18th Century
- Aberdeen, George Hamilton Gordon
- Amo, Anton Wilhelm
- Apess, William
- Audubon, John James
- Bach, Johann Sebastian
- Baiteke (under Kiribati)
- Bartram, John
- Basavis (under Devadasi)
- Bayard, James Asheton, Sr.
- Bhayats (under India - Princely States)
- Bogams (under Devadasi)
- Bolívar, Simón
- Boone, Daniel (under Honorific Adoption)
- Brainerd, David
- Brown, Matthew
- Caddell, James
- Capitein, Jacobus
- Captives
- Cardozo, Abraham
- Carl Louis John
- Catherine I
- Chamfort, Sébastien-Roch
- Chesterfield, Philip Stanhope
- Child Migrants
- Chinese Qing Dynasty
- Church, John
- Colden, Cadwallader
- Cugoano, Ottobah
- Custis, George Washington Parke
- d'Alembert, Jean le Rond
- de Beauharnais, Eugčne-Rose
- de Beauharnais, Hortense
- de Rossi, Giovanni Battista
- Devadasi
- Equiano, Olaudah
- Fatehsinh I Raje Sahib Bhonsle (under India - Princely States: 1)
- Francis, Benjamin
- Francisco, Peter
- Frank, Eva
- Gay, John
- Geisha
- Hamilton, Alexander
- Hamir Singh II (under India - Princely States: 4)
- Hancock, John
- Hannibal, Abram Petrovich
- Hawai'ian Royal Families
- Haynes, Lemuel
- Hokusai
- Houston, Samuel
- Ibrahim Pasha
- Ivan VI
- Jackson, Andrew
- Jiji Bai Sahib Maharaj (under India - Princely States: 2)
- Jogatis (under Devadasi)
- Karl XIV Johan
- Kean, Edmund
- Keats, John
- Knight, Edward Austen
- Lakhaji Tamachi Jadeja Sahib (under India - Princely States: 3)
- Lewis, Eleanor Parke Custis
- Mariner, William
- McAuley, Catherine
- Muko Yoshi
- Muralis (under Devadasi)
- Nanbaree
- Natis (under Devadasi)
- Peter III
- Pomare Dynasty
- Ponsonby, Sarah
- Radisson, Pierre-Esprit
- Raeburn, Henry
- Rajaram II Raje Bhonsle (under India - Princely States: 1)
- Rousseau, Jean-Jacques
- Sacagawea
- Saigo Siro
- Sancho, Ignatius
- Seki Takakazu Kowa
- Shabbona
- Shahu II Raje (under India - Princely States: 2)
- Shahu Shivaji II Bhonsle (under India - Princely States: 2)
- Shahu Shivaji Raje Bhonsle (under India - Princely States: 1)
- Shakers
- Shenandoah
- Short, William
- Slaves
- Slocum, Frances
- Smith, Venture
- Swift, Jonathan
- Tamaiti Whangai
- Te Waharoa
- Tecumseh
- Templer, James
- Tenskwatawa
- Thevardiyar (under Devadasi)
- Tiepolo, Giovanni Battista
- Transportees
- Trokosi
- von Kleist, Heinrich
- von Lipp, Joseph
- Weisner, Conrad (under Honorific Adoption)
- Wheatley, Phillis
- Wild Boy of Aveyron (under Feral Children)
- Wirt, William
- Wordsworth, Dorothy
- Wordsworth, William
- Ystumllyn, John
Bogams (under Devadasi)
Devadasi (mainly of Maharashtra and Karnataka states) and related practices ( Maharis in Kerala, Natis in Assam, Muralis in Maharashtra, Bogams in Andhra Pradesh, Jogatis and Basa... [more]
Bolívar, Simón
Simón José Antonio de la Santísima Trinidad Bolívar, “The Liberator,” was born into a wealthy Creole family in Venezuela, but his father died when he... [more]
Boone, Daniel (under Honorific Adoption)
It is not unusual for adults to be adopted as honorary members of a family, clan or tribe. There are two main types. One is the publicity-stunt adoption of politicians, usually western l... [more]
Brainerd, David
Brainerd was orphaned in 1732. From 1743 on he was a missionary to the Algonquian people of New York State and the Delaware people of New Jersey. Dictionary of American Biography Hirschfel... [more]
Brown, Matthew
Brown's father died in 1778, and he was adopted by an uncle in Pennsylvania. He graduated from college in 1794 and became a teacher, and was licensed by the Presbyterian church to preach in... [more]
Caddell, James
Caddell was an English cabin-boy on a sealing ship, the Sydney Cove, in Foveaux Strait, between Stewart Island and the South Island of New Zealand, when he was captured by the local Maori p... [more]
Capitein, Jacobus
Capitein was a former slave brought to the Netherlands by a Dutch ship captain. In Leiden he attended school, learned several European languages and in 1742 he became a clergyman after theo... [more]
Captives
The capture of children and adults in war and by raiding parties was and still is a fairly common practice. They were occasionally intended as food, sometimes used as hostages, more often a... [more]
Cardozo, Abraham
Cardozo was a member of a Portuguese Marrano family. (The Marranos are the Jews of Spain and Portugal who involuntarily converted to Christianity in the 14th century and later, many of whom... [more]
Carl Louis John
Carl was the birth son of Emperor Leopold II but was adopted by his uncle, Duke Albert of Sachsen-Teschen. He was sent to be governor of the Austrian Netherlands in 1794, by which time he w... [more]
