Important Events for AP Human Geography

AP Human Geo Important Dates and Events

The AP Human Geography exam is not about memorizing dates or events. However, you really need to have a basic understanding of the most important events so that you can apply the concepts, especially within the FRQ. It also comes up in the multiple-choice section too.

Since a lot of AP Human Geography students are in 9th grade, you may not have had a world history class in a few years. No worries! We've combed through the past exams and these are the events that have come up or that are worth knowing. Spend some time getting to know this list of events and you'll be golden.

Find the 2020 exam schedule, learn tips & tricks, and get your frequently asked questions answered on Fiveable's Guide to the 2020 AP Exam Updates.

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🌾 First Agricultural Revolution- 8000 B.C.E. 

The First Agricultural Revolution, also known as the Neolithic Revolution, marked the beginning of agriculture and animal domestication for those living hunter-gatherer lifestyles in the Fertile Crescent. These new lifestyle changes allowed for a more stable food supply, the specialization of labor, the creation of civilizations, and an increase in population.

🐀 The Black Death - 1347-1353 C.E.

The Black Death, also known as the Black Plague, a fourteenth-century bubonic plague outbreak that led to the deaths of anywhere from thirty to sixty percent of Europe’s population. It was originally transmitted to humans through fleas in Central or East Asia, but the disease later reached Europe through Genoese merchant ships in Italy.

👑 The Jamestown Colony - 1607

The Jamestown Colony was the first permanent British settlement in North America, located in what is now the state of Virginia. Settlers in Jamestown soon learned that their agricultural practices were not effective for the American growing season and they refused help from the Powhatan people, causing starvation in the colony.

⛪️ Puritan Migration to New England - 1620-1640

Faced with religious persecution in their native England, the Puritans left for New England and established the Massachusetts Bay Colony, located northwest of the Pilgrims’ Plymouth Colony. Unlike the Pilgrims, the Puritans did not believe in separating from the Anglican Church and governed by a theocracy, rather than a democracy.

🚢 Triangular Trade - 1619-1807

The Triangular Trade was the trading of slaves and commodities such as tobacco and rum between the Americas, Europe, and Africa, which form a triangular shape on a map. The majority of the slaves displaced by this trade were brought to Brazil and the Caribbean, where they were enslaved and worked on European-run sugar plantations.

🚂 Industrial Revolution - 1760-1840

The Industrial Revolution was a time in history where rapid advancements in home manufacturing and factory production were made, causing society to shift from being agricultural to industrial. As a result of this event, capitalist countries in North America and Europe had major economic growth and there was significant population growth.

🇺🇸 Ratification of the Declaration of Independence - 1776

When the Declaration of Independence was ratified, the United States officially ended their political connection with Great Britain and became an independent nation. The document states the inevitable rights of the American people and grievances that the American government had towards the English King George III.

🇦🇺 Establishment of British Penal Colony in Australia - 1788-1838

The British started a penal colony in Australia to lessen the overcrowding of British prisons and reduce the rate of petty crime in overpopulated, economically displaced London.

🥖 French Revolution - 1789-1799

Angered by increasing poverty, growing disparities between social classes, France’s absolute monarchy, and growing government debt, members of the Third Estate began a revolution. They were inspired by Enlightenment philosophers such as John Locke and Voltaire and the United State’s recent independence from Great Britain.

👻 Opening of the Erie Canal - 1825

The Erie Canal is a man-made waterway that connects Lake Erie to the Hudson River, which allowed states in the Ohio Valley to transport their goods directly to the Atlantic Ocean. Before this, these states would ship goods down the Mississippi River to New Orleans or travel over the Appalachian Mountains by mule train with the products.

😢 Indian Removal Act - 1830

The Indian Removal Act required the Cherokee, Creek, Chickasaw, Seminole, and Choctaw people to move to the Indian Territory (present-day Oklahoma), where President Andrew Jackson wanted to relocate Native Americans. These groups’ ancestral lands were then settled by white people, while the “Five Civilized Tribes” were required to stay in the Indian Territory, where they live today.

🥔 Irish Potato Famine - 1845-1849

The Irish Potato Famine was a time of starvation in Ireland due to a potato blight that had ruined the annual harvest and the Irish people’s dependence on a singular crop. The event was made worse by the Revolutions of 1848, which caused political unrest across Europe, and the Whig government’s practice of laissez-faire.

🙅🏼‍♂️ Ratification of the Chinese Exclusion Act - 1882

The Chinese Exclusion Act prevented Chinese workers from immigrating into the United States and prevented Chinese immigrants from becoming citizens through naturalization. Signed into law by President Chester A. Arthur, the Chinese Exclusion Act was the first American law that prevented an ethnic group from coming to the nation.

🏃🏿‍♂️The Great Migration - 1916-1970

The Great Migration was the mass movement of African Americans from rural areas in the Southern United States to large Northern cities, such as Chicago, Detroit, and New York City. Most of those who came to the North were looking to escape Jim Crow laws and segregation or find better-paying jobs.

