The first internal passports in South Africa were introduced on 27 June 1797 by the Earl Macartney in an attempt to prevent natives from entering the Cape Colony. The Cape Colony was merged with other states in the region to form the Union of South Africa in 1910, under the UK. By this time, versions of pass laws existed elsewhere. A major boost for their utilisation was the rise of the mining sector from the 1880s: pass laws provided a convenient means of controlling workers ' mobility and enforcing contracts.
who came up with the pass laws and when
on 27 June 1797 by the Earl Macartney