European land claims became valid only through sovereign legal authorization

Evidence

Columbus relied on papal authority, religious rituals of appropriation, and redemptive invocation, but his claims to the land in the name of the Spanish Crown were taken to be valid only when legally authorized by that sovereign power. Furthermore, Columbus usually insisted on some legalistic recording of discovery by a notary. — David Theo Goldberg, John Solomos, A Companion to Racial and Ethnic Studies, 220

Categorization

• DEFINE: Shows discovery’s legitimating basis shifting from papal/universal to monarchical/national legal authority.
• corroborated: 2 independent passages support this claim — David Theo Goldberg, John Solomos, A Companion to Racial and Ethnic Studies, 220