ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the effects of migration and the French annexation on local systems of citizenship and residence. It demonstrates how the state and the local authorities differed in their interpretations of what constituted a foreigner, and how the magistracy of Strasbourg succeeded in defending its own regulations despite pressure from the crown. The chapter concerns the local citizenship rights with the naturalite du royaume, the 'citizenship' of the kingdom. As early as 1662, the French crown had accorded naturalite to Catholic foreigners in order to promote the repopulation of Alsace after the Thirty Years' War. However, given that the city of Strasbourg was not part of the French kingdom in 1662, this royal ordinance could not be applied in the former imperial city in a retroactive manner. The chapter focuses on the diversification process that took place concerning the category of Schirmbürger, before turning to the efforts undertaken by privileged inhabitants to undermine the magistracy's monopoly.
