Month: November 2021

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Gold Coast 1948, Christianborg Castle is readied for it’s last turnover

As trade developed along the African coasts, forts and castles were built along the coast to protect the traders. Eventually a Danish one became the seat of government of independent Ghana. So slip on your amoking jacket, fill your pipe, take your first sip of your adult beverage, and sit back in your most comfortable chair. Welcome to todays offering from The Philatelist.

Here we have another of the late colonial period stamps that I call the victory lap stamp. They feature the British Monarch and views of the colony. This one is a little different. Christianborg Castle was not built by the British, instead it was bought from the Danes who first built it. It still does celebrate the shift in power toward the coast and the building of a distinct nation separate from old tribal rivalries.

Todays stamp is issue A10, a 2 penny stamp issued by the then British Crown Colony of the Gold Coast in 1938. It was part of a thirteen stamp issue in various denominations. According to the Scott catalog, the stamp is worth 25 cents used. A mint 5 Shilling stamp from this issue is worth $65.

The Gold Coast, as the name implies, started along the coasts and slowly moved inland. It was first found by the Portuguese in 1471 but later Danes, British and Germans were involving themselves with the gold and slave trade. The Ashanti tribe was heavily involved in both and retained control of inland areas. Eventually The British bought out the Danes and made an alliance with the Fente and Ga tribes in opposition to the Ashanti. There were four Anglo-Ashanti wars that ended the slave trade and raiding and allowed for more advanced gold mining. The Ashanti had just panned for gold.

The colony went along pretty well. Cocoa trees were brought in and became the areas main cash crop. The British were ruling indirectly with many aspects left to tribal councils. There was also much infrastructure including roads, railroads, schools and hospitals. Unlike so many colonies, promising locals were given English educations at no cost to them. A British lead Gold Coast military served in both world wars.

This work did much to build a country but also lead toward independence. The newly educated and veterans were not part of the tribal system that British had coopted. Urban centers like Accra outside this Castle built up with such people and they wanted change, both away from the tribal councils and the British. It was perhaps a mistake to turn over power to this new elite instead of through the more traditional African tribal system as the result after independence was a theoretical republic but in reality a strongman who changes more often with coups and less with voters. We can’t know how it would have worked if the tribal system had been retained post independence but Gold Coast grew much faster in the first half of the 20th century than Ghana did in the second half.

Christianborg Castle was built by the Danes in 1661 and named after King Christian. It was later sold to the Portuguese and at one point conquered by the Ashanti before being resold to Denmark. In 1860 the Danish sold the castle and other Gold Coast interests to the British. In the late nineteenth and early 20 century the castle was rebuilt with wood upper floors to operate better as an administrative center for the Gold Coast Colony. After independence, the castle was the seat of the new government and was renamed Osu Castle after the Accra township. About 10 years ago, Ghana took out a 50 million dollar loan from India to construct a new Palace called Jubilee House. The old castle is to be opened to tourists who will want to see the reminders of the old slave and gold trade that make up the castle’s long history.

The replacement Jubilee House. Having spent $50 million of India’s dollars on it, Ghana seems to have fired the gardener.
With Osa Castle now opened for tourists, the name has reverted to Fort Christiansborg. Ghana hopes to honour/cash in on the history by building an upscale office and residential complex on the grounds.

Well my drink is empty. Come again for another story that can be learned from stamp collecting. First published in 2018.

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Imperial British East Africa Company 1890, Another Company fails to administer a colony

Trying to go beyond trading posts gets complicated. In theory building some infrastructure could multiply trade but involves more capital than quick returns. So slip on your smoking jacket, fill your pipe, take your first sip of your adult beverage, and sit back in your most comfortable chair. Welcome to todays offering from The Philatelist.

Todays stamp is not much to look at. The sun and crown are supposed to be symbolical of light and liberty. Whose light and liberty is not clear. If Great Britain truly cared about the area, they wouldn’t have sold off the rights to make something of it. The few adventures that came to make their fortune must have felt quite alone. Since the company was in possession of a Royal Charter, perhaps Queen Victoria would have been better placed on the stamp. The idea that the head of the most powerful nation on earth was on your side and looking out for you might have raised your confidence.

