For documents key to the development of this theory among the English, see:

• Magna Carta, 1215 - Charter of the rights of nobles, "granted" to them by King John of England.
• Mayflower Compact, November 11, 1620 - Written by William Bradford, Governor of the Colony of Massachusetts.
• "Body of Liberties," December, 1641 - Act of the General Court of the Colony of Massachusetts

Theory of Inalienable Rights

Human rights (natural rights) are rights which some hold to be "inalienable" and belonging to all humans, according to natural law. Such rights are believed, by proponents, to be necessary for and the maintenance of a "reasonable" quality of life.

If a right is inalienable, that means it cannot be bestowed, granted, limited, bartered away, or sold away (e.g., one cannot sell oneself into slavery). The issue of which rights are inalienable and which are not (or whether any rights are inalienable rather than granted or bestowed) is an ancient and ongoing controversy. Rights may also be non-derogable (not limited in times of National Emergency)- these include the right to life, the right to be prosecuted only according to the laws that are in existence at the time of the offence, the right to be free from slavery, and the right to be free from torture.

"Inalienable," etymologically, comes from the French word inaliénable, and is more usually used in legal documents than "unalienable."

The creation of Natural Law Theory lies in Ancient Greece but many philosophers have built on the concept of natural law.

• According to Thomas Aquinas, Natural Law Theory is the claim that standards of morality are in some sense derived from the nature of the world and the nature of human beings. Aquinas also states that natural law is that part of the eternal law of God which is knowable by human beings by means of their powers of reason.  
• Bartolomé de las Casas realized and argued that Indians were free men in the natural order and deserved the same treatment as others, according to Catholic theology. Las Casas also used the book, The Destruction of the Indies, to bolster his position by recounting his experiences of the mistreatment of Indians.  
• Natural Law theory eventually gave rise to a concept of “natural rights”, as stated by John Locke. Locke argued that human beings in the state of nature are free and equal and when they enter society they surrender only such rights as are necessary for their security and for the common good.