Little ice age ap world history


For a number of years, Donald Trump has been tweeting about the myth of climate change based on cold weather. Just this past week, he even sarcastically called for more global warming. While most people reading this essay will quickly dismiss Trump’s claims, it’s important to consider how our students think about not only climate change, but also the relationship between humanity and the environment in general. Most of the essays on Liberating Narratives focus on individuals or groups of people who have been marginalized in how we think about modern world history, but it’s just as important for us to keep in mind how much are we, as teachers of world history, integrating environmental topics into our courses in meaningful ways. In the last couple of years, there have been a number of short and engaging articles about the Little Ice Age that can be the basis for some great class discussions that really challenge students to think about the past (and the world today) in different ways.

The Fourteenth Century

In my class, I first talk about the Little Ice Age in connection to the Black Death. In Felipe Fernández-Armesto’s The World: A History, there is a useful chapter “The Rev

AP World 1.6 - Developments in Europe

Changes in trade networks resulted from and stimulated increasing efficient capacity, with important implications for social and gender structures and environmental processes. Productivity rose in both agriculture and industry. Rising productivity supported population growth and urbanization but also strained environmental resources and at times caused dramatic demographic swings. Shifts in production and the increased volume of trade also stimulated recent labor practices, including adaptation of existing patterns of free and coerced labor. Social and gender structures evolved in response to these changes.

Humanism

  • System of education and mode of inquiry that originated in northern Italy during the 13th and 14th centuries
  • The designation is alternatively applied to a variety of Western beliefs, methods, and philosophies that place pivotal emphasis on the human realm. 
  • Emphasis on human form and reason over religion and assumed truths 

Marco Polo

  • Italian explorer 
  • Traveled to China, forcibly lived in the Yuan Dynasty under Kublai Khan
  • Wrote a manual about his travels
  • Inspired more tour and trade as a result of people reading abo

    AP World History: Unit 4 Flashcards

    16042601760Trans-Oceanic Tradeglobal trading system in the Caribbean and the Americans trade networks extended to all corners of Atlantic Ocean016042601761Columbian ExchangeAn exchange of goods, ideas and skills from the Old World (Europe, Asia and Africa) to the New World (North and South America) and vice versa.116042601762MercantilismAn economic policy under which nations sought to increase their wealth and power by obtaining large amounts of gold and silver and by selling more goods than they bought216042601763Triangular TradeTrading System between Europe, Africa, and the colonies; European purchased slaves in Africa and sold them to colonies, new materials from colonies went to Europe while European finished products were sold in the colonies.316042601764Middle PassageA voyage that brought enslaved Africans across the Atlantic Ocean to North America and the West Indies416042601765CaravelA small, highly maneuverable three-masted ship used by the Portuguese and Spanish in the exploration of the Atlantic.516042601766Cartographythe science or the art of making maps6

    key term - Little Ice Age

    Definition

    The Little Ice Age refers to a period of cooler temperatures that lasted from approximately the 14th century to the mid-19th century, significantly impacting Europe and North America. This climatic shift caused harsher winters and shorter growing seasons, leading to widespread agricultural challenges. The Little Ice Age had profound implications for society, economy, and population dynamics during its duration.

    5 Must Know Facts For Your Next Test

    1. The Little Ice Age led to a decline in agricultural productivity due to colder temperatures, resulting in famines across Europe.
    2. Frozen rivers, such as the Thames in London, became common during the coldest winters, impacting trade and transportation.
    3. The period contributed to social unrest and revolts, as food shortages fueled discontent among the peasantry and urban populations.
    4. The colder climate affected wine production, especially in regions like France, leading to changes in wine trade and consumption.
    5. The end of the Little Ice Age coincided with the beginning of the Industrial Revolution, allowing for advances in technology that improved agricultural yields.

    Review Questions

    • There is a great short article from The Artstor Blog on the Little Ice Age, aka the “polar vortex” of the 17th & 18th centuries. The Little Ice Age is part of the (previous) AP World History standards AND the article includes the painting Hunters in the Snow from the AP Art History curriculum. Double win!

      Read the Artstor article here:Picturing the Little Ice Age

      AP World History Curriculum

      Key Concept 4.2: Although the world’s productive systems continued to be heavily centered on agriculture, major changes occurred in agricultural labor, the systems and locations of manufacturing, gender and social structures, and environmental processes.

      I. Beginning in the 14th century, there was a decrease in mean temperatures, often referred to as the Little Ice Age, around the world that lasted until the 19th century, contributing to changes in agricultural practices and the contraction of settlement in parts of the Northern Hemisphere.

      AP Art History Curriculum

      83. Hunters in the Snow. Pieter Bruegel the Elder. 1565 CE. Oil on wood.

      Enduring Understanding 3-5. The 16th-century Protestant Reformation and subsequent Catholic Counter-Reformation co
      little ice age ap world history