Todays stamp is issue A4, an eight Anna (Indian) stamp issued by the Imperial East Africa Company in 1890. It is part of a 17 stamp issue in various denominations. According to the Scott catalog, the stamp is worth $6.75. A grey version of this denomination is worth $350. The blue version I have if it were overstampted British East Africa after the failure of the company is worth $115. If they mistakenly inverted the overstamp, the value goes to $8000.

Great Britain was awarded the territory of modern Kenya and Uganda by the treaty of Berlin in 1885. It was previously under the Sultan of Zanzibar. British goals at the time were more to do with southern Africa so the area was on the back burner. Sir William Mackinnon, a Scotsman who made a shipping fortune based on steamers that plied their trade first in the Bay of Bengal and later extending out to Aden, Zanzibar, and Mombasa in the new British territory. He proposed a company that would build a railroad and road between Lake Victoria and Mombasa to expand the ivory and agricultural trade while stamping out the still widespread slave trade and bringing Christianity to the local tribes. This was quite a tall order but the capital raised was far below what was needed.

The Imperial British East Africa company managed to set up administrative offices in Mombasa and hire Fredrick Lugard, a noted soldier and explorer. His task was to map out a route for a railway to Lake Victoria, build forts along the way and make treaties of friendship with local tribes along the way. To do this he was provided a supply of pre printed treaties that were enforceable by the British Empire. Interestingly, Lugard found that the most useful part of the treaty signings was a blood brother ceremony with tribal chiefs where both men receive small cuts that are bound together so that blood is shared. True to the shipping heritage a steamer was built in Scotland in kit form to use on Lake Victoria once the railroad was able to bring it.

Blood Brother and Baron Fredrick Lugard. One founded the most prestigious University in China and one is today honoured with new statues and roads named for him. Can you guess?
Blood Brother and Agikuyu Chief Waiyaki Wa Hinga

Shortage of funds saw to it that progress on the railroad was slow. The interference in the local slave trade also angered local chiefs including Waiyaka Wa Hinga who was a blood brother of Lugard. This did not stop him from plundering and burning the fort Lugard had constructed nearby in preparation for the railroad. Lugard had to put together a new expedition to put down Wayaki Wa Hinga and other unruly chiefs. The expedition captured and killed Wayaki Wa Hinga and put down the rebellion but in doing so bankrupted the Imperial East Africa Company.

An 1892 cartoon in Punch magazine casting the expense of Uganda as a white elephant

William Mackinnon proposed abandoning the operation, but Lugard convinced British Prime Minister Gladstone to continue the efforts there as British East Africa. They eventually got the railroad built and got the ship, that had sat in kit form in a wharehouse in Mombassa for 10 years operating on Lake Victoria as intended. The area became a British  protectorate in 1894 and the Crown colonies of Kenya and Uganda in 1920.

Well my drink is empty and I will pour another to Willian Mackinnon and Fredrick Lugard for trying to accomplish an impossible task. There was enough of his fortune left upon Mackinnon’s death in 1893 to endow a scholarship fund that to this day funds educational bursaries to young men from the Scottish West Highlands. Come again for another story that can be learned from stamp collecting. First published in 2018.

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Honduras 1987, Always a sucker for Latin American leaders in a sash

Finding the formula for good government in small poor countries is always a challenge. In the late 80s, Honduras tried to be more democratic and were I Honduran, I would have joined 27 percent of Hondurans who voted for the man with the sash. So 27 percent though, and he won? So slip on your smoking jacket, fill your pipe, take your first sip of your adult beverage, and sit back in your most comfortable chair. Welcome to todays offering from The Philatelist.

I like this stamp as a sort of mildly updated Latin American stamp of old. It usually was easy to distinguish left from right with just a portrait of the politician. A man of the right will deck himself out as a dime store fake Mussolini. A man of the left will put himself forward as a dime store Che Guevara. Today it is not so easy as there are more women involved in politics and the current generation is too self conscious to wear a costume. Already here in 1987 you see President Azcona wearing his sash with an ordinary business suit rather that a proper tuxedo.

