Journalism is sometimes said to be the first draft of history. This article is the first draft of a history exam for students graduating in 2066. I have tried to imagine the questions future historians will ask about today’s political events.
To make the exercise more interesting, readers are invited to answer any of the questions below, from any section of the paper, and to send answers to essayquestion@ft.com. The three most interesting essays will be published online in the Financial Times. Answers should be received by September 20.
Candidates will notice that while some questions can be answered on the basis of currently available knowledge, others may require a degree of speculation about the future. Where appropriate, authors are allowed to use their imagination and intuition to fill in some details about events yet to unfold.