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The Doctrine of Discovery was a set of legal principles. It was developed in the 15th and 16th centuries. It said European nations could claim new lands. If they claimed land, they could keep it. To be able to keep the land, Europeans couldn’t know about it before it was discovered. It also couldn’t have a Christian prince. Finally, the people of this land had to be considered “uncivilized” by Europeans. The doctrine is the basis of settler nations like Canada. These nations have both settler and Indigenous populations. However, the government and cultural norms are created by the settler population.
This article is a plain-language summary of Doctrine of Discovery. If you are interested in reading about this topic more in depth, please see our full-length entry, Doctrine of Discovery.
Background
The Doctrine of Discovery developed in Europe during the 15th and 16th centuries. However, the ideas for the doctrine go back to the 5th century. At that time, Europeans wanted to spread Christianity around the world. In the 14th and 15th centuries, Spain and Portugal started exploring, trading and conquering other lands. The pope released letters called papal bulls that established religious support for Spain and Portugal’s actions. The letters supported the conversion of Indigenous peoples to Christianity and gave Spain and Portugal rights to the land. They were the basis for France, England and the Netherlands to do the same.
England and France added to the Doctrine of Discovery. The doctrine required discovery, trade, conquest and the spreading of Christianity. England and France added that nations needed to also occupy claimed land. England also added the idea of terra nullius. Terra nullius is Latin for “nobody’s land.” England claimed land belonged to nobody if it didn’t have a government accepted by Europeans. They also claimed this if there were no people living on the land. Terra nullius also applied if a people were not recognized by European international law.
The doctrine aimed to prevent conflict between colonizing countries. However, conflict still happened. The doctrine was based upon European ideas of superiority.
McIntosh Decision
In 1823, the US Supreme Court helped solidify the definition of the Doctrine of Discovery. Chief Justice Marshall recognized the doctrine overlooked Indigenous peoples. However, his definition still prioritized the interests of Europeans. Marshall’s 10 aspects of the doctrine were:
- European nations that discovered land got to keep it;
- To keep the land, they needed to occupy it;
- Discovering nations were the only ones who could buy lands from Indigenous peoples;
- Indigenous nations could only occupy and use land. They didn’t own it;
- Indigenous nations could only deal with discovering nations;
- European claims were only to lands they occupied;
- European nations could occupy vacant lands. This included Indigenous peoples’ lands if they didn’t meet European expectations;
- Non-Christians did not have the same rights as Christians;
- “Uncivilized” nations, according to Europeans, did not have the same rights as others;
- “Just war” or implementing European laws counted as conquest over peoples and lands;
Doctrine of Discovery Today
The Doctrine of Discovery is the legal theory behind colonialism in Canada. It has guided colonists in their relationships with Indigenous peoples.
On 30 March 2023, Pope Francis rejected the Doctrine of Discovery. He recognized it allowed “forced assimilation.” He also acknowledged it did not respect “inherent human rights of indigenous peoples.” However, he did not reverse papal bulls that created the doctrine.