Todays stamp is issue C754, a .85 Lempira airmail stamp issued by Honduras on February 2nd, 1987. It was a two stamp issue showing then President Jose Azcona del Hoyo and the Honduran flag on the first anniversary of the peaceful democratic transfer of power. According to the Scott catalog, the stamp is worth 85 cents in it’s used condition.

Honduras was more peaceful in the 80s than the countries around it such as Nicaragua and El Salvador. Both of the latter were plagued with well funded insurgencies acting out cold war politics. The Honduran military had done a better job clamping down on left wing elements and so was more stable. This allowed the USA to pay Honduras large sums to rout aid to the right wing contras through Honduras. The aid allowed the military to gain strength with American F5 fighters, C130 transports and Huey helicopters and Israeli training to use them properly.

Large amounts of aid from a superpower inevitably have strings attached and soon there was much pressure to  democratize. So in 1986 there was an election with very mixed results. The right of center political party could not get it’s act together and fielded four separate candidates, including Azcona. The left of center party had only one candidate who got 46 percent of the vote, the highest by far percentage. Instead of him winning or perhaps going to a runoff the vote totals of the four right wing candidates were combined and the one with highest vote total, Azcona at 27 percent. became president. This suited America well, as he was the pro business, more Spanish less indigenous leader they prefer to deal with. He was even raised in Spain.

Wondering about door number two with more votes but no sash, meet Rafael Callejas. He was later President and expanded welfare and kicked out the contras. He also won his 52 percent of the vote with the help of 300,000 dead Honduran voters and was indicted for corruption and even pled guilty to it in his later work in soccer administration. Everybody now sing; You take the good, you take the bad, you take them both and there you have the facts of life in Honduras.

Azcona’s term was less than successful. The Nicaraguan and El Salvadoran civil wars were winding down and with it aid from the USA. Azcona tried to be pro business development by trying to peg the Honduran currency to the USA dollar to prevent capital flight. This resulted in huge deficits and was ultimately unsuccessful. With more democracy it was harder to clamp down on decent and therefore the opposition became more violent. At the same time the military was shrinking and with less politics to argue about young disaffected youth turned to gang crime. This has been a plague throughout Central America and unfortunately one they seem intent on exporting north. It might make some want to build a wall.

Well my drink is empty. I paged forward in the Scott catalog and in 2005 there was another stamp of a then current Honduran President proudly wearing a sash. Good job, be proud of who you are. Come again for another story that can be learned from stamp collecting. First published in 2018.

 

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Italy 1930, getting youth excited about Virgil

Mythology is filled with stories of romance, heroism, and adventure. A great way to get youth reading, and maybe collecting stamps. So slip on your smoking jacket, fill your pipe, take your first sip of your adult beverage, and sit back in your most comfortable chair. Welcome to todays offering from The Philatelist.

The stamp today is sponsored by a youth organization promoting the study of mythology. The story presented on the stamp has war, adventure, and romance. The presentation on the stamp is so formal and old fashioned, that I wonder if the effect is lost on the youth of the day. The stamp designers clearly loved the subject matter so their reverence can be forgiven.

Todays stamp is issue A106, a 1.25 Lira stamp issued by the Kingdom of Italy on October 21st, 1930.  The stamp features Anchises and his sailors first viewing Italy after the fall of Troy. The stamp was part of a 9 stamp issue in various denominations celebrating the bimillenary of the birth of Virgil. The stamp was sponsored by the National Institute Figli del Littorio and the higher denominations of this issue included a surcharge benefiting them. According to the Scott Catalog, the stamp is worth $12 used.

The National Institute Figli del Littorio was a fascist scouting type organization that tried to get chapters started among those of Italian descent around the world. They were notably successful in Malta, where the mostly Italian people were under British rule. The real boy scouts of Italy had been banned and the Catholic youth organization had been severly restricted. School teachers were also heavily pressured to sign up the children. In 1937, the organizations both foreign and domestic were directly absorbed by the Gioventu Italian del Littorio, the youth arm of the then in power fascist party.

