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Date November 2018 Marks available 15 Reference code 18N.3op1.HL.TZ0.10
Level Higher level only Paper Paper 3 (History of Africa and the Middle East) Time zone TZ0
Command term Discuss Question number 10 Adapted from N/A

Question

Discuss the factors that contributed to the emergence of a cosmopolitan Swahili culture.

Markscheme

The question requires that candidates offer a considered and balanced review that includes a range of factors that contributed to the emergence of a cosmopolitan Swahili culture. Evidence may include the development of Swahili as a regional lingua franca that facilitated the transmission of ideas. The development of Indian Ocean trading networks, particularly those that linked the coast to the Red Sea and Persian Gulf regions, led to the intermingling of cultures and the emergence of Swahili city states such as Kilwa, Malindi and Zanzibar. These acted as cosmopolitan hubs for the region. Traders from Arabia, Persia, Iran and Portugal settled in the cities and sometimes married African women. Other factors include the caravan routes from the Great Lakes region that brought influences from Central Africa. Candidates may conclude that the common faith of Islam worked as a gel that bound together diverse cultural influences.

Examiners report

[N/A]

Syllabus sections

HL options: first exams 2017 » HL option 1: History of Africa and the Middle East » 5: Trade and the rise and decline of African states and empires (800–1600) » Swahili city states: importance of the Indian Ocean trade in the rise and growth of the city states; emergence of a cosmopolitan Swahili culture
HL options: first exams 2017 » HL option 1: History of Africa and the Middle East » 5: Trade and the rise and decline of African states and empires (800–1600)
HL options: first exams 2017 » HL option 1: History of Africa and the Middle East
HL options: first exams 2017

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