British subjects in the context of "British people"

⭐ In the context of British_people, individuals who settled in the United Kingdom prior to 1973, having been born in territories that were once part of the British Empire, are historically considered…

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⭐ Core Definition: British subjects

The term "British subject" has several different meanings depending on the period. Before 1949, it referred to almost all people in the British Empire (including the United Kingdom, Dominions, and colonies, but excluding protectorates and protected states). Between 1949 and 1983, the term was synonymous with Commonwealth citizen. Currently, it refers to people possessing a class of British nationality largely granted under limited circumstances to those connected with Ireland or British India born before 1949. Individuals with this nationality are British nationals and Commonwealth citizens, but not British citizens.

The status under the current definition does not automatically grant the holder right of abode in the United Kingdom but almost all British subjects do have this entitlement. As of 2025, about 20,400 British subjects hold valid British passports with this status and enjoy consular protection when travelling abroad; about 800 do not have right of abode in the UK.

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👉 British subjects in the context of British people

British people or Britons, also known colloquially as Brits, are the citizens and diaspora of the United Kingdom, the British Overseas Territories, and the Crown dependencies. British nationality law governs modern British citizenship and nationality, which can be acquired, for instance, by descent from British nationals. When used in a historical context, "British" or "Britons" can refer to the Ancient Britons, the Celtic-speaking inhabitants of Great Britain during the Iron Age, whose descendants formed the major part of the modern Welsh people, Cornish people, Bretons and considerable proportions of English people. It also refers to those British subjects born in parts of the former British Empire that are now independent countries who settled in the United Kingdom prior to 1973.

Though early assertions of being British date from the Late Middle Ages, the Union of the Crowns in 1603 and the creation of the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707 triggered a sense of British national identity. The notion of Britishness and a shared British identity was forged during the 18th century and early 19th century when Britain engaged in several global conflicts with France, and developed further during the Victorian era. The complex history of the formation of the United Kingdom created a "particular sense of nationhood and belonging" in Great Britain; Britishness became "superimposed on much older identities", of English, Scots and Welsh cultures, whose distinctiveness still resists notions of a homogenised British identity. Because of longstanding ethno-sectarian divisions, British identity in Northern Ireland is controversial, but it is held with strong conviction by Unionists.

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British subjects in the context of South Australia Act 1834

The South Australia Act 1834 (4 & 5 Will. 4. c. 95), or Foundation Act 1834 and also known as the South Australian Colonization Act, was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which provided for the settlement of a province or multiple provinces on the lands between 132 degrees east and 141 degrees of east longitude, and between the Southern Ocean, and 26 degrees south latitude, including the islands adjacent to the coastline.

It also set up a London-based Board of the South Australian Colonization Commission allowing for three or more appointed commissioners (board members), known as the Colonization Commissioners for South Australia or, later, Colonisation Commissioners, to oversee the sale and leasing of land in South Australia to British subjects. This Board was to be represented in the new colony by a Resident Commissioner, Surveyor-General, an Emigration Agent and various other colonial officers.

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British subjects in the context of Imperial British East Africa Company

The Imperial British East Africa Company (IBEAC) was a commercial association founded to develop African trade in the areas controlled by the British Empire. The company was incorporated in London on 18 April 1888 and granted a royal charter by Queen Victoria on 6 September 1888. It was led by the Scotsman William Mackinnon and built upon his company's trading activities in the region, with the encouragement of the British government through the granting of an imperial charter, although it remained unclear what that actually meant.

The IBEAC oversaw an area of about 246,800 square miles (639,000 km) along the eastern coast of Africa (from modern-day Somalia to modern-day Kenya), its centre being at about 39° East longitude and 0° latitude. Mombasa and its harbour were central to its operations, with an administrative office about 50 miles (80 km) south in Shimoni. It granted immunity of prosecution to British subjects and allowed them the right to raise taxes, impose custom duties, administer justice, make treaties and otherwise act as the government of the area.

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LINKED FROM (PARENTS)
← British people ← South Australia Act 1834 ← Britons ← British (people) ← South Australia Act, 1834 ← British race ← Imperial British East Africa Company
LINKS TO (CHILDREN)
British Empire → United Kingdom → Dominion → Crown colony → British protectorate → Commonwealth citizen → British nationality law → Republic of Ireland → British India → British national → Right of abode in the United Kingdom → British passport →