Land, Economy, and Power

Overview

This is lesson 8 of 30 in Whenua, War, and Sovereignty. Students investigate how settler demand, land purchasing, the Native Land Court, and economic interests reshaped Māori land ownership and power. They build on earlier learning about Te Tiriti o Waitangi, Crown sovereignty, and competing understandings of whenua by analysing evidence from two case studies.

Learning intentions

Students will:

• explain why land became central to Crown and settler economic interests.
• describe how the Native Land Court changed collective Māori landholding.
• investigate how land purchasing and ownership systems affected different groups.
• annotate and weigh evidence to answer a historical focusing question.

Success criteria

• I can explain at least two reasons land was sought by settlers and the Crown.
• I can accurately describe how the Native Land Court changed the way land ownership was recorded.
• I can use evidence from different perspectives to explain consequences for Māori and settlers.
• I can identify a strength, limitation, or reliability issue in a source.

Curriculum links

• Carry out an inquiry of an historical event or place that is of significance to New Zealanders: preparing questions, annotating evidence, organising sources, and evaluating the inquiry.
• History at NCEA Level 2: investigating the relationship between evidence, perspectives, causation, and historical significance.
• Education for Sustainability: considering the social, cultural, economic, and environmental consequences of changing land-use and ownership systems.
• New Zealand Curriculum competencies: thinking; using language, symbols, and texts; participating and contributing.

Lesson structure (120 minutes)

1. 0–10 min · Retrieval hook. Teacher opens with the provocative land ownership opening and displays the question, “If land is held collectively, who has the authority to sell it?” Students complete a silent retrieval response linking Te Tiriti, tino rangatiratanga, kāwanatanga, and earlier learning about Crown sovereignty, then share one idea with a partner.

2. 10–28 min · Direct teaching: why land mattered. Teacher uses the land, economy, and power teaching sequence to explain settler demand for farms, towns, roads, and commercial development; Crown purchasing; the relationship between land, taxation, revenue, and political power; and the difference between Māori collective relationships with whenua and individualised ownership. Students construct a cause-and-consequence chain and distinguish between economic motives, political motives, and stated legal justifications.

3. 28–45 min · The Native Land Court diagram. Teacher models a before-and-after diagram using the Native Land Court diagram: customary collective relationships → investigation of title → named owners on a legal title → easier transfer or sale, while stressing that experiences varied by iwi, hapū, region, and time. Students complete the same diagram on the land ownership change organiser, adding one possible consequence at each stage and a question they still have.

4. 45–78 min · Paired source inquiry. Teacher distributes the case-study evidence in the paired case-study source pack. One case study focuses on the Native Land Court and individualised title; the other examines Crown or settler land purchasing and the pressure created by demand for land. Students work in pairs, annotating each source for: what it says, whose perspective it represents, how it answers the focusing question, what makes it useful, and what requires caution. They cross-reference at least two sources and record full source details for independent checking.

5. 78–98 min · Evidence conference and comparison. Teacher forms groups of six, combining three pairs. Each pair presents its strongest piece of evidence and one reliability concern; the group places evidence into a comparison table under Māori interests, Crown interests, settler interests, and consequences. Teacher prompts students to avoid treating “Māori” or “settlers” as single, uniform groups and asks, “Who gained authority, who lost control, and how can we tell?” Students agree on a supported group conclusion.

6. 98–113 min · Historical explanation. Teacher uses the evidence-to-argument writing prompt to model a paragraph structure: claim → specific evidence → explanation of significance → qualification or contrasting perspective. Students independently write a response to: “To what extent did changing land ownership systems increase Crown and settler power?” They must use two sources, explain one connection between economic and political interests, and include one qualification.

7. 113–120 min · Evaluation and exit ticket. Teacher displays the final evaluation and exit ticket and asks students to submit three brief responses: one important change, one piece of evidence they trust and why, and one limitation or unanswered question in the inquiry. Students hand in the completed organiser and paragraph for formative feedback.

Resources

• the complete Land, Economy, and Power slide deck
• the land ownership change organiser
• Projector or interactive display
• Printed source extracts and case-study evidence
• Highlighters in three colours
• Exercise books or digital writing space
• Board space for the class comparison table

Assessment

• Check retrieval responses and diagrams for accurate use of key concepts, correcting confusion between customary relationships, legal title, and physical occupation.
• During source inquiry, conference with pairs using the prompts “What does this prove?”, “Why is this source useful?”, and “What limits its reliability?”
• Collect the organiser, historical paragraph, and exit ticket to assess evidence selection, perspective, explanation, and evaluation of the inquiry process.

Differentiation

• Provide a glossary and sentence starters: “This source is useful because…”, “Its perspective is shaped by…”, and “This evidence suggests… however…”.
• Give selected students a partially completed ownership diagram and colour-coded source annotations; read complex extracts aloud and allow speech-to-text or typed responses where appropriate.
• Pair students strategically and assign roles such as reader, evidence finder, source evaluator, and recorder.
• Extend confident students by requiring comparison of two sources that disagree, consideration of regional variation, and a judgement about whether economic interests or legal mechanisms were more influential.