As to the British practice, laws in force in the 1700s recognized that children born outside of the British Empire to subjects of the Crown were subjects themselves and explicitly used "natural born" to encompass such children. These statutes provided that children born abroad to subjects of the British Empire were "natural-born Subjects . . . to all Intents, Constructions, and Purposes whatsoever." [See British Nationality Act, 1730, 4 Geo. 2, c. 21.]
--On the Meaning of "Natural Born Citizen"