I know these are used for international travel, but it seems like passports are nothing more than national ID cards that governments use to track the whereabouts of their citizens.
Thoughts?
Yes, that is true. Passports have been around in various states to keep track of people travels since at least 450BC. It is found in the Hebrew bible and is basically a letter issued by some ruler to “to the governors beyond the river” requesting free and safe passage for his citizen.
This type of thing could be issued in a anarchist society as well. A voluntary association could offer a written proof to other such organisation that “this individial is under our protection, please take care of him as long as he behaves and if you do him harm we will not be pleased”.
Such a document could be usefull.
In Europe before WWI passports where not needed for travel. This was mainly because the expansion of railroad and mass increase in travel simply overloaded the boarder controls they had and they solved the problem by de-regulating travel. During WWI border controls where naturally tightened and in 1920 the Leage of Nations made an aggreement about national passports.
Today passports are just as you say a means for states to keep track of people. But similar documents could be of use in a free society, I mean anyone could demand you show a permit of travel and ID-card before entering there property if they like…
If I work for an international company and have access to their facilities by using a card with my name, picture, and some serial number on it, is that a passport?
According to #4 yes.
pass·port (p
s
pôrt
, -p
rt)
n.
1. An official government document that certifies one’s identity and citizenship and permits a citizen to travel abroad.
2. An official permit issued by a foreign country allowing one to transport goods or to travel through that country.
3. An official document issued by an allied foreign government to a ship, especially a neutral merchant ship in time of war, authorizing it to enter and travel through certain waters freely.
4. Something that gives one the right or privilege of passage, entry, or acceptance: Hard work was her passport to success.
It is found in the Hebrew bible and is basically a letter issued by some ruler to “to the governors beyond the river” requesting free and safe passage for his citizen.
Interesting. Can you cite this?
No, I think it is just the earliest known reference to a document like a passport and the actual letter is not preserved. Supposedly it was issued by King Artaxerxes I of Persia and given to his servant Nehemiah asking the governors of Trans-Euphrates to give him safe passage when he requested a leave to travel to Judea. http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Nehemiah+2%3A7-9&version=NIV
There were no passports before WWI. The wonderful movie Reds actually documents how they came to be with the advent of total war and global conflict among nations. Before then, people came went as they pleased.
Yes, booklet passports and the obligarty requirement to have one to enter pretty much any nation is a post WWI phenomenon.
But travel and id documents where used long before that. I think if you take into account the amount of international travel that was done and the massive increase before WWI you will see that the level of restriction on those actually travelling was not all that different. Except for one-way emigration to the US and just before WWI when the regulations simply where unable to keep up with the increase in travel and where loosened instead (most likley only to prevent riots at border crossings using outdated methods to document travellers).
Here are some examples of earlier use:
In Russia before WWI you needed a passport for internal travel. There had different colors with different restrictions. Jews for instance had there own color passports and where only allowed to travel between certain cities. Nobility had another color which gave them free passage anywhere and so on.
Internal passports where used by several other flurishing buracracies as well.
Medival city-states used passports to expediate entry at the gates for selected officals and merchants.
During the French Revolution passports where issued to the upper-class that wanted to leave the country. It was almost impossible for those that hadn’t obtained such a passport to return to France and many where barred from re-entry.
Mainly though these where documents to expedite things and not always mandatory and primarly used by selected officals as proof of nationality authority and so forth. But then again in those days regular people didn’t leave there home towns much. If they had there would most likley have been passports alot sooner.
So I don’t think the reason our modern passports are post WWI is because states had a more liberal mindset on travel before. It just wasn’t necessary.