The act or process of setting someone free; the legal granting of freedom or civic rights to a person or group.
From 'affranchise' plus the suffix '-ment,' indicating an action or process. A formal legal term from medieval and early modern England.
The very existence of the word 'affranchisement' reveals that freedom wasn't automatic—it had to be formally granted through legal documents, which means freedom was always conditional and could theoretically be revoked.
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