Passport issued to David Hinckley
Great Britain 1798
Rufus King, then American minister to Great Britain, issued this 1798 passport to David Hinckley, a wealthy Boston merchant who traveled frequently to London on business. It is the oldest in the museum’s collection and also one of the more intriguing. Corsairs of the Barbary states had captured David Hinckley in the early 1790s, enslaving him into hard labor for two years until diplomats secured his freedom through ransom. In 1798, Hinckley ensured he had this official U.S. government passport on his person to prove he was an American citizen, and therefore protected under treaties the U.S. signed with three Barbary states in 1796 and 1797 to protect its ships and citizens from being taken captive.
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MLA Format
1798 Passport issued to David Hinckley. 1798. National Museum of American Diplomacy, https://diplomacy.state.gov/items/1798-passport-issued-to-david-hinckley
Chicago Format
1798 Passport issued to David Hinckley, 1798, National Museum of American Diplomacy, Washington, DC, https://diplomacy.state.gov/items/1798-passport-issued-to-david-hinckley
APA Format
(1798). 1798 Passport issued to David Hinckley [Object]. National Museum of American Diplomacy, Washington, D.C., United States. https://diplomacy.state.gov/items/1798-passport-issued-to-david-hinckley