World history,
one topic at a time.
Review the people and events, test what you know, and practice explaining your evidence. Everything for a topic is on its own page.
Browse the nine units ↓Find your unit
Open a unit to find its lessons. Every lesson has a short review, examples, practice questions, a writing prompt, and study resources.
The Global Tapestry
Explore how societies across the world governed, traded, and built cultural traditions before the age of oceanic empires.
UNIT 02 · c. 1200–1450Networks of Exchange
Follow the Silk Roads, Indian Ocean, and trans-Saharan routes to see how trade moved goods, beliefs, technologies, and diseases.
UNIT 03 · c. 1450–1750Land-Based Empires
Study how large empires expanded through military power and kept control through administration, religion, and art.
UNIT 04 · c. 1450–1750Transoceanic Interconnections
Trace ocean voyages, the Columbian Exchange, colonial labor systems, and the growth of maritime empires.
UNIT 05 · c. 1750–1900Revolutions
Connect new political ideas and revolutions to industrialization and the changing lives of workers and families.
UNIT 06 · c. 1750–1900Consequences of Industrialization
Examine the motives for imperial expansion, responses to colonial rule, global economic change, and migration.
UNIT 07 · c. 1900–presentGlobal Conflict
Investigate the causes, conduct, and human costs of the world wars and other upheavals of the early twentieth century.
UNIT 08 · c. 1900–presentCold War and Decolonization
Explore superpower rivalry, communist movements, independence struggles, and the challenges facing new states.
UNIT 09 · c. 1900–presentGlobalization
Consider how technology, trade, health, culture, and international organizations brought people closer together while creating new tensions.
How to use the Study Room
Read the big picture and the specific examples for your topic.
Answer the questions and check why each example matters.
Write your response before opening the model answer.