---
title: "Unit 1 – Renaissance and Exploration - AP European History"
description: "Review Unit 1 – Renaissance and Exploration for AP European History with Fiveable study guides and practice resources."
canonical: "https://fiveable.me/ap-euro/unit-1"
type: "unit"
subject: "AP European History"
unit: "Unit 1 – Renaissance and Exploration"
---

# Unit 1 – Renaissance and Exploration - AP European History

## Overview

Review Unit 1 – Renaissance and Exploration for AP European History with Fiveable study guides and practice resources.

## Study Guides

- [1.6 Age of Exploration](/ap-euro/unit-1/technological-advances-age-exploration/study-guide/1enqWWyjgHxXchQ2fAtx)
- [1.9 The Slave Trade](/ap-euro/unit-1/slave-trade/study-guide/7RVHQchSK1V4h7vmW3av)
- [1.7 Colonial Rivals](/ap-euro/unit-1/rivals-on-world-stage/study-guide/AQGvhBaMGnqBa1T9YLtY)
- [1.8 Columbian Exchange](/ap-euro/unit-1/colonial-expansion-columbian-exchange/study-guide/CxmG7ZCQmiejHAC2qsLU)
- [1.5 New Monarchies: 1450 - 1648](/ap-euro/unit-1/new-monarchies-1450-1648/study-guide/GMVwZzUbpNd5q0X4WzsD)
- [1.1 Context of the Renaissance](/ap-euro/unit-1/context-renaissance/study-guide/IKrpc3MVOhpmpRrJXG6m)
- [1.10 The Commercial Revolution](/ap-euro/unit-1/commercial-revolution/study-guide/MjTh9WrwQoj3Xp9ruFz0)
- [1.2 Italian Renaissance](/ap-euro/unit-1/italian-renaissance/study-guide/RGO3uYzzg18wdUjgwGdK)
- [1.4 Printing](/ap-euro/unit-1/printing/study-guide/XZd2qonSjHGT7ZV8uGNv)
- [1.11 Causation in the Renaissance and Age of Discovery](/ap-euro/unit-1/causation-age-discovery/study-guide/n03samABJtjkaPPOT9SB)
- [1.3 Northern Renaissance](/ap-euro/unit-1/northern-renaissance/study-guide/tAaasYDj1zYBat2eNLCR)

## FAQs

### What topics are covered in AP Euro Unit 1?

AP Euro Unit 1 covers 11 topics spanning the Renaissance and Exploration: Italian Renaissance, Northern Renaissance, Printing, New Monarchies, Technological Advances and the Age of Exploration, Rivals on the World Stage, Colonial Expansion and the Columbian Exchange, The Slave Trade, and The Commercial Revolution. The unit opens with contextualizing the Renaissance and closes with causation across the whole period. See the full topic list and study materials at [/ap-euro/unit-1](/ap-euro/unit-1).

### How much of the AP Euro exam is Unit 1?

AP Euro Unit 1 makes up 6-8% of the AP exam. That covers the Renaissance, including the Italian Renaissance and Northern Renaissance, plus the Age of Discovery, the Columbian Exchange, the Slave Trade, and the Commercial Revolution. It's a smaller unit by weight, but its themes of causation and continuity show up across later units too.

### What's on the AP Euro Unit 1 progress check (MCQ and FRQ)?

The AP Euro Unit 1 progress check includes both MCQ and FRQ parts drawn from all 11 topics in the Renaissance and Exploration unit. The MCQ section tests your reading of primary sources and historical arguments on topics like the Italian Renaissance, the printing press, New Monarchies, and the Columbian Exchange. The FRQ part typically asks you to explain causation or continuity and change, pulling from topics like Technological Advances and the Age of Exploration, the Slave Trade, and the Commercial Revolution. For matched practice on every progress check topic, visit [/ap-euro/unit-1](/ap-euro/unit-1).

### How do I practice AP Euro Unit 1 FRQs?

AP Euro Unit 1 FRQs most often ask you to explain causation or continuity and change across the Renaissance and Age of Discovery. Strong FRQ topics include the causes of the Italian Renaissance, the impact of the printing press, the role of New Monarchies in enabling exploration, and the effects of the Columbian Exchange and the Commercial Revolution. To practice, write out a thesis that makes a historically defensible claim, then support it with specific evidence from at least two topics. You can find FRQ prompts and rubric guidance at [/ap-euro/unit-1](/ap-euro/unit-1).

### Where can I find AP Euro Unit 1 practice questions?

The best place to find AP Euro Unit 1 practice questions, including multiple-choice and practice test sets, is [/ap-euro/unit-1](/ap-euro/unit-1). You'll find MCQs covering the Italian Renaissance, the printing press, the Age of Discovery, and the Commercial Revolution, along with short-answer and FRQ practice. Working through a mix of question types is the fastest way to spot which topics need more review before the exam.

### How should I study AP Euro Unit 1?

Start AP Euro Unit 1 by building a clear timeline from the Italian Renaissance through the Commercial Revolution, so you can see how one development caused the next. Focus first on the big causal chains: how classical scholarship sparked the Renaissance, how the printing press spread ideas, how New Monarchies funded exploration, and how the Age of Discovery reshaped global trade through the Columbian Exchange and the Slave Trade. Then practice writing causation claims using specific evidence from at least two topics. A few concrete steps that help:
- Sketch a cause-and-effect map connecting the 11 topics
- Review primary sources on the Italian Renaissance and Northern Renaissance separately, noting differences in focus
- Write one short paragraph explaining the Commercial Revolution as an economic consequence of exploration
- Test yourself with MCQs at [/ap-euro/unit-1](/ap-euro/unit-1) to check retention before moving to Unit 2

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