I’ve been reading a lot about various classical musicians, composers, and artists in Europe from around 1750-1900. One thing that strikes me as interesting as how easily they’d move from country to country to live and work. Was it really as easy as the biographies seem to make it? Just move from Vienna to Rome to Paris?
Was it the World Wars that caused restrictions on moving from country to country?
And as a bonus, how difficult was it to move and work in other countries in Western Europe from the end of WW II to the establishment of the European Union’s free movement?
Contrary to rumour, passports weren’t invented for the First World War, and mostly you needed papers of some sort. Unless there was a rich person to vouch for you, giving a nod and a wink, as with most non-struggling artists — one of the benefits of living in an aristocratic society up to say the 1860s.
I miss rich patrons.
However in the 18th century at least most places in Europe were part of, or connected to, the Empire; so going from Poland to Germany to Italy ( the natural progression ) was fairly simple. And in wartime people from belligerent countries visited the other without risking much.
Even British travellers would be admired if they seemed to have money — like in a later period, Rich Americans settling in Venice, and other Italian provinces even – and not hassled that much. Once Napoleon started on imprisoning everyone who looked at him funny the rules changed.
Even in the 19th century, social security and capital assets were more or less tied to the local community in most places. If you left, you had nothing, had no support, and couldn’t speak the local language. Ordinary people moved only if they were starving, and had nothing left to loose.
Englend tended to have better mobility, for two reasons: (1) London was the largest city in the world. (2) Individual land ownership was more common.
Soldiers were another class of people who were mobile, with no assets, no pensions, and limited need for language skills.
Passports certainly existed before the First World War, but for most people they weren’t necessary for travel. Pre-1914, from the UK you could travel throughout Europe without a passport; in general the advice was that you didn’t need one unless you planned on visiting Russia.