Contemplate Pivotal Moments In Human Rights and Civil Rights
Turning points in human rights and civil rights: Roman Empire, Spanish peasants, Caribbean slaves, Costa Rican law, convict records, Labour manifesto, and out of wedlock children.
Petitions to Parliament, page 3 (20th century) by Johan CastbergUNESCO Memory of the World
Importance of Human Rights and Civil Rights
Human rights are rights acquired by being alive and civil rights are rights that are obtained by being a legal member of a certain political state. This legal documentary heritage reflects the history-altering advancement of human rights and civil rights worldwide.
Constitutio Antoniniana (3rd century) by Emperor CaracallaUNESCO Memory of the World
Constitutio Antoniniana
The Constitutio Antoniniana, also known as Edict of Caracalla, promulgated 11 July in AD 212, to unite Roman society, is an official order that declared that all free men in the Roman Empire were given full Roman citizenship and all free women were given the same rights as Roman women, except for the dediticii and freed slaves.
Importance of the Constitutio Antoniniana
The Edict established unitary citizenship for the first time in an area that included millions of people from different cultural backgrounds on three continents, Europe, Africa, and Asia. It’s the first in world-historically important documents of civil and constitutional history.
Llibre del Sindicat Remença (Peasant Syndicate Book), book page 8 (15th century) by King Alfons IV - Catalan dioceses of Girona, Osona, Barcelona, Urgell and ElnaUNESCO Memory of the World
Libre del Sindicat Remença
The Libre del Sindicat Remença, also known as the Peasant Syndicate Book, of 1448, is a handwritten record in Latin containing the proceedings of meetings (1448-1449) between serfs (remences) in various Catalan dioceses to select representatives (syndics).
Llibre del Sindicat Remença (Peasant Syndicate Book), book page 2 (15th century) by King Alfons IV - Catalan dioceses of Girona, Osona, Barcelona, Urgell and ElnaUNESCO Memory of the World
Importance of the Libre del Sindicat Remença
Representatives (syndics) negotiated the abolition of serfdom (personal bondage) with the monarchy and relevant institutions, due to seigneurial abuses, and collected money towards the costs of their emancipation. It’s a precedent that expressed the will of serfs from a wide area.
Travel Licence of a Slave man named William (17th - 19th centuries)UNESCO Memory of the World
Documentary Heritage of Caribbean Slaves
The Documentary Heritage of Enslaved People of the Caribbean contains invaluable source material for studying the history of Barbados and the model of development for the plantation economies of the Caribbean and North America in the 17th-19th centuries.
Importance Enslaved People Documentary Heritage
This documentary heritage examines key issues such as leadership, control, ownership, and status among such Afro-Caribbean populations. These dispel a simple transmigration of sociopolitical behaviors from metropolis to colony and offer evidence of the symbiosis that evolved.
Members of the Central American Court of Justice (20th century) by Founding Board of the Second RepublicUNESCO Memory of the World
Standing Tribunal for International Law
The documents forming the Central American Court of Justice in the 20th century in Costa Rica created the first standing tribunal for International Law in the world. For the first time acknowledgment of human being’s capacity to demand upon the States was stressed.
Former building of the Central American Court of Justice, known as “Casa Amarilla”. (20th century) by Central American Court of JusticeUNESCO Memory of the World
Importance of the Central American Court of Justice
Individuals were granted the quality of subject of international law (previously reserved only to the States). This provision contributed to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
Butt of Ticket of Leave (19th century)UNESCO Memory of the World
Convict Records of Australia
The Convict Records of Australia reflect the forced emigration to the continent of Australia of 165,000 people in the 180 years between 1788-1868, representing the beginning of the modern age of globalization by government agency.
Gee Dee Prisoner Number 6780 (1863-11-10) by Public Record Office VictoriaPublic Record Office Victoria (State Archives of Victoria, Australia)
Importance of the Convict Records of Australia
The Records contain information about: appearance, literacy level, trade, crime and sentence, behavior in incarceration, further punishment, etc. These details provide a portrait of the human capital that shaped the economy, demography, and culture of early colonial Australia.
Manifesto of the Queensland Labour Party, page 6 (19th century)UNESCO Memory of the World
Manifesto of the Queensland Labour Party
The Manifesto of the Queensland Labour Party dated September 9th, 1892 focused on the ruling class of the time, including squatters, employers, the government, and others that Labour saw as opponents to its aims of better working conditions and economic prosperity.
Manifesto of the Strike Committee issued to the Queensland Shearers' Union and Labourers' Union (1891-06-20/1891-06-20) by Colonial Secretary's OfficeQueensland State Archives
Importance of the Manifesto of the Queensland Labour Party
Similar socio-economic landscapes existed in countries other than Australia in the 19th century. The cross-influences, nationally and internationally between the Queensland Labour Party and other Labour organizations raised the significance and relevance of the Manifesto.
Petitions to Parliament (The Labour Party Women’s association) (20th century) by Johan CastbergUNESCO Memory of the World
Castbergian Child Laws
The Castbergian Child Laws of 1915 required both parents in Norway to provide for extra-marital children. If the father was unwilling or unable, the mother was entitled to financial support. Norway was one of the first countries to pass such laws.
Portrait of Johan Castberg (20th century) by Johan CastbergUNESCO Memory of the World
Importance the Castbergian Child Laws
In addition to providing for the welfare of children born out of wedlock, they were seen as crucial to reduce child mortality, and prevent hidden pregnancies - which happened more frequently outside marriage. This provided an example for other Nordic and European countries.
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