The USA passed an Act in 1856, the Guano Islands Act, which provided for what?

Question

A statute passed by the General Court of Connecticut in the USA in 1783, under the title "An Act for the Encouragement of Literature and Genius" was the first in the USA to legislate for what?

Answer 1

Taking possession of any unclaimed islands which had guano deposits
The law authorised citizens of the United States to take possession, in the name of the United States, of unclaimed islands containing guano deposits. The islands could be located anywhere, so long as they were not occupied and not within the jurisdiction of another government. There does not seem to have been provision for the opinions of other countries which were near those areas.