History as Legitimacy

Historical narratives are interwoven in all categories of secular claims to territory. Nevertheless, “history” merits separate attention since it has emerged in recent decades as singularly important, contentious, and even sensational. Appeals to secular history began to become significant after the Enlightenment through the nineteenth century. Before then and to the present it is theology that has often connected peoples to territory both through interpretations of the past and expectations for the future. The function of theology in supporting legitimacy is treated in later chapters. This chapter examines how territorial rights are legitimated without reference to the presumed role of God in the past and to divine intentions.