How you make mature adults embarrassed about youthful Scouting, politicize it. It would be nice to think it couldn’t happen again.

Long term readers might remember I was more sympathetic to a same era Soviet stamp on their similar Scout replacing Young Pioneers stamp. See https://the-philatelist.com/2018/06/29/soviet-union-1936-the-young-pioneers-take-a-bite-out-of-crime/. Here I admit to being swayed by the fun stamp and the great period video on them that you can see below. Commenters please feel free to post videos of fascist scouts looking harmless. My German uncle was in the Hitler Youth in his youth and I remember gasps at an eighties family reunion at an old picture of the family dinner table with him in a scout uniform that did not benefit from the Nazi armband.

Anchises was a simple sheppard when he was spotted by the God Venus, who fell instantly in love with him. She disguised herself as a maiden girl and got  Anchises alone. He was overwhelmed by her attractiveness and she told him she was really a visiting Princess. Anchises was full of lust and he removed her clothing and they made love. Afterward Venus cast a sleeping spell on him and dressed herself. She then revealed herself as a God to Anchises. He begged to be killed as he thought nothing good could come from a mortal being with a God. She informed him that he would be okay and that she would bear him a son named Aeneas. The baby would be raised by nymphs until age five then brought to him.

Venus’s seduction of Anchises as imagined by artist Sir William Blake.

Anchises was instructed never to boast of seducing a God or he would anger Zeus. When he did later he was either killed or blinded depending on the telling. He still later featured in Virgil’s story of his son Aeneas. After the defeat of Troy, Aeneas with his father and fellow defeated Trojans went in search of a new home. There travels took them to Crete where many died. They then traveled to Sicily and Carthage. This story is told by Roman poet Virgil in his epic poem Aeneid. The story told the tale of how Aeneas became the father of the Romans. The poem was written about 25 BC.

Well my drink is empty and I will pour another while I imagine myself being seduced by the Goddess of love. I have been married to her for 28 years and I have no fear of Zeus learning of it. Come again  for another story that can be learned from stamp collecting. First published in 2018.

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Confederate States of America 1862, Putting their live President on the stamps

When an area of a country breaks away some traditions fall away. One American tradition that ended in the Confederacy was not putting current leaders on postage stamps. So slip on your smoking jacket, fill your pipe, take your first sip of your adult beverage, and sit back in your most comfortable chair. Welcome to todays offering from The Philatelist.

The stamp today is the most common issue of the Confederacy. It featured an engraving of Confederate President Jefferson Davis by Ferdinand Joubert. The first 12,000,000 copies were printed in London by De La Rue and the shipment to Richmond included printing plates and paper to continue production of the stamp locally. The English paper ran out and the plates became worn so over time the quality of the printing deteriorated. I believe my copy is a later printing.

Todays stamp is issue A4, a five cent stamp issued by the Confederate States of America in 1862. It was a single stamp issue. According to the Scott catalog, the stamp is worth $7 mint but with no gum on the back. Gum would have doubled the value and it would have doubled again used. There is a mistake version of this stamp with the image of President Davis printed on both sides of the paper. It is worth $2,500.

The post office of the Confederacy is the department of the civilian government that functioned the best. The Postmaster John Reagan sent an agent to Washington with letters offering jobs to Union postal officials. Many accepted. The use of American stamps was banned after 7 weeks and local postmasters issued provisionals until the definitive stamp issues were ready. The postal rates were set higher than the Union, five cents on this stamp is the equivalent of $1.36 and only was good for a letter going less than 100 miles. The post offices stayed in operation until the end of the war.

Jefferson Davis grew up in Mississippi under wealthy circumstances. He served in the US Army in the Mexican War and owned a plantation that used slave labor. His first wife died of malaria after 3 months of marriage. After 10 years single Davis remarried the granddaughter of the governor of New Jersey and they had 4 children. He got into politics and served as Senator from Mississippi where he argued against succession. At a Constitutional Convention after succession. Davis was appointed the President of the Confederacy. The only other candidate considered was Robert Toombs of Georgia.

