Month: August 2022

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Southern Rhodesia 1943, remembering the Pioneers that conquered Matabeleland

As we have covered in many colonial stamps there was a rush inland from trading post to find and then get rich off of the minerals found. Sometimes the land rushes got ahead of the wishes of the home country. In this case a private company controlled by Cecil Rhodes hired an army dubbed the pioneer column to claim Matabeleland. 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.

By the time of this stamp in 1943, the exploits of the Pioneer Column had been fully embraced by the British Empire. A force outnumbered 10 to one had massacred the Matabele warriors. Matabele King Lobengula was on the run afterwards but a small force of 34 Pioneers looking for him then found instead several thousand more Matabele warriors and fought to the last man. Brave, exciting stuff and with white settlers following into the area of then Rhodesia honoured the memory. Zimbabwe as it is now known not so much, they even took away the holiday for the Pioneers, but we still have the stamp.

Todays stamp is issue A17, a 2 Pence stamp issued by the British Crown Colony of Southern Rhodesia on November 1st, 1943. It was a single stamp issue honouring the 50th anniversary of the British South Africa Company’s Pioneer column defeat of the Matabele Kingdom at the Battle of the Shangani. According to the Scott catalog, the stamp is worth 35 cents. There is supposedly a renewed interest in Rhodesian memorabilia after the failure of Zimbabwe’s long term ruler Mugabe. If so, perhaps the stamp is undervalued.

The Matabele Kingdom under King Lobengula had made peace with the Boers and had further signed a mineral concession with Cecil Rhodes’s British South Africa Company. The company had a Royal Charter, but had no authorization from Britain to claim new lands. Rhodes however realized that there would be an inevitable war with the Matabele when they discovered that mines also meant white settlers. He recruited a private one thousand man army mostly from the white English of South Africa. He recruited sons of prominent families hoping that if they got into trouble, the British Army would rescue them.

The Pioneer column marched into Matabeleland and established themselves in a moveable fort called a laager that the Boers had also used. The Matabele force of 5000 had a few rifles but mainly spears. The Pioneers had searchlights and a machine gun and the night attack on the laager went very badly. Several thousand were killed at a loss of four men. Matabele King Lobengula abandoned his capital and was on the run. A 34 man patrol of Pioneers was looking for the King when they were found by the remainder of the Matabele warriors. This time they were outnumbered 100 to one and were without a machine gun. 3 Men broke off from the patrol to get help, but the rest fought to the last man and killed more than 10 for each of their losses. Rhodesia had its Alamo. King Lobengula soon died and the remaining Matabele accepted Cecil Rhodes’ offered peace terms.

King Lobengula

The mineral empire of Cecil Rhodes went into some flux after his death in 1902 without heirs. He was a homosexual. The British South Africa company never made money as the administration and security cost of protecting the many white settlers exceeded by far mineral royalties and income taxes they imposed on white and black. In 1923 the settlers petitioned to become a Crown Colony. There was no effort by post independence Zimbabwe to grant Matabeleland independence and Mugabe viewed the Matabele suspiciously.

Well my drink is empty and while I have some sympathy for the plight of the Matabele, first at the hands of the Rhodesians and later from Zimbabwe, I am impressed with the bravery and sense of adventure of the Pioneers as seen on todays stamp. Come again for another story that can be learned from stamp collecting. First published in 2019.

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Liberia 1969, Tubman promotes a back to Africa movement with an open door

Liberia’s President for life William Tubman was the son of freed American slaves whose journey to Liberia had been paid by Augusta, Georgia philanthropist. Emily Tubman. The new arrivals took her surname in Liberia and settled together. When son William was elected President, it seemed natural to him to open the door to American blacks to provide the investment that post colonial Africa needed. 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 from back in 1969, is an early version of the world stamp market farm out stamp. The subject, “The Heads of Negroes” drawing usually attributed to Dutchman Peter Paul Rubens is a good subject. It is today one of his most popular works as it captures the exotic nature of the subject, while not treating him in a disrespectful manner that one might expect from 17th century Antwerp.

