Collected AP European History essays

Below are essay questions collected from about 1977 to 2006 arranged in chronological order within each topic.

COLLECTED ESSAY QUESTIONS FROM PAST AP TESTS to 2006

I have answers stored in my computer for 1999-2009

RENAISSANCE

REFORMATION

RELIGIOUS WARS

AGE OF EXPLORATION

ABSOLUTISM AND CONSTITUTIONALISM

1600s and 1700s SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC CHANGE

SCIENTIFIC REVOLUTION

ENLIGHTENMENT

FRENCH REVOLUTION AND NAPOLEONIC ERA

POST FRENCH REVOLUTION AND CONGRESS OF VIENNA

ITALY AND GERMANY 1800s to 1900s

INDUSTRIAL AND SOCIAL REVOLUTION

-ISMS, inc. NATIONALISM, IMPERIALISM

1700s and 1800s SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC CHANGES (add 1900s?)

IMPERIALISM

RUSSIAN REVOLUTION – Russian history

WORLD WAR I

AGE OF ANXIETY AND BETWEEN THE WARS

WORLD WAR II

COLD WAR

WOMEN

ARTS IMAGES

Medieval review

DBQ Popes and Kings in conflict

RENAISSANCE Top of the Document

1. European monarchs of the late fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries are often referred to as the “New Monarchs.” What was “new” about them? Do their actions warrant this label? (1979)

2. Compare and contrast the cultural values of the Enlightenment with those of the sixteenth-century Northern Renaissance.(1982)

3. To what extent is the term “Renaissance” a valid concept for a distinct period in early modern European history? (1985)

4. Explain the ways in which Italian Renaissance humanism transformed ideas about the individual’s role in society. (1994)

5. Compare and contrast the patronage of the arts by Italian Renaissance rulers with that of dictators of the 1930s. (1996)

6. Discuss how Renaissance ideas are expressed in the Italian art of the period, referring to specific works and artists. (1998)

7. 2002B (#5): Describe and analyze the differences in the ways in which artists and writers portrayed the individual during the Italian Renaissance and the Romantic era of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries.

8. 2003B (#3): To what extent and in what ways did women participate in the Renaissance?

9. 2004 (#5): Analyze the influence of humanism on the visual arts in the Italian Renaissance. Use at least THREE specific works to support your analysis

10. 2005 (#3): Using examples from at least two different states, analyze the key features of the “new monarchies” and the factors responsible for their rise in the period 1450 to 1550.

11. Compare and contrast the relationship between the artist and society in the Renaissance/Reformation period to the relationship between the artist and society in the late 19th century. (2006)

12. Evaluate the influence of Renaissance humanism on Catholic reforms and the Protestant Reformation. (2007 form B #2)

13. Evaluate the changes and continuities in women’s public roles during the Renaissance. (2009 form B #2)

14. Analyze the ways in which the two works above, Perugino’s Christ Delivering the Keys of the Kingdom to Saint Peter (1481–1483) on the left, and Michelangelo’s David (1501–1504) on the right, represent the values of Italian Renaissance culture. (see Arts Images section of this doc), (2010, Form B)

15. Contrast Renaissance Florence with Reformation Geneva with respect to religion, government, and everyday life. (2011, Form B)

16. Analyze the factors that contributed to the increasing centralization of Spain and the factors that contributed to the continuing fragmentation of Italy in the period 1450–1550. (2011)

BACK REFORMATION Top of the Document

17. Trace the evolution of religious toleration as a political practice and assess the factors behind its development from the Reformation through the Enlightenment. (1977)

18. How did the disintegration of the medieval church and the coming of the Reformation contribute to the development of nation-states in Western Europe between 1450 and 1648? (1980)

19. “Luther was both a revolutionary and a conservative.”

Evaluate this statement with respect to Luther’s responses to the political and social questions of his day. (1983)

20. What were the responses of the Catholic authorities in the sixteenth century to the challenges posed by the Lutheran Reformation? (1985)

21. “The Reformation was a rejection of the secular spirit of the Italian Renaissance.”

