Talk:Jus sanguinis/Wilson Letter

My name is Eduardo Pellew Wilson. I was born in Brazil and am a Brazilian citizen. My paternal ancestral line, however, is British as I will show below. I should like to discuss the notion of JUS SANGUINIS, which means that a paternal line will bear a specific family name forever. In addition, how can it be explained that, although living outside Britain, we, who are of British descent, still speak English, remember our ancestors and British traditions and, what is more significant, we pass on all our family history to our children! Lex sanguinis is all about that and cannot become so weak, to the point of making Lex soli so powerful as it is today. These are two very distinct laws and change one's whole conception of the world, from a cultural standpoint.

Let me show my paternal ancestral line: 1. Alexander Wilson (1774-1817), head of the family; British subject, 1st Lieutenant Royal Marines and secretary to Lord Exmouth; married Portsoy, Scotland, 1799, Jean Gray (1775-1847) (Pedigree of Bean of Portsoy, circa 1895, mentioned in Scottish Family Histories, by Ms Ferguson, 1986) and had:

2. Edward Pellew Wilson (1803-1887), head of the family; born Portsoy,British subject, merchant, shipowner, etc., knight of the Imperial Order of the Rose, of the Brazilian Empire, by decree 1866; married Salvador City, Bahia, Brazil, 1830, Maria Constança da Silva Freire (1815-1877), of a Portuguese family, and had:

3. Edward Pellew Wilson Junior (1832-1899), head of the family; born Salvador, Bahia, Brazil, British subject and Brazilian citizen, created Count de Wilson in the Portuguese nobility by decree 08-10-1891 (N.B. He was an important member of the British community in Brazil); engineer, shipowner, banker, landowner, honorary consul of Italy in Pernambuco and Rio de Janeiro, knight, commander, officer, etc.; married Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil, 1856, Felisbella Ernestina Cintra da Silva (1840-1912), Countess de Wilson by marriage, and had:

4. Edward Pellew Wilson (1858-1934), head of the family; born Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil; British subject and Brazilian citizen; shipowner, merchant, banker, commander, etc.; married Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 1890, Georgeanna de Sá (1866-1935) and had: 5. Eduardo Wilson Junior (1892-1955), head of the family; born Petrópolis, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; British subject and Brazilian citizen; lawyer and federal civil servant (federal inspector of the Revenue); married Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 1923, Maria Borges Monteiro (1892-1959) and had:

6. Eduardo Wilson Neto (1932-1998), head of the family; born Rio de Janeiro City; Brazilian citizen; lawyer and state civil servant (attorney of the Rio de Janeiro State); married Niterói, Rio de Janeiro, 1963, Zilda Catarina Sica (1931-2002) and had:

7. Eduardo Pellew Wilson (1964-   ), head of the family; born Niterói, Rio de Janeiro; Brazilian citizen; Ba Philosophy, post-graduation course on International Relations, Ba Law; poliglot (including English), translator (including English), knight of the Order of Malta (Malta), of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem (the Holy See) and Saints Mauritius and Lazarus (of the House of Savoy), Count de Wilson by authorisation of the Nobility Council of Portugal (2002), member of the board of directors of the Brasília and Northern Brazil Association of the Knights of the Order of Malta, etc.; married Rio de Janeiro City, 1995, Maria Augusta de Araujo Jobim.

As head of my Wilson family I have been passed on the history of my family, which is BRITISH from my paternal ancestral line. If Lex sanguinis is supposed to work, for it shows values from generations and generations, apart from any noble blood which I have, I find it only natural that I should be able to acquire the British citizenship, even if my father was not a British citizen, as can be seen above. Lex sanguinis cannot and does not exclude those who did not look for a nationality by descent, IF HE OR SHE DID NOT DENY THEIR RIGHT TO NATIONALITY BY DESCENT. This the case in my family. No ancestor of mine ever denied his British citizenship, much on the contrary. If I cannot be a British citizen today, as was explained at the Consulate General of Rio de Janeiro by means of a letter a few years ago, just because my father was not a British citizen, then Lex sanguinis is not so sanguinis as such word makes us think and a whole neurosis connected to being forbidden from becoming a British citizen will invariably be developed in my mind. I have written this because I should like everyone to read it, think and wonder: how can a family cultivate their history without being supported legally?

I remember that when the Prime Minister Tony Blair came to São Paulo in 2001 for not only an official visit to this country but also a visit to the British community in Brazil, which, it should be noted, has never been a British colony, I lent my family portraits to be photographed and the history of my family to be a little told at the exhibition held at Cultura Inglesa in São Paulo. This is not only about the PAST! It is all about the present.

Next October a Meeting of British Communities for Latin America and Mexico will take place in Punta del Leste, Uruguay, and I was invited to participate. I would very much like to participate in it as a British citizen. I want to acquire the British citizenship and that is why I am writing these lines to you.

My e-mail is eduardopellew@yahoo.co.uk and if you can help me I should be deeply grateful.

Let me thank, in advance, each and every reader of this my letter, in the hope that someone will be able to help me.

With best regards, Eduardo Pellew Wilson, Count de Wilson.