Which groups did not grant ownership of the fee in their original land grants?

The correct choice, indicating that France, Spain, and Mexico did not grant ownership of the fee in their original land grants, is accurate because these nations had different legal frameworks pertaining to land tenure compared to other regions.

In their colonial practices, France, Spain, and Mexico typically operated under a system of land grants that allowed settlers or individuals to use and occupy land but did not convey full ownership of the land itself in the way that English common law did. Instead, these grants were more about permissions to use land, subject to the overarching control of the crown or government, which retained ultimate title and rights over the property. This is in contrast to the concept of fee simple ownership typically found in territory controlled by other colonial powers, where landowners could hold complete and unrestricted rights to their land.

The implications of this approach influenced land use, rights to resources, and the legal relationships between settlers and the state in these regions. Understanding this distinction is crucial for grasping the legal history of land ownership and the evolution of property rights in North America.