Month: May 2022

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Malaysia 1974, Remembering the tin industry during it’s Malaysian sunset

We have often covered here how colonial periods often bring in new ethnicities into a place. In Malaysia’s case, Chinese came in to then Malaya to mine for tin. 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 shows a gravel pump tin mine in Malaysia. Water is sprayed forcing up the gravel and allowing the tin to be filtered out. It is a fairly old tech, low cost way of mining for tin. Showing an older way harkens back to when the industry was started in the 19th century by Chinese emigres. This activity is what made many of them rich and indeed the capital Kuala Lumpur started as an important tin mining town.

Todays stamp is issue A50, a 15 cent issue of Malaysia on October 31st, 1974. It was part of a three stamp issue in various denominations that displayed the local tin industry in honor of that years International Tin Conference in Kuala Lumpur. According to the Scott catalog, the stamp is worth 35 cents used.

Tin mining was started by Chinese emigres in then Malaya in the early nineteenth century. At the time, tin mining was extremely labor intensive as it mainly consisted of manually digging and separating out the tin. The importation of the Chinese laborers was handled by the Chinese themselves. While some deals were struck with local Malayans and their Sultans, there were also some turf wars as the Malayans sought their share of the bounty. There was also trouble between various Chinese Tongs over who would control the opium trade and brothels that grew up around the mines.

The British used this instability as an excuse to formalize their control over Malaya. This allowed the Chinese to become more entrenched in Malaya and enjoy their new found wealth in more stable and fast growing Kuala Lumpur. The British saw the opportunity to install more modern dredge style tin mining, that had higher yields and was less labor intensive. The Chinese did not have the capital to install their own dredges and so fell behind.

Over time tin mining has become less important. The easily recovered tin is mostly exhausted leaving reserves that are more complicated to exploit. Tin prices on the world market are quite cyclical, favoring low cost producers. There is also the issue that it would be no longer possible to import large numbers of Chinese to work new mines. It has reached the point that Malaysia is a net importer of tin.

Well my drink is empty and I will pour another to toast the Chinese in Malaysia. It must have been quite a challenge to go to a new land and build a new life with the Malayans and the British always trying to take their share of any accomplishment. Come again for another story that can be learned from stamp collecting. First published in 2019.

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Jamaica 1970, Jamaica remembers rebel leader Gordon while Australia remembers Governor Eyre

Some times people see things differently. Even if there is a certain similarity. 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.

Among my favorite Jamaican stamp issues is the national heroes issue of 1970, We have already covered one here. https://the-philatelist.com/2018/08/09/jamaica-1970-mixed-race-leaders-try-to-graft-socialism-onto-black-jamaica/This stamp features a rebel leader who was convicted of treason in 1865 and hung. It seems natural that Jamaica, newly independent, would look back into the colonial history and highlight people that were key in the long struggle. However in Australia, The British governor of Jamaica who repressed the rebellion was also honored with a stamp, not for what happened in Jamaica but his earlier accomplishments in Australia. Both stamps taken together show how similar the men were, although I am sure neither would admit it.

Todays stamp is issue A89, a one cent stamp issued by independent Jamaica on March 11th, 1970. It was part of a 5 stamp issue in various denominations that honoured the newly declared national heroes of Jamaica. According to the Scott catalog, the stamp is worth 25 cents whether it is mint or used.

George William Gordon was born to a Scottish planter and slave mother. At age 10 he was sent to live with his godfather who was active in business and brought Gordon in. Soon in his own right, Gordon was a wealthy businessman, landowner, assemblyman, and church Deacon at the African Baptist church. He was active in opposing British rule and even tried to acquire a former Confederate schooner to ferry arms to the he felt oppressed majority in Jamaica of former slaves.

Edward John Eyre was born in England. He set out for Australia at age 16. Through hard work, he acquired a flock of 400 lambs and raising them in New South Wales. At age 22 he drove his flock of now over 1000 lamb and 600 cattle to Adelaide where they were sold for a large profit. The profits were then used to fund three expeditions that explored the Australian interior. This brought him some fame and he was then charged as a colonial administrator in first New Zealand and later as the British appointed Governor of Jamaica.

Governor Eyre

After slavery ended in Jamaica the plantation system broke down with former slaves were attempting subsistence farming on small farms with poor results. In 1865 in Morant Bay, a black man was convicted of trespassing and stealing from a long abandoned plantation and given a long prison sentence. This did not sit well with the locals who took over the town center, burned the courthouse, and killed in the street the local officials. The African Baptist church than lead a march toward Kingston to present their demands to Governor Eyre. Instead of meeting with them, he sent troops that killed 400, flogged 1000 more and burned many homes. The leader of the church and co conspirator Gordon were tried for treason and hung. The rebellion failed and Britain withdrew some of the self government previously granted at Governor Eyre’s suggestion.

