DISCOVERY (from discover, OF. descovrir, Fr. decouvrir. It. discoprire, from AIL. disco operire, to discover, from Lat. dis-„ away cooperire, to cover, from co-, together + operire, to cover) OF TERRITORY. As the foundation for claim of title this has ceased to he of prac tical importance with the disappearance of un explored regions, and has given place to occu pation as a means of conferring proprietary right-. International law considers discovery to give only inchoate title. which must be com pleted by occupation by settlement or military posts within a reasonable period. and the un timely interference of another State with the territory affected might justifiably be construed as a hostile act. What acts are sufficient to effect absolute title. and what is a reasonable time. can only he determined by consideration of the circumstances of each particular case. For instance, the act of discovery is valid until a proper time has elapsed for the preparation of an expedition for permanent occupation. But this presumption ceases when standing alone, compared with acts of continuous or actual set tlement by another power. Where exploration is made and other evidence of interest given. the extinction of the claim may he long postponed unless confronted by a definite act of appropria tion by another State without protest. So, in conclusion, it may be said that the intention of a State to take possession of territory discovered by its subjects must be promptly signified in sonic unmistakable manner, if it is to be avail able against foreign interests seeking a foothold. The same rule applies to occupation as a root of title.
The titles which Spain and Portugal first claimed in the New World were founded om Papal grants. In 1493 Alexander VI. granted to slain all lands beyond a line 100 leagues west of the Azores. This was later modified by treaty with Portugal fixing a new line 370 lea!mes west of the Cape Verde Islands. Such claims were dis
regarded by the Protestant Stales. which sent out agents commissioned to discover and acquire any 'heathen ]ands."fhese discoveries were made the basis of claim of title absolute, and were of practical value in giving significance to subsequent acts in themselves doubtful or in adequate. The discovery was followed by some formal act of possession in the planting of a flag or erection of a monument as notice of the intention of the State to whom the expedition belonged. The claims based on these discoveries and confirmed by later occupation and settlement developed the conflicts which have marked the history and determined the possession of the Western Continent. Writers on international law uniformly hold that discovery must be made by authorized agents of a State or that such act be promptly adopted by the Government. This was declared to have been the weakness in the American case in the Oregon Question (q.v.). Captain Gray entered the mouth of the Columbia River in 1792 in a trading vessel. No recogni tion was made by the United States Government at the time, and shortly afterwards Captain Vancouver, engaged in surveying the coast for the British Government, sailed several miles up its ,course. In IS11 the fur-trading post of Astoria was founded by the Pacific Fur Company. a private corporation. The dispute was settled by the Treaty of 1S40 without expressly conceding the American claim. Africa furnishes almost the only territory to which the principles of discovery and occupation now have a vital ap plication. In 1856 the United States adopted a code of rules to govern the rights of discovery of guano islands. Consult the authorities referred to under INTERNATIONAL LAw.