Definition of "independence"

Bob the aforesaid, and his present chances of deriving a competent independence from the honourable profession to which he had devoted himself.

1836 March – 1837 October, Charles Dickens, “Relates How Mr. Pickwick, with the Assistance of Samuel Weller, Essayed to Soften the Heart of Mr. Benjamin Allen, and to Mollify the Wrath of Mr. Robert Sawyer”, in The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club, London: Chapman and Hall, […], published 1837, page 508

[…] I had achieved my own living, preserved my independence, and become indebted to no one.

1851, George Borrow, chapter XXXI, in Lavengro; the Scholar—the Gypsy—the Priest. […], volume II, London: John Murray […], pages 271–272

And this year, some of the granite facades have a new addition - the blue and yellow of the flag of Ukraine. It's hardly surprising to see the Scots, a nation more attuned to independence than some, showing solidarity with a country brutally invaded by Russia.

2022 November 30, Paul Bigland, “Destination Oban: a Sunday in Scotland”, in RAIL, number 971, page 75