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What I found when I searched a couple of days ago were comments that nation states, as such, didn't really kick off until the 1500s. At that point I stopped looking. But there were major changes in the late 1400s that perhaps led to the formation of the Renaissance.

The biggest event that happened in the 14th Century was the Black Death, the Plague. In Britain there were Plagues from 1348-1351, 1361-64, 1368, 1371, 1373-75, and 1405 [Link]. The Plagues wiped out 30 to 50% of the European population (some say as high as 60 percent). That would have had a major effect on trade, allegiances, etc.

The following article interestingly says that the population that survived were much healthier than those who lived before the Plague, as the Plague weeded out the weakest. This would have meant that the resulting population would have contained a substantially bigger proportion of mature adults (and thus a more productive population) by the end of the 14th Century than before. Link.

Here is an excellent description of what happened and the changes the Plague wrought on almost everything [Link]. In line with the increasing number of middle aged people, it also appeared to have brought about the middle class of people instead of just the nobles and the poor feudal peons/serfs.

What I found when I searched a couple of days ago were comments that nation states, as such, didn't really kick off until the 1500s.

I think it began in the early 1400s, and the etymology link I posted said "late 14C" which would be around 1370.

My point in my previous message was to show that the English meaning of the word in the 1770s did not mean "member of a nation state", it meant "someone who lives in a city."

I had a theory that the usage of the word "Citizen" came straight from Vattel, because the word wasn't commonly used in English of that time period, and when it was, it didn't mean what it does today. It occurred to me that the very usage of the word "citizen" implies a French source, and of course, Vattel was the most prominent French source from which the word could have emerged.

But then I learned that France didn't use the word "Citizen" to mean "member of the nation" back then either. In France of the 1770s, the word also meant "City Dweller." In France, the normal way of referring to a member of the Nation was "Sujet", which translates to "Subject" in English.

Yes, the French called their people "Subjects" too.

So I pondered the fact that Vattel was Swiss, and he wrote his "Le droit des gens" in French, but he used the word "Citizen" to mean member of a Nation. Well, French was one of the official languages of Switzerland, and it appears that the usage of "Citizen" to mean "member of a nation" had been going on for awhile in Switzerland, because they had thrown off Monarchy back in the 14th century. They were a "Republic." Since members of a Republic could no longer call themselves "Subjects" because they had no King, what could they call themselves?

Well looking at the history of Switzerland, you realize it started out as a collection of 8 Cities. In effect, every Swiss was a member of one of these 8 cities which associated with each other as a loose alliance. Thus each Swiss was more often than not, a "citizen", or dweller in a city.

I find a reference in the Swiss "Priest's Charter" or "Charte des prêtres" to this word "Citizen" being expanded to mean people who do not actually live in cities.

"N'importe qui, étranger ou indigène, hôte ou citoyen d'une ville ou d'un pays, quel que soit son titre, doit pouvoir voyager dans tous nos districts et territoires, et aussi dans ceux des gens qui dépendent de nous, sans danger aucun pour sa personne et ses biens, et nul ne doit l'inquiéter, l'arrêter ou lui causer un dommage.

The highlighted words mean "Citizen of the city or of the country."

It blurs the distinction between living in a city, and living in the country, and I believe it is ground zero for how the word "Citizen" came to mean "member of a nation" instead of "city dweller."

For a republic made up of 8 cities, it was natural to refer to your people as "citizens", or "citoyens" in French.

My ultimate point here is that when Jefferson used the word "Citizen" in a context that only the Swiss were using at that time, it is verbal DNA for the origin of the meaning of that word. It is a virtual chain of evidence linking the word to Vattel and Switzerland, and as such it demonstrates that the English common law surrounding the word "Subject" is irrelevant, because England was not the origin of the word we use today.

"Citizen", comes from Switzerland, and therefore so does it's definition.

Vattel's definition.