Todays stamp is issue A197, a 10 cent stamp issued by Liberia on November 18th, 1969. It was a 16 stamp issue of paintings by the masters. According to the Scott catalog, the stamp is worth 25 cents whether it is mint, or as here cancelled to order.

Liberia was never a colony of Europe, but rather was established by freed American slaves who then politically dominated the areas native tribes. See https://the-philatelist.com/2018/02/06/free-african-americans-colonize-africa/ . The freed slaves were never more than 10 percent of the population and a very low percentage of freed slaves in America opted to return to Africa. The Tubman group that was President Tubman’s heritage arrived in 1844. Emily Tubman felt the presence of freed slaves among those still enslaved was disruptive and put downward pressure on the wages of poor whites and paid for the journey of freed blacks who volunteered. William Tubman was a man of many occupations including a Methodist lay minister, a soldier, and a lawyer despite having little formal education. He served in the Liberian Senate and Supreme Court before being elected President in 1944. In the modern African style, he served the rest of his life.

President Tubman

Tubman, as President, believed that Liberia missed out on the benefits of colonization in that it did not receive the infrastructure improvements that African colonies received. For example, the capital Monrovia did not have paved streets, a sewer system, or proper port facilities when Tubman took office. He opened Liberia to America, especially targeting investment and he hoped a resident inflow from American blacks. In this he was assisted by the former wife of Jamaican/ American repatriation leader Marcus Garvey, Amy Ashwood Garvey. With her, President Tubman had an extramarital affair. Tubman achieved some investment in rubber plantations and iron mines but most of the benefit stayed with the few that were of American slave heritage. Meanwhile the population was exploding thanks to USA food aid. Not many black Americans moved to Liberia and it wouldn’t be long before the native Africans would not allow themselves to be dominated peacefully.

This Rubens drawing is not the style of work for which he is best known. At age 53, four years after the death of his first wife, Rubens married her 16 year old niece. She was the voluptuous model for the series of nudes that followed and for which Rubens is best remembered. “The Heads of Negroes” drawing resides in his museam in Antwerp, the city he did most of his work.

Well my drink is empty and I will pour another to toast the late President Tubman. He brought some unique ideas to the table regarding post colonial Africa. Haile Selassie of Ethiopia is better remembered, but perhaps both men should have been more listened to in their time. Come again  for another story that can be learned from stamp collecting. First published in 2019.

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Saint Helena, trying to keep interest up so Britain continues the subsity

An obscure out of the way island brings in 8 million dollars of goods a year and only exports 1 million. Sounds like a place that is not working. This is literally the case, but that does not mean there have not been 100s of years of schemers with an investment opportunity to turn that around. 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 stamp is a little bit of alternate reality. The stamps show road building, apartment building, a new hospital ward, and new schools. All things Britain is doing for Saint Helena. At the time, the fear on the island was that much of the help from Britain would just dry up. This stamp issue makes Saint Helena seen awfully expensive. Perhaps the real goal was to make the island seem like a happening place and a nice place to settle.

Todays stamp is issue A36, a half penny stamp issued by Saint Helena on November 4th, 1968. It was part of a fifteen stamp issue in various denominations that show progress on the island. According to Scott catalog, the stamp is worth 25 cents whether it is mint or used.

Saint Helena was discovered uninhabited by the Portuguese in 1502. The Portuguese settlement did not last. The next interest was from The British East India company as it was a useful stopping point on the around Africa wind powered sailing route. Thus the island came into their hands and they tried to set up coffee plantations manned by Africans, Chinese, and even a few Indians. The remote location made it usefull place to house exiles, most famously Napoleon, but also a exiled Sultan of Zanzibar and later Boer prisoners of war. The India trade dried up with steam power and the Suez canal and the islands administration passed to Britain. For a while, the Royal Navy’s anti slavery patrols off Africa were based out of Saint Helena

I mentioned the coffee plantation and Napoleon’s exile. Napoleon had mentioned in letters that Saint Helena coffee was quite good. The local coffee planter named Saul Solomon used the Napoleon connection to market  coffee in Paris and London. The coffee was the most expensive in the world and the high price realized allowed the plantation to survive the end of slavery and the departure of former slaves and coolies from the island. Eventually the company was sold to a South African concern and then took over by the Saint Helena government to keep coffee production going as the influence of Napoleon’s opinion on todays coffee drinker has faded.

