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by crashedsnow 2434 days ago
The migration of humans out of Africa?

Usually land ownership emerges as a concept alongside the development of agrarian cultures. If you're going to spend time cultivating land, you tend to want to defend it.

1 comments

It's probably more recent rather than less recent instances which both fit the conditions and are documentable.

The initial African diaspora occurred before historical records were being kept. Odds of either African or non-African land claims matching the condition of both being Terra Nullius and being documented through their entire history of possession are ... slim.

Historically recent island instances are more likely: Pitcairn, Falklands, St. George, etc. Azores as another response notes. Iceland is among the earliest virgin colonisations of land not previously permanently inhabited which has been documented from its start. I don't know enough of its specific history to know that it fits the conditions of continued lawful ownership transfers.

Mainland North and South America fail as they were previously inhabited. The various British Crown possessions are generally newer than Iceland, but might qualify under the lawful transfer requirement.

There might be instances along the Aleutian or Kuril island chains, though I doubt it. Possibly islands north of Siberia as well, though some might consider Communist rule a chain-of-ownership break.