What was the official policy of the British colonies toward the practi

What was the official policy of the British colonies toward the practice of “squatting,” or freely settling and cultivating the land?

(a) Squatting was encouraged as a way to promote settlement of the land.
(b) Colonial officials discouraged squatting because the indigenous populations legally owned land.
(c) There was no policy toward the practice of “squatting”; it was left to the individual settlers.
(d) The official policy opposed squatting because it did not involve a formal transfer of ownership.

ANSWER

(d)