How and why do things happen?
Things never just
happen…
What do we mean by this?
See if you understand from this example…
Alphonse the Camel
Once upon a time there was a camel (called Alphonse). For various reasons
(relating to an unfortunate accident during his birth) the camel had severe
back problems. This was not the end of his misfortune, however, because he
had an evil exploitative owner (called Frank the Camel Killer) who regularly
overloaded his camels prior to taking them on gruelling and totally
unnecessary round trips up and down mountains on his way to deliver goods
to his customers. These customers, shockingly, were completely indifferent to
these frequent and gross violations of the rights of camels and found Frank
and his antics at least vaguely endearing. Well, one Friday, Frank had just
finished loading-up Alphonse and his poor exploited fellow creatures for yet
another gruelling and totally unnecessary round trip up and down the
mountains. He had piled and piled and piled up the goods onto Alphonse’s
back and was taking a break and reflecting smugly on his handywork, chewing
a straw. On a whim he decided to add the bedraggled straw he had been
chewing to Alphonse’s load. Alphonse groaned obligingly. He eyed his owner
with disgust. He keeled over and died of radical and irreversible back collapse.
What are the reasons for
Alphonse’s death?
Alphonse the Camel
Once upon a time there was a camel (called Alphonse). For various reasons (relating to
an unfortunate accident during his birth) the camel had severe back problems. This
was not the end of his misfortune, however, because he had an evil exploitative owner
(called Frank the Camel Killer) who regularly overloaded his camels prior to taking
them on gruelling and totally unnecessary round trips up and down mountains on his
way to deliver goods to his customers. These customers, shockingly, were completely
indifferent to these frequent and gross violations of the rights of camels and found
Frank and his antics at least vaguely endearing. As Frank’s customers got to know that
Alphonse would not react to Frank kicking him, some of the customers started to kick
Alphonse too.
Well, one Friday, Frank had just finished loading-up Alphonse and his poor exploited
fellow creatures for yet another gruelling and totally unnecessary round trip up and
down the mountains. He had piled and piled and piled up the goods onto Alphonse’s
back and was taking a break and reflecting smugly on his handywork, chewing a straw.
On a whim he decided to add the bedraggled straw he had been chewing to
Alphonse’s load. Alphonse groaned obligingly. He eyed his owner with disgust. He
keeled over and died of radical and irreversible back collapse.
Draw a diagram showing the reasons
for Alphonse’s death…
Alphonse dies of
a broken back
Was it the Frank’s straw that killed Alphonse?
Look at your diagram…
• What was the very last thing that happened to
Alphonse before he died?
• What problems did Alphonse have when he
was a young camel?
• What problems other problems did Alphonse
face when Frank became his owner?
• What problems developed while Alphonse
worked for Frank?
Think chronology…
TRIGGER
(HE DROPPED
DOWN DEAD
BECAUSE OF THIS)
SHORT-TERM CAUSE
(THING THAT
HAPPENED JUST
BEFORE HE DIED or
PROBLEMS THAT HAD
GOTTEN WORSE)
MEDIUM-TERM
CAUSE
(PROBLEMS THAT
HAPPENED WHEN
HE WAS YOUNG)
LONG-TERM
CAUSE
(PROBLEMS THAT
HAD EXISTED
SINCE BIRTH)
Was it really the straw that broke the camel’s back?!
Which of these theories do you agree with?
Which do you disagree with?
1. The straw triggered Alphonse’s death.
2. The straw was the only cause of Alphonse’s death.
3. It was Alphonse’s back problem which sparked his death.
4. All of Alphonse’s problems were because of the way Frank treated
him.
5. All the unnecessary walking accelerated Alphonse’s death.
6. The customers who kicked Alphonse contributed to his death
What do you think killed the camel?
Look at the reasons on your diagram.
What reasons do you think made Alphonse’s back
problem worse?
What reasons do you think might not have had a direct
affect of his back but did not help?
What reasons do you think could not have been changed
or stopped?
Think: What do you think caused the death of Alphonse?
Discuss: Discuss your ideas with your partner.
Remember to ask them to explain WHY they think this.
Explain: What do you think caused Alphonse’s death?
How does this apply to History?
Why did the Second World War
happen?
• The Second World War
started in 1939
• The main countries
involved were Germany,
Britain and France
• The war started when
Germany invaded Poland
• Britain gave Germany 3
days to stop their invasion
• Germany didn’t so Britain
declared war
This explains what happened just
before war between Britain and
Germany started. These are
some of the reasons or CAUSES
of the Second World War.
However there are other CAUSES.
In fact many of the causes of the
Second World War are linked to
the First World War that ended in
1918. Therefore in order to
understand WHY the Second
World War started historians
need to understand things that
happened before.