Natural law theory initially recognized Indians as holding sovereign title to their lands
Evidence
Columbus claimed (Vitoria, 1934 - first published 1557). He reached this result by finding that natural law, in the form of a universalized “law of nations,” would only support title acquired by discovery where the lands discovered were deserted. This was not the case with any of the Spanish claims to the Americas. Indeed, for Vitoria the Indians already had that dominium — a combination of sovereign and proprietary title - which in natural law attached to all “men.” They were even similar to the Spanish in having families, hierarchical government, legal institutions, and something like religion. In all, the Indians had the accoutrements of natural law and were participating subjects in that law. — David Theo Goldberg, John Solomos, A Companion to Racial and Ethnic Studies, 222 (
#expands, via linked claim)
Categorization
- XREF: connects to: Indian land was held in common by each tribe rather than in severalty. — Supreme Court of the United States (Marshall Court, 1823), Johnson & Graham’s Lessee v. M’Intosh,…, 119; The same legal principle licensed both Indian rights and their dispossession; Natural law granted Indians sovereign title that barred Spanish discovery claims — David Theo Goldberg, John Solomos, A Companion to Racial and Ethnic Studies, 222 (+6 more)
Broader Connections
- Natural law granted Indians sovereign title that barred Spanish discovery claims
#expands(0.92) — David Theo Goldberg, John Solomos, A Companion to Racial and Ethnic Studies, 222 - Defending indigenous sovereignty helped legitimate colonial dispossession
#complicates(0.88) - Humanist defenses of native rights legitimized imperial acquisition
#complicates(0.85) - Courts legally confirmed unbounded colonial power over native populations
#complicates(0.78) — David Theo Goldberg, The Racial State, 70 - A nineteenth-century legal theory grounded rights in unequal natural capacities.
#complicates(0.75) — Jessica Whyte, The Morals of the Market, 80