AP European History AP 欧洲历史
📌 Course at a glance
· 9 units · key topics drilled across the official outline
· Next exam: 2026-05-07 · 2026-05-07
📝 Full chapter-by-chapter lecture walkthroughs are being written. This page is the course outline — every unit and topic that will be covered, with key concepts you can already start to recognise. Use it as a study map; the chapter notes drop in over the coming weeks.
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Course outline
Unit 1 · Renaissance and Exploration 1450-1648 文艺复兴与探险 1450-1648
Exam weight: 10-15%
1.1 — The Italian Renaissance 意大利文艺复兴
· Humanism · Art and architecture (da Vinci, Michelangelo) · Medici family · City-state politics
1.2 — The Northern Renaissance 北方文艺复兴
· Christian humanism · Erasmus · Printing press (Gutenberg) · Spread of the Renaissance northward
1.3 — The New Monarchies 新君主制
· Centralization of power · Formation of nation-states · Consolidation of royal authority · Development of bureaucracy
1.4 — The Age of Exploration 大航海时代
· Portuguese and Spanish exploration · Navigation technology · Establishment of colonial empires · Global trade networks
1.5 — The Commercial Revolution 商业革命
· Mercantilism · Banking and credit systems · Price revolution · Emerging merchant class
1.6 — Machiavelli and Political Thought 马基雅维利与政治思想
· The Prince · Realist politics · Secular statecraft · Power politics
Unit 2 · Age of Reformation 1450-1648 宗教改革时代 1450-1648
Exam weight: 10-15%
2.1 — The Protestant Reformation 新教改革
· Martin Luther and the Ninety-Five Theses · Justification by faith · Indulgence controversy · Fragmentation of Protestant denominations
2.2 — Calvin and Other Reformers 加尔文与其他改革者
· Calvinism and predestination · Geneva theocracy · Zwingli · Anabaptists
2.3 — The English Reformation 英国宗教改革
· Henry VIII and the Church of England · Act of Supremacy · Elizabeth I's religious compromise · Puritans
2.4 — The Catholic Counter-Reformation 天主教反宗教改革
· Council of Trent · Jesuits · Inquisition · Internal Church reform
2.5 — Wars of Religion 宗教战争
· French Wars of Religion · Edict of Nantes · Thirty Years' War · Peace of Westphalia
2.6 — Social and Cultural Effects of the Reformation 宗教改革的社会与文化影响
· Increased literacy · Changes in family structure · Women's roles · Religious pluralism
Unit 3 · Absolutism and Constitutionalism 1648-1815 专制主义与立宪主义 1648-1815
Exam weight: 10-15%
3.1 — French Absolutism: Louis XIV 法国专制主义：路易十四
· The Sun King · Palace of Versailles · Divine right of kings · Centralization of power · Revocation of the Edict of Nantes
3.2 — Absolutism in Central and Eastern Europe 中东欧的专制主义
· Prussian military state · Habsburg dynasty · Peter the Great of Russia · Strengthening of serfdom
3.3 — English Constitutionalism 英国立宪主义
· English Civil War · Glorious Revolution · English Bill of Rights · Parliamentary sovereignty
3.4 — The Dutch Republic 荷兰共和国
· Commercial republic · Religious tolerance · Dutch Golden Age · Maritime trade dominance
3.5 — Balance of Power and Diplomacy 权力平衡与外交
· Wars of succession · Treaty of Utrecht · Balance of power principle · European state system
3.6 — Enlightened Absolutism 开明专制
· Frederick the Great · Catherine the Great · Joseph II · Reform and its limitations
Unit 4 · Scientific, Philosophical, and Political Developments 1648-1815 科学、哲学与政治发展 1648-1815
Exam weight: 10-15%
4.1 — The Scientific Revolution 科学革命
· Copernican heliocentric theory · Galileo · Newtonian mechanics · Scientific method · Royal societies
4.2 — The Enlightenment 启蒙运动
· Voltaire · Rousseau · Montesquieu · Encyclopedie · Reason and progress
4.3 — Enlightenment and Society 启蒙运动与社会
· Salon culture · Public sphere · Religious criticism · Freedom of the press
4.4 — The French Revolution 法国大革命
· Estates-General · Storming of the Bastille · Declaration of the Rights of Man · Reign of Terror · Thermidorian Reaction
4.5 — Napoleon and the Napoleonic Wars 拿破仑与拿破仑战争
· Napoleonic Code · Continental System · Spread of nationalism · Battle of Waterloo · Congress of Vienna
4.6 — Women and Enlightenment Thought 女性与启蒙思想
· Mary Wollstonecraft · Arguments for women's rights · Women in the salons · Gender equality debates
Unit 5 · Conflict, Crisis, and Reaction in Late 18th Century 1648-1815 18世纪晚期的冲突、危机与反应 1648-1815
Exam weight: 10-15%
5.1 — The Congress of Vienna and Conservative Order 维也纳会议与保守秩序
· Metternich system · Principle of legitimacy · Principle of compensation · Restoration of balance of power
5.2 — Revolutions of 1830 and 1848 1830年与1848年革命
