AP World History: Modern Full-length practice exam 2

A historian analyzing the role of migration in the global economy c. 1850–1914 would most likely argue that the indenture system, which moved millions of South Asian and East Asian workers to colonial plantations, differed from slavery primarily in which respect?

An author writing in 1941 described the concept of 'total war' as representing 'the mobilization of entire national economies, civilian populations, and cultural production toward warfare, erasing the distinction between military and civilian spheres.' This description most directly illustrates which development in 20th-century warfare?

A historian comparing global economic inequality in 1900 versus 2000 would most likely argue that the most significant change was:

A historian analyzing the causes of European maritime expansion in the 15th century would most likely identify which combination of factors as most important?

A British factory inspector writing c. 1840 documented conditions in northern English textile mills, noting 'children as young as six working fourteen-hour shifts, injury rates from unguarded machinery far exceeding adult workers, and stunted growth from lack of sunlight and nutrition.' Historians analyzing these conditions would most likely argue they reflect which dynamic of early industrialization?

A scholar writing in the 12th century described a Chinese emperor who 'recruited officials through rigorous written examinations, ensuring merit rather than birth determined state service.' This passage most directly illustrates which feature of Song dynasty governance?

An observer writing in the 13th century noted that the kingdoms of Southeast Asia 'sent tribute to Chinese emperors while simultaneously maintaining commercial relations with Indian merchants, adopting Sanskrit titles alongside Chinese court protocols.' This behavior most directly illustrates which dynamic in Southeast Asian state development?

A historian analyzing the transatlantic slave trade would most likely argue that the growth of plantation agriculture in the Americas, particularly sugar cultivation in Brazil and the Caribbean, was primarily responsible for which development?

An author writing in the 13th century observed that merchants traveling through the Abbasid Caliphate's successor states found 'a common language of commerce, shared legal frameworks for contracts, and houses of exchange that moved credit across vast distances.' This description best reflects which development in Dar al-Islam?

An observer writing in the late 17th century noted that 'the Safavid Shah appointed religious scholars to judicial positions and funded theological academies, creating a class of Shia clerics whose authority derived partly from state patronage and partly from popular piety.' This passage most directly illustrates which dynamic in Safavid governance?

A scholar analyzing the administrative systems of the early modern land-based empires would most likely argue that the primary challenge all four empires (Ottoman, Mughal, Safavid, Qing) faced was:

A historian comparing the outcomes of WWI and WWII in Europe would most likely argue that the most significant structural difference in the post-war settlements was:

A historian analyzing Indian independence (1947) would most likely argue that Mahatma Gandhi's nonviolent civil disobedience strategy was effective primarily because it:

A British colonial administrator writing c. 1880 argued that 'the superior civilization of Europe, embodied in its legal institutions, scientific knowledge, and commercial enterprise, creates an obligation to govern less-developed peoples until they achieve the capacity for self-rule.' This passage most directly reflects which ideology justifying European imperialism?

A journalist writing in 1919 described the Paris Peace Conference as producing 'a settlement that blamed Germany alone for the war, stripped it of territory and colonies, imposed enormous reparations, and humiliated a proud nation before the world.' Historians analyzing this settlement would most likely argue it contributed to which later development?

A Kenyan independence leader writing c. 1960 argued that 'our people will not accept the continuation of European colonial rule; we have fought in European wars, we have educated our children in European schools, and we know that the 'civilizing mission' was always a lie concealing economic exploitation.' This passage most directly reflects which intellectual framework driving decolonization movements?

An author writing c. 1700 described the Manila Galleon trade as 'ships sailing annually from the Philippines to Mexico carrying Chinese silks and porcelain, returning with American silver that Chinese merchants eagerly sought.' This passage most directly illustrates which feature of early modern global trade?

A historian comparing the spread of Islam across Dar al-Islam, sub-Saharan Africa, and Southeast Asia between 1200 and 1450 would most likely conclude that Islam spread primarily through which mechanism in all three regions?