The war dragged on for almost 4 years when Confederate General Lee surrendered to Union General Grant. Davis and his cabinet escaped Richmond and headed south. The idea was to set up the government in exile in Havana and continue resistance in the large area of the South that was still controlled. Although the Confederate Treasury Secretary Judah Benjamin made it to Havana it wasn’t to be  and the Union caught up to Davis in Georgia. Southerners think the story that he was captured in female clothes trying to escape detection is a myth. He only had on his wife’s overcoat to keep off the cold. Okay then… He was held in irons awaiting trial for treason until Papal intervention and a large bail payment allowed his release.

A Yankee period image of the capture of on the run President Davis.

Davis lived for a time in Canada and Scotland before his legal troubles ended and he returned to the South. In Memphis, now separated from his wife he started an insurance company with former Confederate Officers as his agents. Davis also fought legally to reclaim his plantation which had been divided and rented out to his former slaves. Eventually his situation improved after the end of Reconstruction and Davis was able to write books and profit from Confederate nostalgia.

Weirdly to modern eyes, President Davis got an American stamp issue in 1970 in the Form of the Stone Mountain Memorial near Atlanta. In the last Georgia Governor’s election, Democrat candidate Staci Abrams proposed blasting the Confederate hero carving off the granite mountain in the style of the Afghan Taliban with their Buddhist stone relics. Abrams only lost the election by 20.000 votes.

Well my drink is empty and I will pour another to toast Postmaster Reagan. Putting together a successful post office in a new country during a war must have been a big undertaking. I can forgive him for breaking tradition and including President Davis on the stamps. Just founding fathers would not have done enough to make clear the Confederacy was something new. Come again  for another story that can be learned from stamp collecting. First published in 2018.

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Netherlands 1971, Prince Bernhard is honored for his part in Dutch aviation, before his reputation tarnishes

Consorting with German princes can lead to trouble. After everything though, one can respect a life well lived. So slip on your smoking jacket, fill your pipe, take your first sip of your adult beverage, and sit back in your most comfortable chair. Welcome to todays offering from The Philatelist.

A lot to like about the visuals of this stamp. First is that it looks at least 10 years newer than it is. Second that it shows the Prince as a man, with accomplishments and perhaps flaws. Then there are the airplanes. A Fokker F27 Friendship regional airliner showing off Dutch industry, and the KLM Boeing 747 reaching for the stars with it’s promise of worldwide travel.

Todays stamp is issue A123, a 25 cent stamp issued by the Netherlands on June 25th, 1971. It features Prince Consort Bernhard honoring him for his work in Dutch aviation and in other stamps in this issue, his work for the World Wildlife Fund. According to the Scott Catalog, the stamp is worth 25 cents.

The Prince was born in 1911 in Germany as a Prince in the house of Lippe. The royal house became out of work after World War I but the family still had money. The Prince was educated and took a job! with IJ Farbin the large German chemical company. He also to his later embarrassment joined the Nazi Party and served in the SS in a reserve capacity. He met Dutch Princess Julianna at a winter Olympics in 1936 and was judged a worthy suitor as a proper Royal and a Lutheran. He married Princess Julianna in 1937 and with her fathered 4 daughters including future Queen Beatrix. His German background came back to haunt him when the Germans invaded in 1940 but he willingly fought for his adopted country by flying Spitfires fighters from Britain. Julianna and the children fled to the safety of Canada. The allies were nervous of him at first but over time he earned their respect. When Queen Wilhelmina erased the honorary from her son in law’s military title, something she did not technically have the right to do, the Dutch armed forces honored it. He had a brother who fought with his native Germans and many wondered of their wartime relationship.

In 1948, Queen Wilhelmina abdicated and Bernhard’s wife Julianna became Queen. He became a jet setter who actively promoted Dutch business around the world. He also became Inspector General of the Dutch armed forces. His jet setting later led to two further illegitimate daughters, one in 1952 by an American landscape architect and a second by a French model in 1967. He also helped found the World Wildlife Fund.