🇲🇽 Mexican Revolution - 1910-1924

The Mexican Revolution was fought by middle-class revolutionaries, such as Emiliano Zapata, Pancho Villa, and Pascual Orozco, in order to overthrow the dictatorship of Porfirio Diaz in the nation. This event led to the establishment of a constitutional republic in Mexico.

💣 World War I - 1914-1918

World War I was fought between the Central Powers (Germany, Austria-Hungary, Bulgaria, and the Ottoman Empire) and the Allied Powers (Great Britain, France, Russia, and the United States) over nationalism and the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife Sophie.

🇷🇺Russian Revolution - 1917-1923

The Russian Revolution was a time of political and social change in Russia that marked the end of czarist rule under the Romanovs and the rise of the Bolsheviks, led by Vladimir Lenin. These events caused communism to spread in the newly-formed Soviet Union, and eventually, other nations.

📊 Ratification of the National Origins Act - 1924

The National Origins Act, also known as the Immigration Act of 1924, was an American law that put restrictions on immigrants from southern and eastern Europe and prevented Asians from entering the nation. Although it was passed in the early 1920s, this law would stay in place until the 1960s, preventing generations of immigrants from entering the United States.

🙁 The Great Depression - 1929-1939

The Great Depression was an economic depression caused by the Wall Street Crash of 1929, the collapse of prices on the New York Stock Exchange, and the Dust Bowl. Widespread poverty caused by this event led people to migrate to different parts of the United States in hope of finding better job opportunities.

💣 World War II - 1939-1945

World War II was originally fought between the Allies (the United States, Great Britain, the Soviet Union, and France) and the Axis (Germany, Japan, and Italy) over the rise of fascism in Europe and the German invasion of Poland. The United States remained uninvolved in the war for part of it, much like in World War I, but eventually declared war on Japan after the attack on Pearl Harbor in Hawaii.

♻️ Green Revolution - 1945-1970

The Green Revolution was a time of rapid agricultural developments and advancements, such as the creation of new fertilization and irrigation methods, which led to the greater production of crops in developing nations. The Green Revolution allowed people to have a more stable food supply, which lowered starvation rates and helped to decrease production costs, but the event had adverse effects on the environment.

🥶 Cold War - 1947 -1991

The Cold War was a time of political hostility, espionage, and competition between the United States and Western Bloc nations and the Soviet Union and the Eastern Bloc. During the Cold War, proxy wars began in Vietnam, Korea, and Afghanistan, meaning that they were instigated by major world powers (the United States and the Soviet Union) but those nations never fought in them.

🇮🇳 🇵🇰 Partition of India - 1947

The partition of India was the separation of the nation into two independent states, the Hindu-majority India and the Muslim-majority Pakistan, which later split into Pakistan and Bangladesh. This led to a refugee crisis, as Hindus in what was once Pakistan were forced to migrate to India to escape religious violence, and Muslim Indians left for Pakistan.

🇮🇱 Creation of Israel - 1948

Israel was created after the end of World War II as a nation for Holocaust survivors who wanted to return to the “homeland” after experiencing anti-Semitism in Europe. The creation of Israel and migration of Jews to the nation led to the beginning of the Arab-Israeli Conflict, which has caused political tension and conflict in the Middle East to this day.

🤝 Formation of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) - 1949

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) is a group of nations that was originally formed as a military alliance that provided the United States, Canada, and Western Europe protection from the Soviet Union. NATO still exists today as an organization that protects member nations’ freedom and safety through a collective security system.

🏘 Suburbanization - 1945-1960

Suburbanization was the process of people in cities moving to suburban areas due to the increasing population, increasing incomes of American workers, the rising cost of living, and the improvement of public transportation.

🇻🇳 Vietnam War - 1954-1978

The Vietnam War was a proxy war fought between the communist North Vietnam and their allies (the Soviet Union and China) and South Vietnam and their allies (the United States, South Korea, etc.) over the spread of communism in the nation. The war caused controversy in the United States and Europe, where the Anti-War movement was becoming popular and protests became frequent over involvement and the ethics of war.

🇩🇪 Construction of the Berlin Wall - 1961

The Berlin Wall was constructed to divide democratic West Germany (supported by the United Kingdom, France, and the United States) from communist East Germany (supported by the Soviet Union) at the capital city of Berlin. The structure was destroyed in 1989 after the fall of the Soviet government in Poland, the removal of the electric fence separating Austria and Hungary, and the Revolutions of 1989.

🤗 Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965

The Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965, also known as the Hart-Celler Act, abolished previous laws stated in the National Origins Act and established new policies in order to reunite families and allow more immigrants to enter the nation.

🇺🇬 Dictatorship of Idi Amin in Uganda - 1971-1979

Idi Amin was the dictator of Uganda, who began a military coup to avoid being arrested for misusing army funds and illegally declared himself President for Life and “Conqueror of the British Empire.” He attempted to annex the Tanzanian region of Kagera, causing the Uganda-Tanzania War, and killed those who opposed his rule.

