AP World History: Modern · Lesson 6 of 6 · Unit 2

Comparison of networks of exchange and the short-answer question

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Comparing the three Afro-Eurasian trade networks (c. 1200 to c. 1450) synthesizes all of Unit 2, and the three-part short-answer questions (SAQs) count for 20% of your total exam score. On the exam, you will compare the causes, goods, technologies, and impacts of these routes in multiple-choice sets and source-based SAQs.

By the end you’ll be able to

Explain the similarities and differences among the Silk Roads, Indian Ocean and trans-Saharan networks of exchange, including their causes, goods, technologies and effects on states and societies.
Explain how changes in trade networks resulted from and stimulated increasing productive capacity, with implications for social and gender structures and the environment.
Answer each part of a short-answer question directly with the task verb it uses (identify, describe, explain, compare), supported by specific and relevant historical evidence.

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Core ideas (continued)
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What the exam asks

In Section I, Part A (Multiple Choice), stimulus sets use maps, traveler accounts, or archaeological artifacts to test how the Silk Roads, Indian Ocean, and trans-Saharan networks were similar or different.

In Section I, Part B (Short Answer), you have 40 minutes to answer 3 required questions (worth 3 points each, 1 point per part $a$ , $b$ , and $c$ ). There is no optional choice among the questions:

Question 1: Evaluates one or more secondary text sources (historians’ arguments).
Question 2: Evaluates a primary text source.
Question 3: Evaluates a primary or secondary non-text source (map, image, or chart). Each question targets a different period between 1200 and 2001. No thesis is required; each part is scored independently based on whether you satisfy the task verb (identify, describe, explain, or compare) with historically accurate evidence from the specified period.

Core ideas

Comparing the three networks (c. 1200–c. 1450)

All three networks grew because the rise of large empires (such as the Mongol Empire and the Mali Empire) protected merchants, while technological and commercial innovations lowered the risks and costs of long-distance travel. All three sparked the growth of trading cities, spread universalizing religions, and transferred crops and pathogens.

Feature	Silk Roads	Indian Ocean	Trans-Saharan
Environment & Transport	Overland across arid steppes and deserts; relied on camels, horses, and caravanserais (roadside inns).	Maritime across ocean basins; relied on seasonal monsoon winds, dhows, and Chinese junks.	Overland across the Sahara Desert; relied on camel caravans and desert oases.
Key Technologies & Innovations	Saddles, paper money, flying cash (credit), and banking houses.	Magnetic compass, astrolabe, lateen sails, and sternpost rudders.	Camel saddles (especially North African and Somali designs for heavy loads).
Typical Goods	Luxury goods with high value-to-weight ratios (Chinese silk, porcelain, Central Asian horses).	Bulk goods (timber, grain, textiles, spices) alongside luxuries (ivory, porcelain) due to high ship capacity.	Regional necessities and luxuries: gold, salt, ivory, kola nuts, and enslaved persons.
Political Drivers	Pax Mongolica unified Eurasia under the Mongol khanates, securing overland passages.	Autonomous city-states (Malacca, Swahili Coast, Gujarat) taxed trade; Ming voyages (Zheng He).	West African empires (above all Mali; Songhai rose only after 1450) taxed gold and salt passing through cities like Timbuktu.