He also courted controversy. In the 1960s NATO countries pooled their resources to buy fighter planes for their air forces on better terms. The group chose the Lockheed F104 Starfighter for the large order despite the model being a failure in American service. It later became controversial for it’s many crashes, In Canada, it was called the widowmaker and in Germany the tent peg. Rumors flooded Europe that the order went to Lockheed because of bribes paid. Proof was found from Prince Bernhard of him demanding a 1 million dollar “commission” to him personally in return for the Dutch order for Starfighters. He tried to claim he was above answering questions on such things but later stepped down from the armed forces and other business interests to avoid criminal prosecution.

Dutch F104 Starfighter

He had earlier controversially planted stories in the German press about his wife the Queen for seeing a faith healer, which the article described as her Rasputin. The story was true and eventually Queen Julianna was forced by the government to cut ties from her. The Royals were divided as to whether he was taking desperate measures to help her or whether it was a German Putsch to have Julianna abdicate with Bernhard leading a regency for his young daughter.

The last controversy soiled his work with the World Wildlife Fund. The Prince sold some Royal paintings for $700.000 giving the money to the WWF. The WWF than gave $500,000 back to him to help form a mercenary army in Africa to fight poachers. How much they fought poachers and how much the collaborated with them is up for debate. Post apartheid South Africa believes the target was really the ANC and Zulu freedom fighters.

The World Wildlife Fund Emblem. The panda is Chi Chi, given to the London Zoo by China in 1958 and for many years the only panda in the West. Perhaps a good way to distract from giving Prince Consorts Bernhard and British Prince Consort Phillip slush funds for their African schemes.

Prince Bernhard lived till 2004 and was considered somewhat of a character in Holland late in his life. He was awarded a full state Burial and outlived Former Queen Julianna by 8 months. The Dutch Air Force performed a missing man formation  with an old Spitfire, modern F16s, but no Starfighters.

Well my drink is empty and I will happily pour another to toast Prince Bernhard. The world needs a few characters. Come again  for another story that can be learned from stamp collecting. First published in 2018.

 

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Germany 1933, Hindenburg, the leader not the airship, goes on but is never able to recover from the stab in the back

When Germany did not recover quickly after World War I, it was natural to turn to an old national hero to get back on track. The key word is old though and his time had past. So slip on your smoking jacket, fill your pipe, take your first sip of your adult beverage and sir back in your most comfortable chair. Welcome to todays offering from The Philatelist.

This stamp is very much in the style of a royalty stamp and indeed the 1920s era German presidency had duties that closely reflected a modern royal. The exception to that is that he stood for election and in that was lowered to that level with runoffs and coalitions to obtain power. Hindenburg himself claimed to personally favor a return of the Kaiser from his exile and he be allowed to return to his retirement.

Todays stamp is issue A64, a fifty pfennig stamp issued by Germany in 1933. The issue was originally to celebrate President von Hindenburg’s 85th birthday in 1932. The stamp was issued for many years and there was a black outlined version upon Hindenburg’s death in 1934. According to the Scott catalog, the stamp is worth $2,40 used.

Paul von Hindenburg was born in 1847 in what is now Poznan, Poland. He was of noble birth and could also trace his family tree to Martin Luther. Like his father, he was a Prussian officer who fought the wars with Austria and France and eventually became a Coronel General, (equivalent to an American 2 star general), before retiring in 1911. He came out of retirement the first time in 1914 to replace a General who had lost his nerve when facing the large Russian Army early in the First World War. Hindenburg used his theories of maneuver warfare to surround and defeat the much larger Russian force at the Battle of Tannenberg. This was the site of a long ago defeat of Prussia by Slavs so was especially inspiring. Statues of Hindenburg rose throughout Germany made of wood that you could pay to put a nail in in support of war widows. Hindenburg was promoted to Field Marshall and sent to the Western Front where is theories on movement were not as applicable to the trench warfare.

