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British passports, in the modern sense,
were introduced in 1915. Before this there were few practical restrictions
on individuals who wished to enter the UK or travel abroad (provided
they could afford to do so). Documents similar to passports were
issued by the Scottish crown (prior to the Union of Crowns in 1603)
and by burghs, senior churchmen and noblemen. These were letters
of introduction or safe conduct for individuals (mainly aristocrats
or their agents) travelling in Europe, sometimes on official business.
Examples of these precursors of the modern passport can be found
in collections of private family papers deposited in Scottish archives
and libraries, and an examination of these gives an indication of
how passports developed from the seventeenth century to the twentieth
century. Seventeenth century passes appear to have been rudimentary
single page documents, often in Latin. By the early 19th century
some travellers appear to have carried more elaborate folders containing
a passport issued by the Foreign Office (countersigned or stamped
or sealed by consuls, police departments and other civil authorities
of the cities and states visited). In 1846 regulations were drawn
up regarding applications for passports issued by the Foreign Office.
These could be contained in wallets specially made by stationers,
which look very like modern passport holders. To see examples of
precursors of the modern passport, and how these developed over
five centuries click on the 'Virtual Vault' in Research Tools.
Image 1
19th century passport holder (National Archives
of Scotland, reference: GD73/2/21).
Contributors:
Robin Urquhart (SCAN), David Brown (National
Archives of Scotland), Olive Geddes (National Library of Scotland).
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1.
How can I find out if someone who travelled abroad from Scotland
was in receipt of a passport or a letter of safe conduct issued
in Scotland?
Image 1
Page from 19th century passport showing visas
in the form of stamps from royal and civil authorities of places
visited (National Archives of Scotland, reference: GD73/2/15)
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