AP Exam, Period II: 1648-1815

Question 1

Explain the factors that led to the development of royal absolutism as well as note specific absolutist rulers and their policies. (2.1.I)

Answer 1

1. 17th-18th; France, Spain, Russia especially, but England, Prussia and Austria as well.

Question 2

What forms of government and what nations utilized non-absolutist forms of government in the 17th-18th centuries? (2.1.II)

Answer 2

1.

Question 3

Explain the causes, consequences, and characteristics of warfare under absolutist governments. (2.1.III)

Answer 3

1.

Question 4

Differentiate between the earlier liberal stages of the French Revolution and it’s later radical stages. What caused this shift? (2.1.IV, part 1)

Answer 4

1.

Question 5

What political and social changes occurred in Europe as a result of the French Revolution? (2.1.IV, part 2)

Answer 5

1.

Question 6

Describe the impact of Napoleon on Europe, being sure to note the rise of nationalism (2.1.V)

Answer 6

1.

Question 7

List the four major changes that emerged and enabled the European continent to expand their commercial network and values to the entire globe. (2.2)

Answer 7

1. Labor availability increased. Includes the number of laborers and the number of skilled individuals which were necessary for an increased amount of goods produced.
2. New institutions and practices to support economic activity and new incentives for economic activity (new definitions of property rights and new protections against theft and confiscation and against state taxation)
3. Accumulation of capital to finance new businesses and innovations. Better living conditions. Using personal capital for investments.
4. Tech. innovations in food production,, transportation, communication, and manufacturing.

Question 8

Outline characteristics of Europe’s developing market economy in the early modern period (1648-1815), being sure to note specific examples of new institutions and practices. (2.2.I)

Answer 8

1. Western Europe (1648-1815) Eastern Europe remained agricultural
2. Adoption of laissez faire practices such as decreasing government restrictions on labor and trade ex: Market driven wages and prices, le Chapelier laws (French Revolution, outlawed guilds)
3. Agricultural Revolution
4. Putting-out system
5. Development of the market economy which led to new financial practices and institutions ex: Insurance, banking institutions for turning private savings to investments new definitions of property rights and protection against confiscation, and the Bank of England.

Question 9

Explain the effects of global trade on European economics. (2.2.II)

Answer 9

1. Western Europe (1648-1815)
2. Adoption of Mercantilism
3. Transatlantic slave labor system ex: Middle Passage, triangular trade, and plantation economies in Americas
4. Development of a consumer culture in Europe ex: sugar, tea, silks/other fabrics, tobacco, rum, and coffee
5. Importation/exportation of food sources to the Americas led to an increase in the European food supply. Ex: potatoes which led to the Irish potato famine mid 1800’s)
6. Foreign lands brought raw materials. Finished goods, laborers, and markets for European commerce and industrial businesses.
7. Globalized trade contributed to the agricultural, industrial, and commercial revolutions in Europe.

Question 10

List examples of how commercial rivalries led to diplomatic alliances and /or warfare between European states between 1648-1815. (2.2.III)

Answer 10

1. Western Europe
2. European sea powers vied for Atlantic through 18th century. 7 years war (mid 18th century)
3. Portuguese, Dutch, French, and British rivalries in Asia. British dominated India and Dutch dominated East Indies. Ex: Failed Macartney mission late 18th century, Dutch East India Company

Question 11

Outline events, people and ideas in which rational and empirical thought challenged traditional values and faith. (2.3.I)

Answer 11

1. Voltaire, Diderot: applied scientific principles to society and human institutions
2. Idea of natural rights led to new political models created by Locke and Rousseau
3. Rousseau and other intellectuals argued for the exclusion of women despite principles of equality connected with the Enlightenment and the French Revolution.
4. Individuals who challenged Rousseau: Mary Wollstonecraft, Olympe de gouges, Marquis de Condorcet

Question 12

List the new public venues/locations and forms of technology that enabled and popularized scientific and enlightenment ideas. (2.3.II)

Answer 12

1. Institutions that allowed the scientific and enlightenment ideas to spread: Coffeehouses, academies, lending libraries, masonic lodges
2. The public grew more literate due to: newspapers, periodicals, books, pamphlets, the Encyclopedie
3. Europeans became exposed to peoples outside of Europe due to natural sciences, literature, and popular culture

Question 13

Outline the political theories that challenged absolutism between 1648-1815. (2.3.III, part I)

Answer 13

1. The idea of societies being comprised of individuals driven by self-interest flourished as an opponent to traditional absolutism and divine right
2. The idea that the power of the state originated in the consent of the governed also became a popular belief
3. Republicanism and Constitutionalism arose in response to the growing dissatisfaction the masses were feeling for absolutism

Question 14

Outline the economic theories that challenged mercantilism. (2.3.III, part II)

Answer 14

1. Mercantilism was challenged by new economic ideas such as free trade and a free market like that proposed by Adam Smith.
2. Proponents of new economic ideas: physiocrats, Francois Quesnay, Anne Robert Jacques Turgot

Question 15

Explain the impact of Enlightenment thought on religious values and institutions from 1648-1815. (2.3.IV)

Answer 15

1. New philosophies created: deism, skepticism, atheism
2. Religion was viewed more readily as a private matter rather than a public concern
3. By 1800: most governments extended toleration to Christian minorities, and, in some cases, civil equality to Jews

Question 16

Explain how and why art styles changed from the Baroque through Neoclassicism, being sure to note important individuals, subject matter, and style of each period. (2.3.V)

Answer 16

1. Baroque art(until 1750): religious subject matter, glorified monarchs and state power, incorporated drama and tension
2. Baroque artists: Gian Bernini, Diego Velasquez, J.S. Bach
3. Neoclassical art(1750-1900): focuses on simplicity and symmetry, pastel colors and more realistic women
4. Neoclassical artists: Anselm Feuerbach, Gino Severini
5. Artistic movements reflected outlook and values of the commercial and bourgeois society as well as new Enlightenment ideals of political power and citizenship.

Question 17

Outline the reactionary movements that challenged the Enlightenment principles of reason and rationality. (2.3.VI)

Answer 17

1. Thinkers, such as Rousseau, questioned exclusive reliance on reason and focused on the importance of emotions
2. Emotional power of mass politics existed in revolution, war, and rebellion
3. Romanticism emerged as a challenge to Enlightenment rationality

Question 18

Explain several demographic crises in the 17th century and how these were solved to ensure economic and social stability. (2.4.I)

Answer 18

1. 17th century
2. small landholdings
3. low-productivity agricultural practices - solved by the Agricultural Revolution
4. poor transportation - solved by new roads and infrastructure
5. adverse weather (i.e. Little Ice Age)
6. plague and smallpox - solved by simply disappearing as a major disease and inoculation, respectively

Question 19

Explain the impact of consumerism in the 18th century–how did economic changes affect other patterns of life? (2.4.II)

Answer 19

1. 18th century
2. new concern for privacy - homes were built to include private retreats (i.e. boudoir), novels encouraged reflection on private emotion
3. new consumer goods for homes - porcelain dishes, cotton and linens, mirrors, prints
4. new leisure venues - coffeehouses, taverns, theaters/opera houses

Question 20

Outline the impact of the process of urbanization on political, cultural, and social roles. (2.4.IV)

Answer 20

1. urban areas
2. people moved to urban areas in search of work due to more food being produced with fewer workers
3. cities eroded traditional communal values; city governments strained to provide protection and a healthy environment
4. the poor were concentrated in cities; led to a greater awareness of poverty, crime, and prostitution as social problems; prompted increased efforts to police these groups