The next scheme was postage stamps. They started early in 1856 and still today comprise 10 percent of exports. It is more a commission than an export as the stamps were printed first in Britain and more recently in China.

The latest scheme is the airport. After much discussion and a vote on Saint Helena, it was decided for Britain to construct an airport at the edge of a cliff. This was the only possible place and it may or may not yield landing and takeoff problems due to wind shear at the cliff. After many delays Britain opened the airport in 2016 and in 2017 attracted a South African airline to offer weekly service with a small regional jet.

Saint Helena’s new expensive, windy, cliffside airport. Tourist welcome!

Britain did something else nice for Saint Helena recently. They changed their citizenship standing giving British passports and thus the ability to move to the Britain. So far 20% of the formally 5000 residents have taken advantage.

Well my drink is empty and I will pour another for the British Commonwealth Stamp collector. We all love the stamps of these far off posts of Empire despite the cost. I wonder if farming the issues to China will be the death of that? Come again  for another story that can be learned from stamp collecting. First published in 2019.

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Danish West Indies 1900, Triangular Trade becomes Triangular bidding

If everything is working, and everyone involved has the ability to hold their nose, triangular trade can be very profitable. The seedy side of capitalism here is not just the slavery but also the fact that the profits stayed private, but when the losses came it was to Denmark while the profiteer absconded. 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.

Early stamps from isolated colonies often have wild variations as the local postmaster had to improvise while his stamp printer was thousands of miles away. The variations were real and not concocted for collectors. This stamp was supposed to be the end of that as it was printed in greater numbers and conformed to the then new universal postal union. Distance was still great and again there were local surcharges of this issue. In 1905, there was a new currency, so the whole process started again with a new stamp issue.

Todays stamp is issue A5, a one cent stamp issued by the Crown Colony of the Danish West Indies in 1900. It was a 2 stamp issue with further denominations coming in 1902. My stamp is the early version in the lowest value with no surcharges. According to the Scott catalog, the stamp is worth $3 whether mint or used. A stamp with the later overprint and the frame of the stamp inverted is worth $900 used.

Saint Thomas was first settled by the Danes in 1668 with only about half of those setting out making it there. Most of them were convicts and ex prostitutes. It was an undertaking of a private company The Danish West India-Guinea company. The idea was to trade molasses and rum from Denmark with Africans at Christianborg Castle in present day Ghana, see https://the-philatelist.com/2018/08/22/gold-coast-1948-christianborg-castle-is-readied-for-its-last-turnover/ , in return for African slaves. They were imported to the Danish West Indies and employed on sugar cane plantations run by mainly Jewish planters affiliated with the company. The sugar cane was then taken to Denmark and sold on and taxed from a company warehouse in Copenhagen, completing the triangle. With slave labor the profits were high but there were frequent large losses when a ship was lost to hurricanes or piracy.

After a run of bad luck the company was seized for nonpayment of taxes and the Danish West Indies became a Danish Crown Colony. The leader of the company, Frederik Bargum, had absconded Denmark the year before. As we have seen on so many colonial stamps the end of slavery saw the whole economic system collapse. Denmark banned the importation of new slaves in 1804 and all the slaves were freed in 1848 with the planters receiving compensation for the value of “their” slaves. Many now former slaves remained in place and took annual contracts to continue working the plantations. The plantation however was no longer seeing to food and housing and the freed slaves situation deteriorated and the productivity declined.

Frederik Bargum

In the late 19th century Denmark was looking for a way out of the colony and approached the USA about buying it. When the USA seemed less than enthusiastic, Denmark created a triangle that worked and offered to sell the colony to Germany. Not wanting Germany to have it, The USA paid Denmark $25 million for what became the American Virgin Islands. They do not have their own stamps.

