De natis ultra mare facts for kids
| Act of Parliament | |
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| Long title | A Statute for those who are born in Parts beyond Sea. |
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| Citation | 25 Edw. 3. Stat. 1 |
Quick facts for kids Other legislation |
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Status: Amended
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| Revised text of statute as amended | |
De natis ultra mare, also known as the Status of Children Born Abroad Act 1350, was an English statute during the reign of Edward III. It regulated rights of those born overseas, and was an early precursor of British nationality law, and others. Dating from 1351, during the early part of the Hundred Years' War, it addressed the issue of inheritance by foreign-born children, a topical problem.
This statute of 25 Edw. 3 was invoked over 200 years later, in two matters; in the first of those, it did not prove effective since the outcome went in the other direction, but in the second it was significant. In the debate on the succession to Elizabeth I, it was thought by some to be telling against claimants of the House of Stuart. In Calvin's Case, it was also brought up, to argue against the proposed right of inheritance in England of the Scottish post-nati (those born after the Union of Crowns of 1603).
All children inheritors, which from henceforth shall be born without the ligeance of the King, whose fathers and mothers at the time of their birth be and shall be at the faith and ligeance of the King of England, shall have and enjoy the same benefits and advantages, to have and bear the inheritance within the same ligeance, as the other inheritors aforesaid in time to come; so always that the mothers of such children do pass the sea by the license and wills of their husbands.