🇷🇺 Russification Policy - 1980

Russification is a form of cultural assimilation where non-Russian minority groups abandon their culture, language, and customs for that of the Russian people, usually because of pressure or societal norms. In Russia, this occurred in minority groups, mainly in Siberia, who believed that by conforming to Russian culture, they would have more opportunities in education and jobs.

🇨🇺 The Mariel Boatlift - 1980

The Mariel boatlift was the mass emigration of Cuban asylum seekers or “Marielitos” to Miami after Fidel Castro announced that Cuban refugees were allowed to leave the nation. Many of those who left Cuba chose to because of the oppressive communist government and the economy, which was suffering from increasing oil prices.

🇨🇴 Narcoterrorism in Colombia - 1983-Present

Narcoterrorism is the act of using violence and intimidation towards anti-narcotics police in an attempt to influence a government’s enforcement of drug laws, which was commonly used by Colombia drug lord Pablo Escobar. This occurs frequently in Colombia due to the nation’s large production of cocaine and international trade of the substance.

🇰🇼 Persian Gulf War - 1990-1991

The Persian Gulf War was fought between the United States and Iraq over the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait and the formation of a puppet state in the nation. Iraq invaded Kuwait over accusations that the nation stole petroleum through a method called directional drilling and Kuwait's increasing petroleum production industry, which lowered Iraqi profits and caused competition.

🆕 Collapse of the Soviet Union - 1991

🇦🇲 🇦🇿 🇧🇾 🇪🇪 🇬🇪 🇰🇿 🇰🇬 🇱🇻 🇱🇹 🇲🇩 🇷🇺 🇹🇯 🇹🇲 🇺🇦 🇺🇿

Due to President Mikhail Gorbachev’s policies of glasnost and perestroika, the Soviet Union collapsed and separated into fifteen newly-independent states. After this event, the new nations (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Estonia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan) formed a group called the Commonwealth of Independent States.

🇿🇦 ✊🏿 End of Apartheid in South Africa - 1994

Apartheid was a policy of racial discrimination in South Africa that caused Indian, mixed-race, and black South Africans to be treated poorly, while white South Africans had high status in society. The policy ended due to negotiations made between the African National Congress, influential figures such as Nelson Mandela, and F.W. de Klerk, the President of South Africa at the time.

🇷🇼 Rwandan Genocide - 1994

The Rwandan Genocide was the mass murder of the Tutsi ethnic group by the Hutu, who believed that Rwandan President Juvénal Habyarimana and Burundian President Cyprien Ntaryamira were assassinated by Tutsi. 

🤝 🇺🇸🇨🇦🇲🇽 Creation of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) - 1994

The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) was formed in order to eliminate tariffs and other trade barriers between Canada, the United States, and Mexico, the member states of the organization. Because of the increased trade between the three nations, foreign investment increased and consumer prices decreased.

🇸🇴 United States involvement in Somalia - 1992-1994

The United States became involved in Somalia after discovering that the nation’s warlords and pirates were preventing humanitarian aid from reaching the country, which was suffering from a famine at the time. President George H.W. Bush sent troops to the nation in an operation known as Operation Restore Hope, which was supported by member states of the United Nations.

🇸🇩 🇸🇸 Second Sudanese Civil War - 1983-2005

The Second Sudanese Civil War was fought between the Sudanese government and the Sudan People’s Liberation Army, a guerilla movement that fought for the independence of South Sudan and against the Islamization of the Christian-majority region. The war ended in a stalemate, but in 2011, South Sudan gained its independence from Sudan and became a separate nation.

👳🏾‍♂️ Formation of the Taliban - 1994

The Taliban is an Afghan political, religious, and military organization that has enforced a strict form of Sharia law concerning modest dress for men and women, educational and civil rights for women, and censorship in the media. 

✈️ September 11 Attacks - 2001

The September 11 attacks, also known as 9/11, were a series of four terrorist attacks on the United States by al-Qaeda, an extremist terrorist group that promotes a strict, ultraconservative form of Sharia law. On this day, two hijacked planes were deliberately crashed into the Twin Towers, one crashed into the Pentagon, and another crashed into an empty field.

💸 Global Financial Crisis - 2007-2010

The Global Financial Crisis, also known as the Financial Crisis of 2007-2008, was an economic crisis caused by the devaluation of the subprime mortgage market and the bankruptcy filing of the Lehman Brothers. The financial effects of the crisis were felt worldwide even after it officially ended, which is why many economists consider its end to be in 2010.

✊🏾 Arab Spring - 2010-2012

Arab Spring was a series of protests, demonstrations, and sit-ins against the governments of Arab nations over political oppression and the self-immolation of Mohamed Bouazizi. This event led to growing support for democracy in Arab nations, rather than the autocracy and authoritarianism of their current administrations.

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