Gordon’s case became somewhat a cause celeb among the British left afterward. Gordon had been in contact previously with members of the English religious left as part of his role as deacon in Jamaica. Notables including John Stuart Mill tried to have charges brought against now recalled Governor Eyre. On Eyre side were more right wing notables including Charles Dickens who respected Eyre and thought he had taken the necessary tough decisions. The case went Eyre’s way and he lived quietly for the rest of his life in England.

Today in Australia many geographic points in Australia have Eyre’s name while in Jamaica, you will find much named after Gordon. He is even on the $10 coin. So now like then you can pick your place and choose whom you admire. I find myself most drawn by their similarities.

Well my drink is empty. Come again  for another story that can be learned from stamp collecting. First published in 2019.

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Croatia 1941, Croatia achieves independence by aligning with bad people and then pays a huge price

It is challenging to write about the stamps of the Balkan World War II states. On one hand, peoples got their own countries, often for the first time in centuries, On the other hand the leaders were fascists, and therefore the end of the war saw many paying the ultimate price for the association. 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.

This issue of stamps of the then new independent state of Croatia show views of the new country. This itineration of Croatia was twice the size of the modern state. The view of the small city of Dubrovnik still lies within Croatia. In 1991-92 after a new independence, the city was subject to a siege from Montenegrins and Serbs who claimed the city. The lines between nationalities is blured, and therefore often deadly purges follow changes in political status.

Todays stamp is issue A1, a 6 Kuna stamp that was the first issue of the independent state of Croatia in 1941. It was part of a 19 stamp issue in various denominations. According to the Scott catalog, the stamp is worth 25 cents whether mint or used. There are imperforate versions of the stamps that were presented to the countries leaders in special albums by the printer and also a special version for a Philatelic Exposition in Banjaluka in 1942. These are slightly more valueable but there is an understandable queasiness in the hobby of the fascist issues.

Croatia was granted independence in 1941 after the German invasion. The hope was that by giving minorities a measure of freedom they would not have to be occupied. It was the first time Croatia had achieved independence since 1100 AD. As the new leader, Ante Pavelic was chosen. He had been in Italy after being sentenced to death in absentia in Yugoslavia and France for his alleged part in the assassination of Yugoslav King Alexander  I, see https://the-philatelist.com/2018/02/08/it-is-dangerous-to-rule-the-kingdom-of-serbs-croats-and-slovenes/. His rule was more closely aligned with the Italians than the Germans and tried to reduce the role of Serbians in the new country. The goal of his plans were to kill 1/3rd of the Serbs, deport 1/3, and the last third be assimilated. As such, most of the fascist cruelty was aimed at the Serbs, although the few Jews and Gypsies were also persecuted.

Ante Pavolic in office

As the tide of the war turned many Croats felt they would not have a future in a post war Yugoslavia. Dubrovnik had fallen to the Yugoslav partisans in October 1944 and what fallowed were a few show trials and many massacres. Croatia was still in German hands as the war ended and what fallowed was a major refugee movement toward Austria in hopes of surrendering to the British army there, thus avoiding their fate with the Yugoslav partisans. Pavelic and several hundred thousand of his followers made it to Bleiberg, Austria in the days after the war.  To their surprise, many were the forced marched back to Yugoslavia and over 100,000 were massacred. When the British saw what was happening, they eventually stopped the forced repatriations and many Croatians were resettled in Peron’s Argentina.

Pavelic himself post war was the quintessential fascist running man after the war. He was not immediately arrested in Austria and acquired a string of false identities as a Hungarian or Peruvian priest. He hid out with Catholic monasteries and even at the Papal summer residence in Italy. The Church knew who he was and eventually helped him and his family travel to Argentina. He lived there officially under one of his aliases and worked as a bricklayer. Over time he became friendly with Evita Peron and worked with other Croatian exiles to form a government in exile. In 1957 he was shot while getting off a city bus by a Serb Royalist. In hospital his identity was confirmed and the post Peron government began moves to deport him to Yugoslavia. He ran to Chile and then to Spain but never fully recovered from the wounds and died at age 70 in 1959.

Pavelic’s picture from his fake passport when on the run

Modern Croatia initially honored the memory of the Bleiberg repatriations/massacres. Over time, the association and symbols of Pavelic’s movement have caused some queasiness. In 2012, the modern Croatian government pulled funding for the annual Bleiberg commemoration as it was deemed too partisan.

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