Do indigenous peoples have the right to self-determination? If so what does the right contain?
The problem of indigenous peoples goes back a long way in history. In a sense, formulating the matter in this way itself give rise to serious problems. Why for example, is it a problem of indigenous peoples? It may rightly be argued that, far from being a problem of indigenous peoples, it is in fact a problem of the conquering or invading people. Nevertheless however it is formulated, it is an old problem. In the 15th century, during an era of intense exploitation, European explorers undertook many voyages to distant unknown lands; The Portuguese were the first European to make contact with West Africa in 1440. By 1498, Portuguese voyagers had traveled virtually right round Africa. In the 16th century, in their quest to find a more direct route to India, Spain and Portugal conquered what we today call south and North America and the West Indies.
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