Defend or refute this statement using specific examples from sixteenth century Europe. (1986) (ANSWER)

22. “The Protestant Reformation was primarily an economic event.” By describing and determining the relative importance of the economic, political, and religious causes of the Protestant Reformation, defend or refute this statement. (1987) (ANSWER)

23. Describe and analyze the ways in which the Roman Catholics defended their faith against the Protestant Reformation. (1991)

24. The pictures below and on the next page show the interiors of a Protestant church and a Roman Catholic Church as each appeared in the first half of the seventeenth century. Using these pictures as a starting point, explain how each of these interiors reflect the differing theologies and religious practices of Protestantism and Catholicism at that time. (1992) (ANSWER) 2 pictures

25. Compare and contrast the attitudes of Martin Luther and John Calvin toward political authority and social order. (1995)

26. Assess the extent to which the Protestant Reformation promoted new expectations about social roles in the sixteenth century. Refer to at least two social groups in your response. (1996)

27. Compare and contrast the Lutheran Reformation and the Catholic Reformation of the sixteenth century regarding the reform of both religious doctrines and religious practices. (1998)

28. Discuss the political and social consequences of the Protestant Reformation in the first half of the sixteenth century (2001 #4)

29. 2002B (#2): To what extent did political authorities influence the course of the Protestant Reformation in the sixteenth century?

30. Compare and contrast the motives and actions of Martin Luther in the German states and King Henry VIII in England in bringing about religious change during the Reformation. [2005 #4]

31. Analyze the aims, methods, and degree of success of the Catholic Reformation (Counter-Reformation) in the 16th century. (2006)

32. How and to what extent did the methods and ideals of Renaissance humanism contribute to the Protestant Reformation? (2006)B

33. Evaluate the influence of Renaissance humanism on Catholic reforms and the Protestant Reformation. (2007 form B #2)

34. Analyze the impacts of the Protestant Reformation and the Catholic Reformation (Counter Reformation) of the social order of sixteenth-century Europe. (2009 form B #3)

35. Analyze the various Protestant views of the relationship between church and state in the period circa 1500–1700. (2010)

36. Contrast Renaissance Florence with Reformation Geneva with respect to religion, government, and everyday life. (2011, Form B)

37. Analyze various ways in which religious reform in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries influenced the arts. (2012)

BACK RELIGIOUS WARS Top of the Document

38. Evaluate the relative importance of the religious rivalries and dynastic ambitions that shaped the course of the Thirty Years War. (1981)

39. Describe and analyze the ways in which the development of printing altered both the culture and the religion of Europe during the period 1450-1600. (1988) (ANSWER)

40. In 1519 Charles of Hapsburg became Charles V, Holy Roman emperor. Discuss and analyze the political, social, and religious problems he faced over the course of his imperial reign (1519-1556). (1990) (ANSWER)

41. Discuss the relationship between politics and religion by examining the wars of religion. Choose TWO specific examples from the following (1999):

Dutch Revolt

French Wars of Religion

English Civil War

Thirty Years’ War

42. Analyze at least TWO factors that account for the rise and TWO factors that explain the decline of witchcraft persecution and trials in Europe in the period from 1580 to 1750. [2002 #3]

43. Compare and contrast the religious policies of TWO of the following: [2002 #2]

Elizabeth I of England

Catherine de Médicis of France

Isabella I of Spain

44. 2003B (#6): Explain why Europe saw no lasting peace in the period between the Peace of Westphalia in 1648 and the Peace of Paris in 1763.

45. Account for the growth and decline of European witch-hunts in the period 1500 to 1650. [2005B #2]

46. Analyze the intellectual foundations of religious toleration in 18th century Europe. (2006) B

47. Analyze the reasons for the decline of the Holy Roman Empire as a force in European politics in the period 1517 to 1648. (2006-non released)

48. Analyze various ways in which the Thirty Years’ War (1618-1648) represented a turning point in European history. (2009 #6)

BACK AGE OF EXPLORATION Top of the Document

49. Explain how economic, technological, political, and religious factors promoted European explorations from about 1450 to about 1525. (1980)

50. In the Seventeenth Century, how did England and the Dutch Republic compete successfully with France and Spain for control of overseas territory and trade? (1982)

51. Analyze the changes in the European economy from about 1450 to 1700 brought about by the voyages of exploration and colonization. (1992) (ANSWER)

52. Focusing on the period before 1600, describe and analyze the cultural and economic interactions between Europe and the Western Hemisphere as a result of the Spanish and Portuguese exploration and settlement. (1997)

53. Describe and analyze how overseas expansion by European states affected global trade and international relations from 1600 to 1715. (2001 #3)

54. Explain how advances in learning and technology influenced fifteenth- and sixteenth-century European exploration and trade. (2003 #4)

55. Analyze the economic, technological, and institutional factors responsible for western Europe’s domination of world trade from 1650 to 1800. [2005 #7]

56. 2006 (#4): Analyze the effects of the Colombian exchange (the interchange of plants, animals, and diseases between the Old World and the New World) on the population and economy of Europe in the period 1550 to 1700.

