Examine causes and consequences of a significant historical event
Domain 5 (AS 91233) is an external standard on causes and consequences. You need to explain multiple causes, distinguish long-term and short-term factors, and assess consequences for different groups, including intended and unintended ones.
Core rules
- Avoid single-cause explanations.
- Separate underlying causes, immediate triggers and contributing factors.
- Explain causal links, not just list events.
- Classify consequences: political, economic, social, cultural; short and long term.
- Judge significance and severity, and note uneven effects.
Worked example: the Waikato War, 1863–64
Long-term causes included settler demand for land, Crown pressure for sovereignty, and Māori determination to retain land and authority through the Kīngitanga. A trigger was Governor George Grey's invasion of Waikato in July 1863, justified by fears for Auckland and by the King Movement's refusal to submit. The war's consequences included raupatu (confiscation) under the New Zealand Settlements Act 1863, the loss of Waikato-Tainui land, the pushing of the Kīngitanga into the King Country, and lasting impoverishment. A long-term consequence was the Waikato Raupatu Claims Settlement Act 1995, with a Crown apology and settlement. These consequences were intended by the Crown in part (land acquisition and control) and unintended in part (enduring grievance and political organising).
Traps
- Naming one cause and ignoring others.
- Confusing a trigger with a cause.
- Listing consequences without explaining their effects.
- Ignoring Māori causes and consequences.
- Assuming consequences were the same for all New Zealanders.