"Objection 5: But what warrant have we to take that land, which is and has been of long time possessed of others, the

sons of Adam?

"That which is common to all is proper to none. This

savage people rule over many lands without title or property;

for they enclose no ground, neither have they cattle to

maintain it, but remove their dwellings as they have occasion,

or as they can prevail against their neighbors. And why may

not Christians have liberty to go and dwell amongst them in

their waste lands and woods Secondly, there is more

than enough for them and us. Thirdly, God has consumed the

natives with a miraculous plague, whereby the greater part

of the country is left void of inhabitants."

John Winthrop, General Considerations for the Plantation in

New England, 1629

The North American colonial settlements referenced in the

excerpt above tended to