The safe passage agreement for Francis Galton is highly significant for a number of reasons, one of them being that it stands as a symbol of status, wealth and power. For Francis Galton, he simply had to express a desire to travel to South West Africa and he was given carte blanche authority to pass through any of the listed foreign lands. In this respect the object also illustrates the global dominance that the British Monarch held during the 19^th century.

The agreement itself is split into two components, and each one illustrates its own story of power. The first component is the document itself, which is made of parchment and written in 3 languages: English, Dutch, and Portuguese. This document was signed by Sir Henry Wakelyn Smith, Governor and Commander in Chief of the Cape of Good Hope, and John Montagu, Colonial Secretary of the Cape Colony. The second component of the agreement is a large wax seal. This seal is the official Great Seal of Queen Victoria. In his book, Narrative of an Explorer in Tropical South-West Africa Galton describes the immense authority that the document portion of the agreement gives him with the rulers of the Cape. When he undertakes his expedition however, it is the Great Seal of Queen Victoria that offers him authority and immunity. This is because of the language barrier between the native people, and himself. Although the agreement was written in three languages, many of the native African people Galton encountered only spoke local tribal dialects. In this respect, the physical document meant nothing to them. Conversely, the great seal broke the language barrier and communicated its power and authority through its size, intricacy of design, and emblem. Thus, the two seemingly separate components of the safe passage agreement were both equally important in providing Francis Galton with a safe passage throughout his voyage, and both illustrate their own individual story of power.