Eli5: How could a nation’s government verify the credentials of an ambassador before modern technology?

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Before high speed, secure communication technology existed in the form of computers/phones, how could a government confidently engage with someone claiming to represent a foreign nation’s government? I just imagine you’d risk someone with the ability to forge documents and put on a good performance being able to declare war on behalf of an unsuspecting country.

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Anonymous 0 Comments

Look up Lt Col Fremantle. He claimed to be an official observer from the UK and embedded with both Confederate and Union troops, but he was little more than a war tourist. Without an easy and official way to check his story, many high ups were fooled. It did happen.
[https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthur_Lyon_Fremantle](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthur_Lyon_Fremantle)

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