Discuss the impact of Columbus’s exploration on the Americas.

The question requires that candidates offer a considered and balanced review of the impact of Columbus’s voyages of exploration on the Americas. The impact may extend beyond the timeframe, but it must be clearly linked to the issue raised in the question. Candidates may refer to the religious impact and discuss the attempts to convert the indigenous peoples to Christianity. Candidates may refer to economic effects and discuss, for example, the exchange of goods or the tributes imposed on the indigenous peoples. They may also consider the impact of the establishment of the encomienda system on the indigenous population. They may discuss the response to the arrival of Columbus and refer, for example, to the burning of the settlement of La Navidad in Haiti. While other relevant factors, for example the impact of Columbus’s exploration on encouraging further voyages of discovery, may be referred to, the bulk of the response will remain on the issue raised in the question.