Learn · TED

Talk6 min

When did we start using passports?

Kristin Surak · TED

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About

Passports are not the first form of travel documents: in Ancient Egypt, travelers carried “letters of safe conduct” issued by rulers; in Han China and Tudor England, foreigners were issued travel passes. However, for much of human history, borders have been relatively fluid, and travel lacked bureaucratic requirements. So, what changed? Kristin Surak details the history of the passport system. [Directed by Tomás Pichardo-Espaillat, narrated by Addison Anderson, music by Cem Misirlioglu, WORKPLAYWORK].

The talk

  1. When did we start using passports? 6 min · TED's player

Credits and licence

Institution
TED
Department
TED-Ed
Speaker
Kristin Surak
Year
2026
Level
For everyone
Language
English
Subjects
Society and politics, History, Teaching and learning
Source
TED
Licence
CC BY-NC-ND 4.0, as TED states it. Non-commercial use only, and no changed versions. TED's terms
Attribution
TED Talks are licensed by TED under Creative Commons BY-NC-ND 4.0 International and are shown here in TED's own player, as TED's usage policy asks.
Who can watch
TED gives no rating. Invisible Network shows it to Teens profiles and older, judged from what the source says about it. How courses are placed