Denization is an obsolete or defunct process in
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...
and
Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel, the Irish Sea, and St George's Channel. Ireland is the s ...
and the later
Kingdom of Great Britain
The Kingdom of Great Britain (officially Great Britain) was a sovereign country in Western Europe from 1 May 1707 to the end of 31 December 1800. The state was created by the 1706 Treaty of Union and ratified by the Acts of Union 1707, wh ...
, the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...
, and the
British Empire
The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts e ...
, dating back to the 13th century, by which an
alien
Alien primarily refers to:
* Alien (law), a person in a country who is not a national of that country
** Enemy alien, the above in times of war
* Extraterrestrial life, life which does not originate from Earth
** Specifically, intelligent extrater ...
(foreigner), through
letters patent
Letters patent ( la, litterae patentes) ( always in the plural) are a type of legal instrument in the form of a published written order issued by a monarch, president or other head of state, generally granting an office, right, monopoly, tit ...
, became a denizen, thereby obtaining certain rights otherwise normally enjoyed only by the
King's (or Queen's) subjects, including the right to
hold land. The denizen was neither a subject (with
citizenship
Citizenship is a "relationship between an individual and a state to which the individual owes allegiance and in turn is entitled to its protection".
Each state determines the conditions under which it will recognize persons as its citizens, and ...
or
nationality
Nationality is a legal identification of a person in international law, establishing the person as a subject, a ''national'', of a sovereign state. It affords the state jurisdiction over the person and affords the person the protection of t ...
) nor an alien, but had a status akin to
permanent residency today. While one could become a subject via
naturalisation, this required a
private act of Parliament (or latterly of a
colonial legislature); in contrast, denization was cheaper, quicker, and simpler. Denization fell into obsolescence when the
British Nationality and Status of Aliens Act 1914 simplified the naturalisation process.
Denization occurred by a grant of letters patent,
an exercise of the
royal prerogative
The royal prerogative is a body of customary authority, privilege and immunity, recognized in common law and, sometimes, in civil law jurisdictions possessing a monarchy, as belonging to the sovereign and which have become widely vested in th ...
. Denizens paid a fee and took an
oath of allegiance
An oath of allegiance is an oath whereby a subject or citizen acknowledges a duty of allegiance and swears loyalty to a monarch or a country. In modern republics, oaths are sworn to the country in general, or to the country's constitution. Fo ...
to the crown. For example, when Venetian mariner Gabriel Corbet was granted letters of denization in 1431 for service upon the seas to
Henry V Henry V may refer to:
People
* Henry V, Duke of Bavaria (died 1026)
* Henry V, Holy Roman Emperor (1081/86–1125)
* Henry V, Duke of Carinthia (died 1161)
* Henry V, Count Palatine of the Rhine (c. 1173–1227)
* Henry V, Count of Luxembourg (121 ...
and
Henry VI, he was required to pay 40 shillings into the
hanaper for the privilege.
The status of denizen allowed a foreigner to purchase property, although a denizen could not inherit property.
Sir William Blackstone
Sir William Blackstone (10 July 1723 – 14 February 1780) was an English jurist, judge and Tory politician of the eighteenth century. He is most noted for writing the ''Commentaries on the Laws of England''. Born into a middle-class family in ...
wrote "A denizen is a kind of middle state, between an alien and a natural-born subject, and partakes of both." The denizen had limited political rights: he could vote, but could not be a member of parliament or hold any civil or military office of trust.
Denizenship has also been compared to the Roman ''
civitas sine suffragio'', although the rights of denizens were restricted by the
Act of Settlement 1701
The Act of Settlement is an Act of the Parliament of England that settled the succession to the English and Irish crowns to only Protestants, which passed in 1701. More specifically, anyone who became a Roman Catholic, or who married one, be ...
, not by
common
Common may refer to:
Places
* Common, a townland in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland
* Boston Common, a central public park in Boston, Massachusetts
* Cambridge Common, common land area in Cambridge, Massachusetts
* Clapham Common, originally ...
or
immemorial law.
Denization was expressly preserved by the
Naturalisation Act 1870 and by s25 of the
British Nationality and Status of Aliens Act 1914. According to the British Home Office, the last denization was granted to the Dutch painter
Lawrence Alma-Tadema in 1873; the Home Office considered it obsolete when the
Prince of Pless applied for it in 1933, and instructed him to apply for naturalisation instead. The
British Nationality Act 1948, a major reform of citizenship law in Britain, made no mention of denization and neither abolished nor preserved the practice.
Denization, as an exercise of royal power, was applicable throughout the British dominion to all British subjects. That is, it was exercisable in the colonies. For example, denization occurred in the colony of
New South Wales
)
, nickname =
, image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates:
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, es ...
. As in Britain, the practice became obsolete to naturalisation, with the last known denization in 1848.
The term ''denizen'' may also refer to any
national of a country, whether citizen or non-citizen, with a right to remain in and return to the country. In the United States, unassimilated
Native Americans, although born on U.S. soil, were not deemed to be citizens of the United States or any state, but of a
domestic dependent nation
Tribal sovereignty in the United States is the concept of the inherent authority of indigenous tribes to govern themselves within the borders of the United States.
Originally, the U.S. federal government recognized American Indian tri ...
contained within the United States. However, in 1924 the
Indian Citizenship Act, made all Native Americans born in the United States and its territories American citizens.
See also
*
Metic
*
Permanent resident
References
{{reflist
*Edmund G. Berry,
''Cives Sine Suffragio'' in England; ''The Classical Journal'', Vol. 39, No. 8. (May, 1944), pp. 490–492, (
JSTOR
JSTOR (; short for ''Journal Storage'') is a digital library founded in 1995 in New York City. Originally containing digitized back issues of academic journals, it now encompasses books and other primary sources as well as current issues of j ...
link. Citing, for Pless, the ''Times'' of London, December 18, 1943.
Australian article on historical denization- Sir William Blackstone, Commentaries (1769), Book 1 Chapter X: ‘’Of People Whether Aliens, Denizens Or Natives’’
– see quote from Hugh S. Legare (Attorney General of US)
Legal history of England
British nationality law
Medieval English law
Royal prerogative