How the Doctrine of Discovery became law As explorers pushed into the New World the papal bull and the idea of terra nullius fused into a legal concept known as the doctrine of discovery The. Indian Chiefs Bob Chamberlin about the Popes omission of the Doctrine of Discovery from his apology. Un Condemns Doctrine Of Discovery Ancient Maps America Map Antique Maps 8 hours agoIt is a legal concept based on 15th-century papal bulls or official declarations that gave the churchs blessing to European explorers discovering and exploiting land in the New World and. . It has its roots in a papal decree issued by Pope Nicholas V in 1452 that specifically sanctioned and promoted the conquest colonization and exploitation of non-Christian territories and peoples. It is most closely linked to the 1823 US case of Johnson v McIntosh. The doctrine of discovery refers to a principle in public international law under which when a nation discovers land it di