· July Revolution · 1848 European revolutionary wave · Liberalism and nationalism · Causes of revolutionary failure
5.3 — Romanticism and Cultural Responses 浪漫主义与文化回应
· Romantic movement · Rebellion against Enlightenment rationalism · National cultural revival · Literature and art
5.4 — Ideologies: Liberalism, Conservatism, Socialism 意识形态：自由主义、保守主义、社会主义
· Classical liberalism · Conservative thought · Utopian socialism · Marxism
5.5 — National Unification Movements 民族统一运动
· Italian unification (Cavour, Garibaldi) · German unification (Bismarck) · Blood and iron policy · Realpolitik
Unit 6 · Industrialization and Its Effects 1815-1914 工业化及其影响 1815-1914
Exam weight: 10-15%
6.1 — The Industrial Revolution in Britain 英国工业革命
· Steam engine · Textile industry · Coal and iron resources · Factory system · Urbanization
6.2 — Spread of Industrialization 工业化的传播
· Continental industrialization · Railroad age · Second Industrial Revolution · Steel and chemical industries
6.3 — Social Effects of Industrialization 工业化的社会影响
· Formation of the working class · Urban poverty · Child labor · Public health crises
6.4 — The Labor Movement 劳工运动
· Development of trade unions · Chartist movement · Right to strike · Labor legislation
6.5 — New Imperialism 新帝国主义
· Scramble for Africa · Berlin Conference · Colonization of Asia · Imperial competition
6.6 — Science, Technology, and Social Thought 科学、技术与社会思想
· Darwin's theory of evolution · Social Darwinism · Positivism · Development of psychology (Freud)
6.7 — Women's Rights and Feminism 女性权利与女权主义
· Suffrage movement · Right to education · Employment rights · First-wave feminism
Unit 7 · 19th-Century Perspectives and Political Developments 1815-1914 19世纪的视角与政治发展 1815-1914
Exam weight: 10-15%
7.1 — Mass Politics and Democracy 大众政治与民主
· Expansion of suffrage · Party development · Mass media · Democratization process
7.2 — Nationalism and Its Effects 民族主义及其影响
· National self-determination · Pan-Slavism · Anti-Semitism · Zionism
7.3 — The Alliance System and Militarism 联盟体系与军国主义
· Triple Alliance · Triple Entente · Arms race · Naval rivalry
7.4 — Realism, Impressionism, and Modern Art 现实主义、印象主义与现代艺术
· Realist literature · Impressionist painting · Post-Impressionism · Seeds of modernism
7.5 — The Bismarckian System and European Diplomacy 俾斯麦体系与欧洲外交
· Bismarck's alliance policy · Reinsurance Treaty · Colonial competition · Wilhelm II's Weltpolitik
7.6 — Reform Movements and Social Change 改革运动与社会变革
· Seeds of the welfare state · Education reform · Public health improvements · Social insurance systems
Unit 8 · 20th-Century Global Conflicts 1914-present 20世纪全球冲突 1914至今
Exam weight: 10-15%
8.1 — World War I 第一次世界大战
· Trench warfare · Total war · Wartime propaganda · American entry · Armistice
8.2 — The Russian Revolution 俄国革命
· February Revolution · October Revolution · Bolsheviks · Lenin · Civil War
8.3 — The Rise of Totalitarianism 极权主义的兴起
· Stalin's Soviet Union · Fascist Italy · Nazi Germany · Characteristics of totalitarian rule
8.4 — The Interwar Period and the Road to WWII 两次大战间期与通往二战之路
· Impact of the Great Depression · Appeasement policy · Munich Agreement · Nazi-Soviet Pact
8.5 — World War II in Europe 欧洲的第二次世界大战
· Blitzkrieg · Eastern Front · D-Day invasion · The Holocaust · German surrender
8.6 — The Holocaust and Genocide 大屠杀与种族灭绝
· Final Solution · Concentration camps · Nuremberg Laws · Postwar trials and reflection
8.7 — Postwar Reconstruction 战后重建
· Marshall Plan · Division of Europe · Welfare state construction · Economic miracle
Unit 9 · Cold War and Contemporary Europe 1914-present 冷战与当代欧洲 1914至今
Exam weight: 10-15%
9.1 — The Cold War in Europe 欧洲的冷战
· Iron Curtain · Berlin Blockade · NATO and Warsaw Pact · Berlin Wall
9.2 — European Integration 欧洲一体化
· European Coal and Steel Community · European Economic Community · Maastricht Treaty · Establishment of the European Union
9.3 — Decolonization and Its Impact on Europe 去殖民化及其对欧洲的影响
· Collapse of colonial empires · Algerian War · Suez Canal Crisis · Immigration waves
9.4 — Social and Cultural Developments 社会与文化发展
· 1968 student movements · Consumer society · Secularization · Cultural pluralism
9.5 — The Fall of Communism 共产主义的崩溃
· Gorbachev's reforms · Fall of communism in Eastern Europe · Fall of the Berlin Wall · Dissolution of the Soviet Union
9.6 — Contemporary European Challenges 当代欧洲挑战
· Eurozone crisis · Immigration and refugee issues · Rise of populism · Brexit
9.7 — Globalization and European Identity 全球化与欧洲认同
· Impact of globalization on Europe · European identity debate · Multiculturalism · Environmental policy