When all the ships arrived the triangle trade was very profitable. I mentioned above Frederik Bargum, the merchant who absconded Denmark leaving many bills. He also left behind the Yellow Palace, the first example of neoclassic architecture in Copenhagen. The house later served as a royal residence, most recently for Prince Valdemar until 1939.

The Yellow Palace, Copenhagen

Well this is a tough story to earn another drink out of. The triangle trade stunk to hell and the USA was obviously on the short end of the second triangle. Grasping at straws and still thirsty, I will toast neoclassic architecture as demonstrated by the Yellow Palace. Come again for another story that can be learned from stamp collecting. First published in 2019.

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Macau 1913, the Tanka try to keep the Han out and the Portuguese in their place

Portugal never made the most out of their colonies. Their explorers had very early on encircled the world but their traders left and did not come back. Eventually leaving the Portuguese as threadbare caretakers. So slip on your smoking jacket, fill your pipe, tape 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 a universal Portuguese colonial issue that displays Ceres, the Roman Gad of agriculture. She shows up on a fair number of Latin country stamps. See the one from Argentina, https://the-philatelist.com/2018/11/21/argentina-1954-peron-invokes-ceres-to-enobile-the-grain-exchange/  . Macau was a classic trading post colony, so agriculture was not a big part of the place. Food was brought in from China, and so it was their problem and opportunity to feed Macau. An example of the distance between Portugal and her far off subjects.

Todays stamp is issue A16, a 2 Avos stamp issued by the Portuguese overseas province of Macau in 1913. It was a 16 stamp issue with many later overprints to represent changing circumstances. According to the Scott catalog, the stamp is worth $1.75 unused.

The offshore island of Macau was discovered by Portuguese explorer Jorge Alvares in the early 17th century. The native people in the area were mainly the tanku people, a seafaring group of Chinese that often even live on their junk style boats. A seafaring group will be more ethnically diverse and among the Han Chinese they acquired a gypsy like reputation. Though relations with the Ming dynasty was rough, a Portuguese trade representative sent by the King was hung, the Chinese agreed to a permanent  lease on Macau. Over time Macau got larger through land reclamation but the Portuguese were never more than five percent of the population. Even their occupying troops tended to be Sepoys hired from India or even Askaris from Africa. The Portuguese traders were often Jews that usually intermarried with the Tanku and Jesuits were sent to make the area Catholic. The schools brought by the Jesuits were used but they did not have much luck converting Macau to Catholicism. See https://the-philatelist.com/2017/11/10/remember-the-divine-duty-of-empire/

A free port was very useful has a place where contract laborers called coolies from China could be sent far and wide. This trade was mostly done by Chinese Tong criminal societies but with the end of the slave trade there was a big market for cheap labor. Macau used its special status to open lucrative casinos but generally was in the shadow of much more successful Hong Kong.

The Portuguese declining position in Macau can be seen in how two riots were handled. In the 19th century, a monthly tax on Chinese junk boats was started. A flotilla of untaxed junks entered the harbor in 1846, landed and clashed with Sepoy police and the Chinese delayed good sales to the Portuguese. They were fired upon, the boats in the harbor were fired on from a harbor fortress and the Governor threatened to burn the Chinese quarter. China sent two Mandarins to apologize for the trouble and Portugal stopped paying the annual rental to China they had paid for many years. In 1967 a communist school for Chinese was allowed  but then progress was slowed after the Chinese refused to pay the customary bribe for building permits. The ensuing  riots saw another delay in supply sales from China and riots tore down Portuguese statues. This time it was the Portuguese turn to grovel and apologize and ban Taiwan KMT presence in Macau. The real issue. Interestingly Portuguese offers to turn over Macau to China were rebuffed. China had not hit yet upon their two systems one China approach of how to bring in these relatively prosperous trading posts into China without destroying their special nature. Portugal willingly ended their administration in 1999, slightly outlasting Hong Kong. The Chinese have agreed to mostly keep out the Han people and open more casinos.

