Consequences of Industrialization
What this unit covers
The topics below follow the published World History course framework for Unit 6. This unit is worth 12–15% of the exam, so budget your time against that rather than against how long the unit takes to teach.
Lessons in this unit
- The New Imperialism14 min · 3 objectivesExplain the economic, political, and ideological causes of new imperialism · Analyze how industrial technology enabled European domination · Compare methods of imperial control across Africa and Asia
- The Global Economy and Migration14 min · 3 objectivesExplain how industrialization reshaped the global division of labor · Analyze the causes and patterns of mass migration in this era · Evaluate the effects of economic imperialism on colonized regions
- Resistance to Imperialism13 min · 3 objectivesIdentify major forms of resistance to imperial and industrial domination · Analyze how nationalism fueled anti-colonial movements · Compare responses of societies that resisted, reformed, or were conquered
Every term in Unit 6
All 15 terms we publish for Consequences of Industrialization, with definitions. Reading them through is the fastest way to find the ones you cannot define — then drill those in cram mode until you can produce them without the prompt.
- New imperialism
- Late nineteenth-century European conquest of Africa and Asia, driven by raw materials, markets, strategic rivalry and racial ideology.
- Indentured labor migration
- After abolition, Indian and Chinese indentured workers moved to plantations worldwide, creating diaspora communities that persist today.
- Berlin Conference (1884–85)
- European powers partitioned Africa among themselves without African representation, drawing borders that ignored existing polities.
- Scramble for Africa
- Within two decades almost the whole continent was under European control, enabled by machine guns, quinine and steamships.
- Social Darwinism
- Misapplied evolutionary language to rank societies, supplying a pseudo-scientific justification for conquest and rule.
- White Man's Burden
- Kipling's framing of imperialism as a civilizing duty — the moral cover for economic and strategic motives.
- Economic imperialism
- Control through investment, debt and unequal treaties rather than direct rule, as in Latin America and Qing China.
- Opium Wars
- Britain forced China to accept opium imports; defeat brought unequal treaties, extraterritoriality and Hong Kong.
- Unequal treaties
- Imposed tariffs, ports and legal exemptions on China and Japan, exposing the gap between industrial and non-industrial military power.
- Taiping Rebellion
- Massive mid-century Chinese civil war costing perhaps twenty million lives and leaving the Qing dependent on regional armies.
- Meiji Restoration
- Japan's deliberate, state-directed industrialization and reform after 1868 — the one non-Western state to industrialize on its own terms in this period.
- Self-Strengthening Movement
- Qing attempt to adopt Western technology while preserving Confucian institutions. Its failure contrasts sharply with Meiji success.
- Sepoy Rebellion (1857)
- Indian uprising that ended East India Company rule and brought direct British Crown government of India.
- Settler colonies
- Australia, New Zealand, Algeria and South Africa, where European settlement displaced indigenous populations rather than only extracting resources.
- Abolition of slavery
- Britain in 1833, the US in 1865, Brazil in 1888. Driven by moral campaigning, enslaved resistance and industrial economies less dependent on slave labor.
What examiners penalize here
- Explain imperialism through the *industrial* lens: factories needed raw materials and markets, and industrial *technology* (steamships, railroads, machine guns, quinine) made conquest feasible. Tying imperialism back to industrialization is exactly the causal link this unit tests.
Practice World History
Our practice bank is drawn from across the whole course rather than filtered to one unit, which is closer to how the exam asks anyway — it will not tell you which unit a question is testing.
Questions about this unit
How much of the AP World History: Modern exam is Unit 6?
Unit 6, Consequences of Industrialization, is worth 12–15% of the World History multiple-choice section according to the published course framework. Across all 9 units that makes it a substantial share — heavier than an even split would give it.
What topics are covered in World History Unit 6?
Consequences of Industrialization covers Imperialism, Global economy, Migration and Resistance. We publish 15 terms with definitions for this unit, all of them on this page.
How should I study World History Unit 6?
Read the 3 lessons below first — about 40 minutes — then drill the 15 terms in cram mode until you can produce each definition from memory rather than just recognize it. Recognition is what makes a unit feel finished when it is not. Finish with practice questions and read the explanation for every one you get right by elimination as well as the ones you miss.
All 9 units of AP World History: Modern
Unit names, topics and exam weights follow the published College Board course framework for AP World History: Modern. AP® is a trademark registered by the College Board, which does not endorse this site.