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

[2] http://www.wanderlust.co.uk/magazine/articles/destinations/a...

A century travel was much slower, more difficult and hence less common than it is now.

Yes and no.

Customs duties were a bigger source of revenue. Ships didn't just travel freely.

People were less of a problem, as most people didn't stray more than a few miles from where they were born.

a century ago one couldn't arrive to a foreign land and immediately start receiving monthly check, free housing, health and other services [savage, barbaric regimes!]. typically people arrived to a foreign country with means and purpose. why would anyone need a passport? to protect whom against whom?

wrong, at least in the case of america. This poem from 1883, this was on the St. of Liberty, which was errected in 1886 [1]. "give us your tired, your poor, your huddled masses". They didn't have means. There were the people who wanted to prevent the racially inferior from coming here, like italians, before them irish, etc. We aren't that america still, in 2016. 133 years later.

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_New_Colossus

i am not clear, which part of what i said is wrong.