The Doctrine of Discovery

©️MACFEST23 and BREJ Pacific

Meiva Vuniwai

What gave European explorers and colonial settlers the confidence to seize the lands Indigenous people and treat them inhumanely?

In the 14th century, the Pope and the empires of England, Spain, France, and Portugal divided the world among themselves, actively exploring and claiming territories. They seized lands that were already inhabited by Indigenous nations worldwide. To justify these actions, the Pope issued a papal bull, which outlined a series of declarations now known as the "Doctrine of Discovery."

What is the doctrine of discovery?

‘The Doctrine of Discovery’ provided instructions that Indigenous people are not human, as they don’t have sovereignty in government. It asserted that any land uninhabited by Christians or non-white people was open to be "discovered," claimed, and exploited. This principle of discovery gave European nations an absolute right to claim lands in the so-called "New World".  It was used by European monarchies to legitimize colonization, granting them automatic property rights over Indigenous lands and authority in governmental, political, and commercial matters concerning the inhabitants.

According to this principle, if an explorer claimed the land for a Christian European monarch, planted a flag, reported the "discovery" to European rulers, and returned to occupy it, the land was now theirs even if Indigenous people already lived there. Should the original occupants insist on claiming that the land is theirs, the “discoverer” can label the occupants’ way of being on the land inadequate and dismiss their presence as insufficient by European standards. This ideology justified the dehumanization, dispossession, violence, and forced assimilation of Indigenous people, fuelling white supremacy by positioning white European settlers as divinely appointed and culturally superior.

A significant consequence of this doctrine appeared in the 1823 U.S. Supreme Court case Johnson v. McIntosh ruled that, following independence, Indigenous people held no true land ownership within U.S. borders. The judge based this decision on the Doctrine of Discovery, arguing that since Europeans had "discovered" the land, they held true ownership, with Indigenous people having only a "right of occupancy."

The Doctrine of Discovery justified the most extreme demographic disaster in the history of the world. It justified the inhumane treatment of people of colour worldwide, the rightful owners of lands, the indigenous people. It caused damage, cultural displacement, and intergenerational trauma amongst indigenous people. Though the Doctrine of Discovery was written hundreds of years ago, it is still a concept that is still very much alive in indigenous society today, influencing our everyday life.

The Doctrine of Discovery made headlines again throughout the 1990s and in 2000, when many Catholics petitioned Pope John Paul II to formally revoke it and recognize the human rights of indigenous "non-Christian peoples." The Doctrine of Discovery was only officially revoked in March 2023 when the Vatican decried the doctrine as “not part of the teaching of the Catholic Church,” adding that the documents “have never been considered expressions of the Catholic faith.” It also recognized that the doctrine did not uphold the dignity and rights of Indigenous Peoples and was used to justify immoral acts against them.

The effects of the Doctrine of Discovery are still felt by Indigenous people to this very day. It is deeply woven into the fabric of our laws and systems, often making it challenging to recognize its influence in our present structures. Therefore, understanding our history is crucial, as it sheds light on today’s issues by tracing them back to their foundational roots.