suzerain
- noun
- /ˈsuːzəreɪn/
- Specialized
- British claims to sovereignty over the Indian Country were reiterated in the Royal Proclamation, but the document effectively created a suzerain out of Great Britain—that is, a nation that provides protection to and controls the international affairs of a dependent nation, while allowing it control over its own territory and internal matters.
- suzerain power
Examples
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According to both precept and practice, the Indians in fact possessed and controlled the land, so Great Britain was essentially suzerain, not sovereign, over the Creek territory.
Academic text (2008) -
Over time, it also effectively established Britain as a suzerain power in the Indian country.
Academic text (2008) -
A suzerain power may withdraw from its relationship.
Academic text (2008) -
The military leader Hideyoshi even attempted to make the Spanish governor of the Philippines recognize him as suzerain.
Academic text (2003) -
Martial arts were thus pivotal to the nobleman's identity, whose principal duty was military service to his suzerain or king.
Academic text (1996) -
The treaties demonstrated that Britain had become essentially a suzerain power in Creek territory, and they provided McGillivray with the legal grounds upon which to argue Creek primacy over that territory.
Academic text (2008) -
Secondly, he believed that the terms of the treaty were illegal, since Great Britain's divestiture of the Indian Country violated the provisions of previous treaties that had rendered England only a suzerain power.
Academic text (2008) -
Historically, Great Britain acted as a suzerain power over various territories in the Americas.
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When a country becomes a suzerain, it usually oversees the foreign affairs of another nation.
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The Treaty of Paris established a clear relationship where one nation served as the suzerain of the other.
Synonyms
A country, group, or person that is more powerful than others and leads them
Antonyms
Surface Forms
Etymology
Suzerain comes from an old root super meaning 'above' and is related to sovereign, a word for someone 'above' others. That's why a suzerain is a state that is 'above' a smaller state and controls its foreign affairs.