page_title: Mediterranean pass
hierarchical_section_title: Mediterranean pass
caption_attribution_description: A Mediterranean passport for the ship Winslow from New Bedford, MA, dated May 4, 1820. It is signed by President James Monroe, and Secretary of State John Quincy Adams.
context_page_description: The Mediterranean pass was a document which identified a ship as being protected under a treaty with states of the Barbary Coast. Such a treaty exacted tribute in exchange for protection from Barbary pirates capturing that country's ships and crews. These passes identified ships which had safe passage.
  The top of the British document was cut off in an erratic scalloped pattern used to confirm its authenticity. The matching top of the document was sent to officials along the Barbary Coast, so cruisers from those ports would have samples for comparison with the edge of the documents. A similar design was adopted by the United States, although U.S. Consul General in Algiers Richard O'Brien pointed out the document should be on thicker paper and kept in a tin container so as to ensure a better match between tops and bottoms.
  Countries known to have issued such documents include:
  Algeria: Turkish passes were temporarily issued to some vessels by the Dey of Algiers.
  Britain
  Spain
  United States of America
  The United States issued Mediterranean passports starting with a September 5, 1795, treaty with the Dey of Algiers,
  and continuing through the mid-19th century.
context_section_description: The Mediterranean pass (or Mediterranean passport, the name used in the United States) was a document which identified a ship as being protected under a treaty with states of the Barbary Coast.  Such a treaty exacted tribute in exchange for protection from Barbary pirates capturing that country's ships and crews.  These passes identified ships which had safe passage.
  The top of the British document was cut off in an erratic scalloped pattern used to confirm its authenticity.  The matching top of the document was sent to officials along the Barbary Coast, so cruisers from those ports would have samples for comparison with the edge of the documents.  A similar design was adopted by the United States, although U.S. Consul General in Algiers Richard O'Brien pointed out the document should be on thicker paper (or parchment) and kept in a tin container so as to ensure a better match between tops and bottoms (he also suggested that ships fly the American flag rather than the flags of individual states).
  Countries known to have issued such documents include:
  Algeria: Turkish passes were temporarily issued to some vessels by the Dey of Algiers.
  Britain
  Spain
  United States of America
  The United States issued Mediterranean passports starting with a September 5, 1795, treaty with the Dey of Algiers,
  and continuing through the mid-19th century.
caption: A U.S. Mediterranean passport from 1820
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