Sudiți

The ''Sudiți'' (plural of ''Sudit'' - Romanian language, from Italian '''', meaning "subject" or "citizen") were inhabitants of the Danubian Principalities (Wallachia and Moldavia) who, for the latter stage of the 18th and a large part of the 19th century — during and after the Phanariote period of rule, were placed under the protection of foreign states (usually the Habsburg monarchy, Imperial Russia, and France) as reward for particular services or in exchange for payment.

Rights acquired included immunity from prosecution in front of both local rulers (''hospodars'') and the Principalities' suzerain power, the Ottoman Empire, as well as tax exemptions; the competing interests of nations involved allowed consuls to traffic ''sudiți'' favours and titles. Provided by Wikipedia