The doctrine of discovery refers to a principle in public international law under which, when a nation “discovers” land, it directly acquires rights on that land.
More broadly, the doctrine of discovery can be described as an international law doctrine giving authorization to explorers to claim terra nullius – i.e. said inhabited land – in the name of their sovereign when the land was not populated by Christians.
This doctrine arose when white European nations discovered black and brown non-European lands, and therefore created, out of thin air, special rights, such as property and sovereignty rights, on those lands.
In fact, this doctrine was used in order to legitimize the colonization of lands outside of Europe.
Of course, this predatory principle disregards the fact that the land oftentimes is already inhabited by another nation or society.