BACK ABSOLUTISM AND CONSTITUTIONALISM Top of the Document

57. Compare and contrast the extent to which Catherine the Great and Joseph Stalin were “Westernizers.”

58. “By 1700 it had become evident that Western Europe and Eastern Europe were moving in opposite directions in terms of their basic social structures.” Discuss. (1978)

59. “Every successful revolution puts on in time the robes of the tyrant it has deposed.” Evaluate this statement with regard to the English Revolution (1640-1660), the French Revolution (1789-1815), and the Russian Revolution (1917-1930). (1978)

60. In the seventeenth century, England displayed little political stability, yet by the end of the century England had laid the foundations for constitutional monarchy. What were the political, social, economic, and religious factors and events that ultimately led to the Glorious Revolution?

61. In the seventeenth century, England and the Netherlands developed effective capitalist economies, while Spain did not. Why did the economies develop so differently in England and the Netherlands, on the one hand, and in Spain, on the other? (1979)

62. In the seventeenth century, what political conditions accounted for the increased power of both the Parliament in England and the monarchy in France? (1982) (ANSWER)

63. Analyze the major ways through which Tsar Peter the Great (1689-1725) sought to reform his society and its institutions in order to strengthen Russia and its position in Europe.(1985)

64. “In seventeenth-century England the aristocracy lost its privileges but retained its power; in seventeenth-century France the aristocracy retained its privileges but lost its power.”

Assess the accuracy of this statement with respect to political events and social developments in the countries in the seventeenth century. (1985)

65. Analyze the ways in which both the theory and practice of monarchy evolved in England from 1603 (the death of Elizabeth I) to 1688-1689 (the Glorious Revolution). (1987) (ANSWER)

66. Analyze the military, political, and social factors that account for the rise of Prussia between 1640 and 1786. (1991)

67. Describe and analyze the changes in the role of Parliament in English politics between the succession of James I and the Glorious Revolution. (1993)

68. Analyze the influence of the theory of mercantilism on the domestic and foreign policies of France, 1600-1715. (1995)

69. Compare and contrast the relationships between the great powers and Poland between 1772-1815 and 1918-1939. (1996)

70. “Leadership determines the fate of the country”;

Evaluate this quotation in terms of Spain’s experience under Phillip II. (2000)

71. 2002 (#5): In what ways and to what extent did absolutism affect the power and status of the European nobility in the period 1650 to 1750? Use examples from at least TWO countries.

72. 2002B (#3): Compare and contrast the goals and major policies of Peter the Great of Russia (ruled 1682-1725) with those of Frederick the Great of Prussia (ruled 1740-1786).

73. Louis XIV declared his goal was “one king, one law, one faith.”

Analyze the methods the king used to achieve this objective and discuss the extent to which he was successful. (2003 #3)

74. 2004B (#6): Compare and contrast the ways that seventeenth-century absolute monarchs and twentieth-century dictators gained and maintained their power.

75. Analyze the methods and degrees of success of Russian political and social reform from the period of Peter the Great (1689-1725) through Catherine the Great (1762-1796). (2008 #2)

76. Analyze the extent to which Frederick the Great of Prussia and Joseph II of Austria advanced and did not advance Enlightenment ideals during their reigns. (2009 #4)

77. Describe the challenges to royal authority in eastern Europe in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries and evaluate the effectiveness of those challenges. (2011, form B)

78. Analyze how the political and economic problems of the English and French monarchies led to the English Civil War and the French Revolution. (2011)

BACK 1600s and 1700s SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC CHANGE Top of the Document

79. In the seventeenth century, England and the Netherlands developed effective capitalist economies, while Spain did not. Why did the economies develop so differently in England and the Netherlands, on the one hand, and in Spain, on the other? (1979)

80. Compare the economic roles of the state under seventeenth-century mercantilism and twentieth-century communism. Illustrate your answer with reference to the economic system of France during Louis XIV’s reign under Colbert and of the Soviet Union under Stalin. (1981)

81. In the Seventeenth Century, how did England and the Dutch Republic compete successfully with France and Spain for control of overseas territory and trade? (1982)

82. “In the fifteenth century, European society was still centered on the Mediterranean region, but by the end of the seventeenth century, the focus of Europe had shifted north.”

Identify and analyze the economic developments between 1450 and 1700 that helped bring about this shift. (1989)

83. Analyze the changes in the European economy from about 1450 to 1700 brought about by the voyages of exploration and colonization. (1992) (ANSWER)

84. Analyze the influence of the theory of mercantilism on the domestic and foreign policies of France, 1600-1715. (1995)

85. Describe and analyze the economic, cultural, and social changes that led to and sustained Europe’s rapid population growth in the period from approximately 1650-1800. (1997)