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And his Maju having further declared his pleasure that these parties shull be delivered gratis, & y1 neither the Masters or Owners of such Skips or Vessells as receive y° same, shall be put to further Charge on any consideration whatsoever, thaa that of twelve pence for each as his Maj** due for the Stamp,

Lastly-You are likewise further required to give us early Notice from time to time, when it may be necessary to send unto you supplys of passes that so y same may be dispatched to you accordingly, & y• Trade of his Maj▪ Subjects not be exposed

for want thereof.

Dated at the Admiralty Office this 21 day of June 1700.

J Bridgwater
Haversham

D Mitchell

Geo: Churchill

By Comand of their Lords'pp

J Burcholi

[Form of the Registry for Passes on separate sheet]

An acct of the Severall Plantations to which Passes are Sent.

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"The Treaty of 1778 between the United States and France provided for a form of passport to be given by the two Governments to their respective vessels. . . ."7 The congressional resolution of February 12, 1788, stipulated that before a vessel was issued a sea letter, evidence that it was commanded by officers who were citizens of the United States had to be submitted to the

7 The Department of State of the U.S., Its History and Functions, U.S. Government Printing Office, Wash., D.C., 1893, p. 177.

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Secretary of Foreign Affairs. Noteworthy was the fact that there was no law at that time regulating the issuance of passports to individuals, since no government would have been bound to afford any requested protection because no country, except France, had as yet acknowledged the independence of the United States.9

Documents addressed to foreign powers for vessel passage were used chiefly in time of war regardless of whether or not the United States was directly involved. These certificates were "granted by authority of a neutral state, giving permission to the master of the ship to proceed on the voyage proposed, and declaring that while on such voyage the ship is under the protection of the neutral state." 10 "The Passport or sea letter. . . [was] the formal voucher of the ship's national character." 11

In 1793, documents were issued to vessels as passports under authority of the President within the meaning of our treaties with France, Spain, Holland, etc., and were printed in English, French, Spanish, and Dutch.12 As early as 1790, a law was passed providing for punishment for violating any safe conduct or passport issued by the United States.13

A special form of sea letter known as the Mediterranean Passport written in English only came into being during the early days of the new Federal Government as a result of the capture of U.S. ships by the Barbary pirates and the consequent sale of their cargo and enslavement and ransoming of all persons on board. To prevent such occurrences in the event of the capture of U.S. ships, the Treaty of Algiers was signed September 5, 1795. The fourth article of this treaty allowed for an 18-month period during which time U.S. ships would be furnished with special passports.

An Act was passed on June 1, 1796, which directed the Secretary of State, with the approbation of the President, to prepare a form of passport for U.S. ships and vessels sailing to foreign countries.14 To overcome the language barrier problems, since most of the Algerian Navy captains were unable to read English, the top portion of the passport was removed in a scalloped pattern. (Exhibit 6) This segment was then forwarded to the Dey of Algiers who gave it to his ship captain. In the event that a U.S.

J. B. Moore, A Digest of International Law, vol. II, U.S. Government Printing Office, Wash., D.C., 1906, p. 1049.

The Department of State of the U.S., Its History and Functions, U.S. Government Printing Office, Wash., D.C., 1893, p. 177.

10 J. B. Moore, A Digest of International Law, vol. II, U.S. Government Printing Office, Wash., D.C., 1906, p. 1040.

11 Ibid., p. 1047.

12 Ibid., p. 1067.

13 Rev. Stat. 419, 1803.

14 J. B. Moore, A Digest of International Law, vol. II, U.S. Government Printing Office, Wash., D.C., 1906, pp. 1057-1058.

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Exhibit 6. Blank form of Mediterranean passport with top intact

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Exhibit 7. Mediterranean passport issued by President George Washington,

1797

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