You DO NOT have to know any dates for AP World Modern. BUT, Ben Freeman would argue knowing certain major events can give you an idea of the major themes and flow of the course.

Today, we see our first DOUBLE DATE. That’s right, 1603 had TWO MAJOR AP World Modern Events going on: The Founding of the Tokugawa Shogunate in Japan annnnnnnnd the establishment of the Dutch VOC’s first colony in Indonesia. These two seemingly unrelated events will eventually cross paths as the Tokugawa Shogunate shuts down Japan to most foreign trade, except China, Korea, and the DUTCH!