Modern passports are essential for international travel. While the passport is a symbol of freedom for some, it can also be used to restrict and control travel. This small item can make a big difference in a world where the right passport can be the difference between life or death or the possibility of safety and prosperity. It can be used as a symbol of national identity and a source of pride (or disappointment) for the country. This was evident in the UK with the recent return of the ‘old blue’ passport.
The long history of passports is complex. It dates back at least to 1500BC in Egypt where permission documents were required before people could leave port. Passport-like documents have been used in many cultures over the millennia. Their use has changed according to political and economic trends.
Protection
These documents have one role: to provide protection for the traveller. The Emperor issued the Roman Empire with folding tablets called tractoria, which allowed the bearer to travel free of charge. In a similar vein, British passports today still require that the bearer receive “such assistance or protection as may be required”. Many cultures have used the practice of issuing documents called “safe conducts” during wartime to ensure safe passage through enemy territory for diplomats and defectors. These documents were used, among others, by the Anglo Saxons and the Muslim rulers in Jerusalem during the Middle Ages and the US Army during both the Vietnam and Gulf Wars.
Permission
The most important role of the passport was to grant permission to travel. Contrary to current public debates about immigration, the passport has been used throughout history by both states to limit the movement of their citizens and to control who can enter. Many cultures have put restrictions on who can leave the country. Sometimes it was to keep the traveller safe, but sometimes it was to stop them from emigrating with their money and skills. To control movement within a country, many countries use passports. People must have documentation if they wish to leave their province. These systems were used in Canada, China, Imperial and Soviet Russia as well as Canada, where First Nations people could not travel.
Control and freedom
The passport may be viewed as granting permission to travel. However, it also gives control over travel to those who issue and verify the documents. There are many examples in the history of passports that show the tension between freedom and control. In the Middle Ages, only those who had the ‘King’s License were allowed to travel to England. Magna Carta, which stated that everyone (except criminals), could leave the country without restriction, challenged this system in 1215. This freedom of movement was not sustainable and the Crown quickly regained the power of issuing travel permits. The function passed to the Privy Council in 1540 and to the Secretary in 1794. However, passports were not required for travel to and from Britain before the First World War. France has a long history with mandatory passport systems for foreign and domestic travel. Peasants were required to obtain written permission to leave their home area in the 17th and 18th centuries. These systems were removed in 1792 after the French Revolution. They were considered to be incompatible with the revolutionary ideals of liberty, freedom, and liberty. The reign of freedom did not last: growing lawlessness and mass emigrations of capital and skilled people caused the Revolutionary Government just three years later to restore both the internal and external passport system.
The 19th century saw the rapid growth of steamships and railways as well as the rise in middle class and increased emigration opportunities to the Americas. This led to a huge increase in the number of people who were able and willing to travel abroad. Most countries’ administrative systems could not keep up with the increasing number of travelers. By the end of the first decade of 20th century, most states had eliminated the use of passports completely. A powerful group of people from business and government argued for the elimination of passports. The tide turned again against freedom of movement, and in favor of greater control over travel. In an effort to curb the operations of enemy spy spies, the First World War dramatically changed the political landscape. The European countries made passports and other travel documents mandatory in order to combat this trend.
Meetings were held at The League of Nations in the 1920s to discuss how to best deal with international travel administration. This was especially important given the large number of refugees living in Europe after World War II. The talks began with discussions about the abolishment of passports, which was supported by the anti-passport lobby at the time. However, the conference results were a standardization of passports and a system to issue passports to stateless refugees. Not the elimination of travel documents. Martin Lloyd’s book The Passport explains that governments and the secret service were reluctant to reduce passport requirements to pre-war levels. They had “discovered how closely an individual population could be controlled.” Governments also didn’t want to lose the revenue from passport fees (and associated visas). This income funded consulates completely and often made a profit. As the 20th century progressed, standardisation and automation of passports increased. Governments became more dependent on the passport system for policing who could enter their territory and following the movements of travelers.
In many cultures, freedom of movement was viewed as a fundamental aspect of human existence. It was one of the four fundamental freedoms that the Ancient Greeks considered. More recently, freedom of movement across national borders was protected by the European Union’s treaty rights. Human societies have long tried to restrict this freedom and the passport is a useful tool for that purpose.
