Reference no: EM131630156

Obi. 5. But what warrant have we to take that land, which is and hath been of long tyme possessed of others the sons of Adam?

Am. That which is common to all is proper to none. This savage people ruleth over many lands without title or prop-erty; for they inclose no ground, neither have they cattell to maintayne it, but remove their dwellings as they have occa-sion, or as they can prevail against their neighbours. And why may not christians have liberty to go and dwell amongst them in their waste lands and woods (leaving them such places as they have manured for their come) as lawfully as Abraham did among the Sodomites? For God hath given to the sons of men a twofould right to the earth; there is a naturall right and a civil right. The first right was natural! when men held the earth in common, every man sowing and feeding where he pleased: Then, as men and cattell increased, they appropriated some parcels of ground by enclosing and peculiar manu¬ranee, and this in tyme got them a civil right. Such was the right which Ephron the Hittite had to the field of Machpelah, wherein Abraham could not bury a dead corpse without leave, though for the out parts of the countrey which lay common, he dwelt upon them and tooke the fruite of them at his plea¬sure. This appears also in Jacob and his sons, who fedd their flocks as bouldly in the Canaanites land, for he is said to be lord of the country; and at Dotham and all other places men accounted nothing their owne, but that which they had appropriated by their own industry, as appears plainly by Abimelech's servants, who in their own countrey did often contend with Isaac's servants about wells which they had digged; but never about the lands which they occupied. So likewise betweene Jacob and Laban; he would not take a kidd of Laban's without special) contract but he makes no bargaine with hint for the land where he fedd. And it is probable that if the countrey had not been as free for Jacob as for Laban, that covetuous wretch would have made his advantage of him, and have upbraided Jacob with it as he did with the rest. 2dly, There is more than enough for them and us. 3dly, God hath consumed the natives with a miraculous plague, whereby the greater part of the country is left voide of inhabitants. 4thly, We shall come in with good leave of the natives.

Questions

1. By what right does Winthrop believe the English settlers are entitled to the Indians' lands? What authority does Winthrop invoke?

2. What attitudes toward the Native Americans does Winthrop exhibit? Do you think that these attitudes were typical of all English settlers? Explain.

3. Winthrop (a lawyer) argues that there are two different rights to the use of land: a "natural" right and a "civil" right. What does he mean by this, and how does it affect his response to the question in the title of this document?