Passports have been around for over 1500 years [1]. There was a brief blip in the 19th century, as railways started to cross Europe and passport checks seemed

Passports have been around for over 1500 years [1]. There was a brief blip in the 19th century, as railways started to cross Europe and passport checks seemed pointless [2], but that aside, passports seem to have been more common than not. Given how much was controlled by monarchy-issued licenses and charters, I doubt it was that easy to rock up and enter a foreign country without any papers, but I'd certainly be interested to learn more. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Passport#History https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Passport#History [2] http://www.wanderlust.co.uk/magazine/articles/destinations/a-short-history-of-passports http://www.wanderlust.co.uk/magazine/articles/destinations/a...