A conservative statesman writing c. 1820 argued that 'the revolutionary doctrines emanating from France have produced only terror, instability, and war; the preservation of legitimate monarchy and aristocratic order is the only bulwark against the chaos of popular government.' This passage most directly reflects which 19th-century ideological tradition?

A historian comparing the Ottoman, Mughal, and Safavid empires would most likely identify which shared characteristic as explaining their common designation as 'gunpowder empires'?

An author writing in the 14th century described the Inca Empire's administrative system as one where 'officials speaking the imperial language supervised the delivery of labor obligations from local communities, who in turn retained their own languages and customs.' This description most directly illustrates which approach to imperial governance?

A philosopher writing c. 1750 argued that 'governments derive their just powers from the consent of the governed, and when any form of government becomes destructive of natural rights, it is the right of the people to alter or abolish it.' This passage most directly reflects which Enlightenment concept?

A historian examining the end of the Cold War (1989–1991) would most likely identify which factor as most directly causing Soviet collapse, rather than simply contributing to it?

A scholar writing c. 1960 described the Cuban Missile Crisis (1962) as 'the closest the world came to nuclear war, when the discovery of Soviet missiles in Cuba produced a confrontation that revealed both the dangers of direct superpower confrontation and the need for crisis communication mechanisms.' This observation most directly illustrates which Cold War dynamic?

A merchant writing c. 1250 described traveling from China to Persia via Central Asia and noted that 'the same silver coins passed through many hands, and merchants at each stop spoke a common Turkic dialect used for commerce.' This observation most directly illustrates which feature of the Silk Roads in this period?

A historian comparing the causes of WWI and WWII would most likely argue that the most significant difference between the two conflicts' origins was:

A historian examining the Ethiopian resistance to Italian colonialism in the 1890s would most likely argue that Ethiopia's successful defeat of Italy at the Battle of Adwa (1896) was significant primarily because it:

A historian analyzing the 'scramble for Africa' (c. 1880–1914) would most likely identify which combination of factors as driving European imperial partition of the continent?

A historian analyzing the Holocaust would most likely argue that the genocide of Jews, Roma, and others by the Nazi state illustrates which broader principle about modern mass atrocities?

A historian analyzing Japanese expansion in Asia between 1931 and 1941 would most likely argue that Japan's actions were driven primarily by which combination of factors?

A historian analyzing the Sepoy Mutiny/Indian Rebellion of 1857 would most likely argue that the rebellion was primarily caused by which combination of factors?

An author writing c. 1400 described the Chinese junk trade in the South China Sea as carrying 'porcelain and silk southward to the islands of Southeast Asia, returning with spices, tropical woods, and the tribute of foreign rulers.' This description most directly illustrates which pattern in Indian Ocean–South China Sea trade?

An observer writing in the 1930s described the domestic policies of fascist states as combining 'intense nationalist propaganda, state control of the economy without socialization of property, suppression of political opposition, and the cult of a charismatic leader.' This description most directly illustrates which ideological movement of the interwar period?

Compared to the Tang dynasty's approach to foreign religions, the Song dynasty's attitude toward Buddhism and Daoism is best characterized as one of:

A navigator writing c. 1200 described the Indian Ocean trade system as one where 'sailors relied on the predictable winds that blow northeast in winter and southwest in summer, timing their voyages to arrive at foreign ports and return home within the year.' This description most directly illustrates which factor enabling Indian Ocean commerce?

A traveler writing c. 1250 described the Delhi Sultanate as 'ruling over a vast population of non-Muslims while depending on Hindu administrators for local governance and collecting revenue through existing land-tax systems.' This account most directly illustrates which pattern of Islamic rule in South Asia?

An observer writing in the early 16th century described the Ottoman Empire's janissary corps as 'soldiers recruited as boys from Christian families, converted to Islam, trained as elite fighters, and loyal directly to the sultan rather than to any noble lineage.' This passage most directly illustrates which strategy of Ottoman state-building?

A diplomat writing in the summer of 1914 described the European alliance system as 'a web in which a single assassination could compel great powers to mobilize against each other within weeks, regardless of individual governments' wishes to avoid war.' This observation most directly illustrates which feature of pre-WWI European international relations?

