Captain James Cook:

They are the natural, and in the strictest sense of the word, the legal possessors of the several Regions they inhabit. . .. They may naturally and justly attempt to repell intruders, whom they may apprehend are come to disturb them in the quiet possession of their country, whether that apprehension be well or ill founded.

— Captain James Cook Early Modern

Pacific explorer

Context

From his journal, a profound statement on indigenous rights and sovereignty, remarkable for his era.

Date / Period

1768-1779 (general period of his voyages and journal entries)

Source

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Cook_and_indigenous_peoples

Verification

Unverifiable

Explanation

Found in 1 providers: gemini

Method

Cross Reference

Sources Checked

1 source

More from Captain James Cook

"Ambition leads me not only farther than any other man has been before me, but as far as I think it possible for man to go."

Philosophical

"From what I have said of the Natives of New-Holland they may appear to some to be the most wretched people upon Earth, but in reality they are far more happier than we Europeans; being wholy unacquain…"

Philosophical

"I had the ambition to not only go farther than any man had been before, but as far as it was possible for a man to go."

Strange & Unusual

"They may appear human, but they are scarcely above brutes in their way of living."

Controversial

"I have taken possession of this land for His Majesty King George III, despite the natives' claims."

Controversial

View all sayings from Captain James Cook