With reference to two societies, each from a different region, evaluate the impact of cross-cultural exchange.

The question requires that candidates make an appraisal of the impact of cross-cultural exchange, which may be positive or negative. The two societies must be from different regions but they may or may not have been contemporaneous with each other. Impact may extend beyond the timeframe but it must be clearly linked to the issue raised in the question. Candidates may offer equal coverage of the two societies, or they may emphasize their evaluation of one of them; however, both societies will be a feature of the response. A comparative approach may or may not be used. Candidates may refer, for example, to the social and cultural impact of the Spanish conquests in the Americas, the impact of Chinese pre-eminence in world trade at the beginning of the period or the burgeoning West African slave trade. Candidates may evaluate the impact of the spread of Islam in Africa, or of European settlement in North America. Both positive and negative effects must be clearly indicated but there does not need to be an equal focus on each.

The question required candidates to make an appraisal of the impact of cross-cultural exchange, which may have been positive or negative. Some responses were seen although these, for the most part, demonstrated some difficulty in determining the impact of cross-cultural exchange and tended to be rather descriptive.