Doctrine of Discovery

This is the toddler version of “Mine!” applied to colonizing white supremacist European empires. The doctrine of discovery was used to justify the colonization and exploitation of lands and peoples by European powers. According to this doctrine, when a European nation “discovered” a territory that was unknown to other Europeans, it acquired the right to claim that territory and exclude other European nations from it. The doctrine also denied the sovereignty and rights of the indigenous peoples who lived on the land, and allowed the colonizers to enslave, convert, or dispossess them. The doctrine of discovery was introduced into United States law by the Supreme Court in 1823, and has been challenged by indigenous rights advocates and legal scholars. (See: Settler | Terra Nullius)