Papal bulls granted Christian colonizers title to lands held by non-Christians.

Evidence

The ruling incorporated the “Doctrine of Discovery,” which had emerged in international law from papal bulls issued as early as the 1400s that concluded that Christian colonizers could acquire lands they “discovered” from non-Christians. — Renae Ditmer, Johnson v. M’Intosh, 28

Categorization

• XREF: Doctrine of Discovery lineage traces to Inter Caetera (1493); pairs with the sacrifice article’s framing of sacral/religious authority legitimizing violence abroad.