No longer extant wooden Hindenburg statue at Tannenberg, now called Olsztyn by Poland. Sometimes victories must be savored quickly

 

The defeat in 1918 saw Germany shrunk, the Kaiser deposed, and German left wing element agreeing to very punitive punishments for Germany. Conservative elements in the country such as Hindenburg, again in retirement, saw this as a stab in the back to the noble German war effort. The “stab in the back” harkened back to the wonderfully titled 1876 Wagner opera Gotterdammerung. The left of course saw a disastrous war that severely bled the country of it’s men and treasure and discredited the old leadership. The early twenties saw the left in power and hyper inflation and continuing hardship among the people. The hard times lead to more radical right and left forces of Nazis and Communists that both agitated for ever more radical change. Into this, Hindenburg first in 1922 and again in 1925 offered himself as a presidential candidate that could unite the old and new right and bring back German greatness. He won in 1925 in a runoff but was not able to unite the country as the divisions were too deep. He was also unable to unite the right wing, Hitler thought him an old fool, and Hindenburg thought Hitler an uppity corporal with a funny accent. The situation became more unstable with the prospect of Hitler becoming Chancellor. In 1932, many on the left voted for Hindenburg hoping that he would prevent Hitler becoming chancellor. In the end he disappointed them by allowing Hitler to form a government. This might have been prevented as the Nazis were one of many parties and did not have a clear majority. It must be remembered that Hindenburg was quite old by then and his son Oscar had a lot of sway and was more amenable to Hitler. Hindenburg died in 1934 and the role of Chancellor and President were combined as the Nazis consolidated power.

One can see the pitfalls of even great military leaders venturing in to politics. As a head of state above politics, Hindenburg might have thrived. In an office that did not have much authority and had to consult rather than just order, Hindenburg was out of his element and forever tarnished his reputation. Both in allowing Hitler come to power and in not solving the national issues that were leading to such desperation.

Well my drink is empty and I will pour another to toast those paid to pound those nails to support war widows. They were the ones who the system failed, over and over. Come again for another story that can be learned from stamp collecting. First published in 2018.

 

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Saharaui, semi nation on the other side of the wall, of course with fake stamps

Nomads want independence, but colonialism can survive if it is not European colonialism. It can get totally entrenched once there is a wall. So slip on your smoking jacket, fill your pipe, take your first sip of your adult beverage, and sit back in your most comfortable chair. Welcome to todays offering from The Philatelist.

Todays stamp looks real enough. They were printed in Britain and some issues were labeled Sahara Occidental. At the insistence of the Moroccan Postal Authority the Universal Postal Union has condemned these issues based on the fact that there is no Sahara republic and no postal service in rebel areas. They have gone so far as to declare dealers in these issues which have been issued now for 30 years as disreputable.  The old Spanish Sahara issued stamps long enough. So a Sahara stamp that omits Spain makes some sense. However the country is more an aspiration than a reality. Given the trajectory of some African nations post independence, perhaps hope is better than the later reality.

Catalogs do not recognize stamps of Sahrawi. The UN both recognizes the Polisario Front as the spokesman for the Sahrawi people and Morocco as the administrative power. So stamps are not official although they may be available for postage in Sahrawi refugee camps in Algeria and the few towns the Polisario controls. I am going to guess the value at 25 cents.

The Spanish Sahara was a mainly nomadic area of about 100,000 people. Spain was under a lot of pressure from Morocco and to a lesser extent Mauritania to exit their colony. Spain also faced a movement within the colony for independence. When Franco died in Spain, the new Spanish government withdrew it’s officials and declared to the UN it’s administration over. Spain left an ungoverned vacuum. There had been a secret deal stuck though that divided the Spanish Sahara between Morocco and Mauritania. The people were not consulted.

A Spanish military asset in the colony had been the Tropas Nomadas. This was an indigenous military force that formally had Spanish officers. A quite large number of Saharan tribesman had served with the force and during the last year of the colony the force had transferred it’s allegiance to the local pro-independence Polisario political front. Being a desert force, it was fairly lightly armed and mainly dependent on camels and a few Spanish Land Rovers for mobility.

