post-war Europe also led to the rise of fascist leadership
in Italy under Benito Mussolini and in Russia under Joseph Stalin. Both leaders
imposed fascist dictatorships by exploiting post-war bitterness and eliminating
any dissent against the new regime through military force and the secret police.

The Alliance System, in conjunction with nationalism, imperialism, and militarism,

led to a regional dispute in the Balkans becoming a worldwide war.

CAUSATION
Radical leaders took advantage of the global economic crisis following World War I to
TIMELINE impose totalitarian regimes. These regimes utilized nationalistic and imperialistic rhetoric
to justify programs of expansion, leading to another worldwide war, World War II.
1917 The Russian Tsar is
removed from power,
beginning the Russian WORLD WAR II
Civil War that would
ultimately lead to the World War II was primarily caused by German expansion as a result of the Nazi
rise of the Bolsheviks. Party’s policy of (“living space”), which used nationalistic rhetoric
to annex territory with German speakers. Germany rapidly advanced into the
1919 The Treaty of
Rhineland, Austria, and Czechoslovakia with very little opposition from other
Versailles is signed,
European nations. After Nazi Germany quickly invaded Poland using the
forcing Germany to
blitzkrieg strategy, European powers began to take sides either for or against
accept both the War
Guilt Clause and an
Germany’s actions.
obligation to pay
Germany led the Axis powers of
reparations.
Italy, Japan, Hungary, Romania, and
1925 Benito Mussolini gains Bulgaria. The inclusion of Japan as
power in Italy.
theater for the war separate from the
1933 Adolf Hitler becomes
Chancellor of were opposed by the Allies, which
Germany, leading the primarily consisted of Britain, France,
Nazi Party to power. the USSR, Belgium, and the United
States. Despite Axis targeting of
1945 World War II in
Europe ends with
London, Winston Churchill rallied
the surrender of the support from the civilian population
Germans. World War II to continue and strengthen the
ends when the Empire
of Japan surrenders to industrial war dominated by a military
the Allies. The Allied arms race that threatened the risk of
forces immediately global nuclear war, especially after the
occupied Japan. United States dropped atomic bombs
on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
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AP® European History Unit 9
COLD WAR AND CONTEMPORARY EUROPE

THE COLD WAR

World War II devastated Europe as a result of significant population
losses, economic losses, and infrastructure damage. Following the
belief that a devastated nation was likely to turn to Communism, the
United States offered aid to countries decimated by the war through
the Marshall Plan. As a result of this aid package, Western Europe
was able to recover quickly from the conflict while Eastern Europe,
under Communist control, lagged behind economically. The ideological
division between Western and Eastern Europe became increasingly
deep-seated and intractable. Winston Churchill argued that Western
Europe and Eastern Europe were divided by a metaphorical Iron
Curtain that could not be passed.
The West was regulated by NATO, the North Atlantic Treaty
Organization, to prevent Soviet aggression. The Warsaw Pact,
including the Soviet Union and other Eastern Bloc countries under
Soviet control, was the Soviet response to NATO’s defense alliance.
While the military forces on both sides of the Iron Curtain did not
come to blows within the continent of Europe, they engaged in various
“hot wars” in Asia, Latin America, and the Caribbean.

EXISTENTIALISM
In the post-war period, existential artists used the ideas of
Soren Kierkegaard to argue that objective meaning did not
exist. These artists, especially those affiliated with the subset
of absurdist art, maintained that each person constructs his
or her own meaning for life and the events in it. In Franz
Stuck’s painting Sisyphus, for example, Stuck used the myth
of Sisyphus’s punishment of endless toil from the gods to
argue that life was essentially meaningless. Like Sisyphus’s
endless toil, life was tragic and absurd. Existentialism
continues to be a popular intellectual movement.

POST-WAR NATIONALISM, ETHNIC CONFLICT, AND ATROCITIES

The nationalist rhetoric that motivated much of the conflict of World War II took on a new form as ethnic minority
groups seized the language of popular sovereignty and self-determination to argue for their own distinct
sense of nationhood. Mikhail Gorbachev’s policies of
glasnost and perestroika in the Soviet Union attempted
to address this growing movement by changing how the
Communist leadership was perceived, but they were
ultimately ineffective. Uprisings in Chechnya, Hungary,
and Prague challenged Communism and forced Soviet
leaders to maintain a hard line against dissent. The USSR
continued to face opposition from ethnic groups in its
territory until it fell in 1991.
Other countries also experienced the deadly effects of
combining nationalism and arguments about ethnic rights.
In Yugoslavia, conflict among the Serbs, Bosnians, and
Croatians resulted in the ethnic cleansing of the Bosnian
Muslims. In Spain, nationalists formed the separatist
group ETA, which used violence in its unsuccessful attempt
to develop a nation based on Basque culture and language.

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AP® European History Unit 9
COLD WAR AND CONTEMPORARY EUROPE

EUROPE AND THE WORLD

The end of World War II also prompted a widespread
reconsideration of Europe’s place in the world and the role
of colonized people in determining their own political and
social trajectories. Much of the rhetoric of national self-
determination that dominated the post-war period can be
traced back to Woodrow Wilson’s proposals as part of the
Treaty of Versailles that ended World War I. Following World
War II, however, these ideas began to gain global traction. In
some countries, such as India, the decolonization process
was accomplished through peaceful means. In others, such
as Vietnam, local resistance to European colonialism led to
armed conflict. Cold War strategic alliances complicated the
decolonization process in many places because European
countries resisted giving up what they perceived as bulwarks
against the spread of Communism.

Within Europe itself, European nations addressed the idea of national identity through the formation of the European
Union, a shared economic system that supported the free movement of people across Europe.

Following World War II, intractable differences emerged between capitalist Western Europe
and communist Eastern Europe. The ideological Iron Curtain dividing East and West was never
TIMELINE challenged by a “hot” war in Europe, but the two sides fought through “proxy wars,” propaganda,
and covert actions.
1948 The Marshall Plan
passes the U.S.
CAUSATION
Congress. The The Cold War complicated the decolonization process, but nationalist movements in many
Marshall Plan provided colonies successfully campaigned for freedom from foreign rule. The sharp divisions of the Cold
War broke down as the world became increasingly interconnected.
over $12 billion in aid
to nations in Western
Europe affected by
World War II.
GLOBALIZATION
During the post-war era, new ways of thinking about the world and the people
1980 Solidarity is founded in it led to widespread reevaluation of social and cultural norms. In gender
in Poland. Solidarity theory, a new wave of feminism challenged women’s roles in society. Simone
was a major challenge de Beauvoir, who wrote The Second Sex, used a historical point of view to argue
to Soviet authority in
that the West historically privileged men and that a new, global, post-war world
the Eastern Bloc. By
needed to include new models of womanhood and family life.
accepting some of
Solidarity’s demands, Conversations that challenged the
the Soviet government foundations of society in the post-war world
demonstrated that
were possible because of technologies
there were limits to
that effectively linked communities across
their power.
the globe. Technological advances, such
1989 The Berlin Wall as the development of the Internet and
falls, signaling the cell phones, had positive and negative
impending end of the consequences. Medical technologies in
Soviet Union. particular proved to be especially divisive
as technological innovations led to social
1992 The European Union and moral questions around birth control,
is formed through the abortion, and genetic engineering. These
Maastricht Treaty. conversations were complicated by the
continued influence of organized religion,
1999 The Euro is introduced
as the common which maintained a role in European social
currency of the and cultural life. Constant technological
European Union. innovation contributed to consumerism,
which had significant environmental impacts.

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registered by the College Board, which is not affiliated with, and does not endorse, this product.