Is this what independence activists were about. A President for life, living in the old Ottoman Bey’s house and insulting the French, who educated him, then jailed him, and by the look of this stamp still dressed him. 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.
Is this a French stamp? The writing is French and this guy could pass for a French President. He was educated in France at no expense to himself. He married a rich French widow. This stamp was printed in Paris. No, this fellow hates France, lead riots against it for which he was jailed, blames all the countries problems on France. You can see the disconnect between that attitude and the image this stamp of independent Tunisia puts forward. Maybe they resent what they desire to be but know deep inside that they don’t measure up. Many Tunisians vote with their feet and head for France. Love and hate, two sides of the same coin.
Todays stamp is issue A69, a 20 Milemine stamp issued by the Republic of Tunisia on June 1st, 1960. The stamp shows President Bourguiba ratifying the new constitution and was part of a four stamp issue in various denominations. According to the Scott catalog, the stamp is worth 25 cents whether it is mint or used.
After the war French control of the Maghreb of north west Africa was at an end.The French colonial administration allowed for some self rule by leaving in place an Ottoman empire Bey Lamine. The independence fighters, all of whom were violent were divided into modernists who were secular and socialist and another traditional and religious. Bey Lamine chose to stack his ministers with modernists including Habib Bourguiba, his prime minister. At the first meetings after independence, the Bey presided now as King of Tunisia dressed in the uniform of a Marshall of the Ottoman Empire. This was not what the modernists had in mind and with the French gone and the traditional Arabist in exile, in Geneva so maybe not so traditional, it was time to go after the King.
At Bourguiba demand, Tunisia was declared a republic and the elderly Bey/King put under house arrest in the borrowed apartment of a recently departed Jewish friend. Bourguiba of course wanted the Carthage Palace for himself. Next came the search for the Crown Jewels which were never found. Queen Lalia did not survive the four day interrogation over the location of the jewels that went as far as having her stomach pumped. The King died a few years later.
Bourguiba liked to put himself forward as modern and like many modern rulers of post colonial countries he kept all power for himself. In 1976 he declared himself President for life. He modeled himself after Turkey’s Ataturk but had lessor results. As he got old and infirm his second wife began to rule in his place. Eventually the deputy, Prime Minister Ben Ali enacted a medical coup that placed the former President out of the Palace and under house arrest. Bourguiba’s wife ran for Paris before it was her turn to have her stomach pumped and Bourguiba divorced her. Prime Minister Ben Ali fell himself during the Arab Spring. He fled in the Presidential Jet but to France’s credit was denied landing and had to divert to Saudi Arabia. His wife Leila, a former Paris hairdresser made it out with him but is wanted by Tunisia for money laundering. The more things change, the more they stay the same. Perhaps Turkish President Erdogan could appoint a new Bey in exchange for a modest annual Suzerainty.
Well my drink is empty and I am left wondering whether on Tunisian independence Day if the celebrations were bigger in Paris or Tunis. There was definitely nervousness in Carthage(Palace). Come again for another story that can be learned from stamp collecting. First published in 2019.