The day after the Spanish declared their administration over, the Polisario declared the Sahrawi Arab republic. The laid claim to the entire territory but with a temporary capital until Laayone was liberated. The Moroccan army tried to enforce the deal and occupied most of the coastal area. Many of the Sahrawi people decamped for refugee camps in sympathetic Algeria. Mauritania gave up it’s territorial gain after 2 years unable to fight the Polisario but Morocco took over their area. Morocco than built a long wall that left the Polisario out with just the landlocked dessert. Many African and Arab countries recognize Saharawi but the wall has seemed to make the situation permanent.

A Spanish actress waves the Sahrawi flag while visiting the Polisario held area
There is of course another side as to what Moroccan administration offers the Sahara. Here is a new solar energy project that opened in 2018. Morocco is earning many international brownie points for a project like this. A closer look however reveals it was funded by the African Development Bank, the Saudis and you guessed it, Spain. Solar projects in the desert don’t work to well as the solar panels need to be washed regularly with a high pressure water hose, So where to get the water?

Former American Secretary of State James Baker tried to mediate at the UN’s suggestion. He proposed a joint administration between Polisario and Morocco for four years allowing the return of refuges. This would be followed by self determining elections that most thought Polisario would win. Morocco refused to accept the peace plan.

My drink is empty. By all accounts the disputed area is a fairly desolate place, so economically the people are probably better off with Morocco as they were with Spain. That said, it is amazing that the people were never given their say. Come again for another story that can be learned from stamp collecting. First published in 2018.

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Israel 1987, Remembering Dead Sea Explorers

The Holy Land contains the Dead Sea, the lowest level of land on Earth. Proving that and exploring the possibilities of it was left to outsiders. So slip on your smoking jacket, fill your pipe, take your first sip of your adult beverage, and sit back in your most comfortable chair. Welcome to todays offering from The Philatelist.

Todays stamp is an interesting piece of history and the stamp is well printed. What also is interesting is who is doing the scientific exploration that is being rightly celebrated. An American/Confederate Naval man, an Irish Catholic Priest and a Scottish adventurer who popularized canoeing are represented. Notice that none are local Jews or for that matter Arabs. Scientific advances are the prevue of the most advanced civilizations, here is an example of that.

The stamp today is issue A417, a 50 Agorot stamp issued by Israel on November 24th, 1987. It was part of a three stamp issue that also came as a souvenir sheet the honored three 19th century Holy Land explorers. In this stamp the 1847 exploration of the Dead Sea by a United States Navy Expedition under Captain William Francis Lynch is honored. According to the Scott Catalog, the stamp is worth 40 cents used.

Captain Lynch was from Virginia and lead the exploration of the Dead Sea. By using triangulation, he was able to prove that the Dead Sea was indeed below sea level. This had been hypothesized before. The aspect of being below sea level changes temperature and cloud cover/ Solar ultraviolet rays enough that if effects the ability to maintain life, which is where the name Dead Sea derives. The unique conditions lead to substances not present elsewhere, many of which have medicinal value. The 16 man expedition had better luck than the other expeditions celebrated on this issue of stamps.

William Francis Lynch during his United States Navy service. The US Navy forgave his later service in the Confederate States Navy. A US Navy research vessel named for him, the USS Lynch, served between 1965-1994

The expedition of Irish Priest Christopher Costigan ran out of water and Costigan resorted to drinking the extremely salted Dead Sea water. It made him sick and that ended his exploration. He was taken to a monastery to recover but when they tried to transfer him to a hospital in Jerusalem, Father Costigan died on the long donkey journey.

John MacGregor, the Scottish adventurer was captured by Arab villagers who lifted his canoe out of the water while he attempted to fight them off with his oar.

John MacGregor
A drawing by John MacGregor of the capture of his canoe the Rob Roy by Arabs. He was there of course but it is funny how black and naked the Arabs are.

Captain Lynch himself had trouble on a later expedition to East Africa where he contracted malaria. He survived that and when the American Civil War broke out he resigned from the United States Navy and fought with the Confederate States of America Navy, including at the battle of Vicksburg. He ended up in a Union prisoner of war camp. He died in 1865 shortly after being given his parole.

Well my drink is empty and so I will pour another to toast the adventures who strike out against all the danger to expand mankind’s knowledge. Come again for another story that can be learned from stamp collecting. First published in 2018.