An author writing c. 1650 described the Columbian Exchange as moving animals in both directions across the Atlantic, noting that 'horses transformed the warfare and economies of peoples from the North American plains to the pampas of South America, while European cattle herds altered ecologies across the Americas.' This observation most directly illustrates which consequence of biological exchange?

A diplomat writing in 1947 described the emerging international order as one in which 'two great powers, each commanding nuclear weapons and ideologically incompatible visions of political economy, competed for global influence without directly fighting each other.' This description most directly illustrates which feature of the early Cold War?

A historian analyzing sub-Saharan African political structures c. 1200–1450 would most likely argue that the diversity of state forms — from the Great Zimbabwe stone-walled kingdom to the Mali Empire's Sahelian state — primarily reflects which factor?

An observer writing in the 17th century noted that the Russian tsars 'expanded eastward across Siberia by establishing fortified posts, compelling indigenous peoples to pay tribute in furs, and settling Cossack frontiersmen along conquered territories.' This description most directly illustrates which pattern in Russian imperial expansion?

An observer writing c. 1350 noted that a terrible pestilence spread from Central Asia westward along trade routes, depopulating cities from China to Egypt and Europe within two decades. Historians analyzing this event would most likely argue it demonstrates which broader principle about networks of exchange?

A historian examining why industrialization began in Britain rather than in China or the Ottoman Empire would most likely identify which combination of factors as most explanatory?

A liberal philosopher writing c. 1840 argued that 'free markets, constitutional government, individual rights, and the free movement of goods and people across national borders are the foundations of human progress and prosperity.' This passage most directly reflects which 19th-century ideological tradition?

An economist writing c. 2005 described China's economic development since 1978 as 'the most dramatic reduction in absolute poverty in human history, lifting hundreds of millions out of subsistence through export-led industrialization, foreign direct investment, and state-directed market reform.' This observation most directly illustrates which consequence of late 20th-century economic globalization?

A chronicler writing c. 1550 described the Mughal Empire under Akbar as a state where 'the emperor abolished the jizya tax on non-Muslims, appointed Hindu Rajput nobles to high military commands, and constructed a new capital that blended Persian and Indian architectural styles.' This account most directly illustrates which approach to governance?

A historian comparing Chinese and Indian responses to 19th-century European imperialism would most likely argue that the most significant difference was:

An observer writing c. 1650 described the Columbian Exchange as producing a dramatic transformation of food systems across Eurasia and Africa, noting 'crops unknown a century earlier now fed populations in China, West Africa, and Europe that could not have survived on older staple crops alone.' This observation most directly illustrates which consequence of the Columbian Exchange?

A soldier writing from the Western Front in 1916 described trench warfare as 'lines of men facing each other across no man's land for months, unable to advance more than a few hundred yards despite artillery barrages lasting weeks and infantry attacks costing hundreds of thousands of lives.' This passage most directly illustrates which characteristic of WWI combat?

An economist writing c. 1902 (echoing J.A. Hobson) argued that 'the imperial expansion of industrial nations is driven not by civilizing intentions but by the need to find investment outlets for surplus capital and markets for surplus manufactured goods that saturated domestic economies cannot absorb.' This passage most directly reflects which critique of imperialism?

An author writing c. 2015 argued that 'the integration of global financial markets has made national economic policy increasingly constrained: capital flows freely across borders, and governments that pursue policies unpopular with investors face capital flight and currency crises regardless of domestic democratic mandates.' This observation most directly reflects which tension in contemporary globalization?

A historian comparing the globalization of the period c. 1870–1914 with that of c. 1980–2020 would most likely argue that the most significant structural difference was:

A scholar comparing the Portuguese Estado da India with the later Dutch VOC (Dutch East India Company) would most likely argue that the VOC represented an organizational innovation primarily in which respect?

An economist writing c. 1995 described post-Cold War globalization as 'the accelerating integration of national economies through trade, investment, and financial flows, enabled by containerization, digital communication, and the removal of trade barriers through international agreements.' This description most directly illustrates which development in the late 20th century?