Well my drink is empty and I am left wondering about Chinese governance. The Portuguese were never big on good government and it can be seen how much better off Hong Kong was compared to Macau. Yet through many systems and despite Macau’s gypsy heritage, Portugal did so much better by Macau than China did with the ports they ran for themselves. It is only this generation where this is changing but with Britain and Portugal gone, there is no alternative. Come again for another story that can be learned from stamp collecting.

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Australia 1927, the problems of starting a new capital from scratch

It was said by Albert Speer that moving the capital of a country out of the big city is a mistake. He understood that it reduced congestion, but felt that politicians and bureaucrats were just boring people and not being around the artists and achievers  of the big city will leave the area a  wasteland. He was talking in relation to Bonn in Germany but then pointed to Washington, Ottawa, and the subject of todays stamp Canberra, in Australia. Was he right? 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.

Speers argument makes some sense when looking at this stamp. There is a home on the range aspect that is pretty strange on a picture of a then new Parliament Building. The building is done in the stripped neoclassic style that was common in the 1920s. Especially when the architect was American and had come from the Frank Lloyd Wright school of design. The stripping off of ornamentation and the strong sense of the spread out horizontal is right there to see. What is surprising is that in use the building proved quite cramped.

Todays stamp is issue A5, a 1 and a half penny stamp issued by the Commonwealth of Australia on May 9th, 1927. It was a single stamp issue that celebrated the completion of what is now the old Parliament building of Australia. According to the Scott catalog, the stamp is worth $1.10 used. An imperforate between them pair of this stamp is worth $11,000.

After Australia came together in 1901, there was a debate about what should be the capital. Provisionally it was Melbourne but others favored the larger Sydney. Eventually it was agreed to develop a new capital a hundred miles from Sydney, on an area of land ceded from New South Wales. This may sound familiar to the story of the American capital. Indeed the project was lead by Interior Secretary King O’Malley, who was an American expatriate who claimed Canadian birth to ease his entry into Australian politics.  The design he picked to build was from  another American Walter Burley Griffon. In another American frontier touch, he declared the capital area a dry, (no liquor) region. That sends shivers though this philatelist.

The city plan was not followed through on quickly due to the wars and lack of funds. In the 1950s they tried to redouble the efforts but by then Griffin had moved on to later work in India and the city resembled a strung out series of suburbs. Eventually a national Library, a University, and a few museums were strung together. A man made lake and a redwood forest that were part of the original plan are in place. The city has about 400,000 residents.

Sheep in the field near Parliament House. Not part of Griffin’s plan

In 1988, a new Parliament house opened to coincide with further self rule. The House on the stamp still stands though over the years it was haphazardly added on to, losing the gardens. It currently houses the Museum of Australian Democracy.

Well my drink is empty and I am glad I am not stuck in a dry county. Come again for another story that can be learned from stamp collecting. First published in 2019.

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Pakistan, atoms for peace poliferates until Buddha smiles

How could an American PR stunt lead to two undeveloped countries obtaining nuclear weapons. It took a smiling Buddha nuclear test in India in 1974 to see the calamity of atoms for peace. 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.

Pakistan was a new country in 1948. As such there are a lot of the countries first stamps. Among these issues for Pakistan is a new paper mill in 1955, a new agricultural university in 1968, and a new steel mill in 1969. Though serving the nation, many of the above were built with outside help. Nevertheless, interesting issues to me. One than stands out though is todays 1965 issue showing Pakistan’s first nuclear reactor, given to it by the USA as part of the atoms for peace program. India received a reactor themselves about the same time again with help from the USA and Canada. Normally I am annoyed when a gift is given and who gave it to them is not acknowledged on the stamp. Here however, where it just shows stupidity, so there should be as little acknowledgement as possible.

Todays stamp is issue A71, a 15 Piasa stamp issued by Pakistan on April 30th, 1966. It was a single stamp issue showing off Pakistan’s first atomic reactor, the PARR-1, in Islamabad. According to the Scott catalog, the stamp is worth 25 cents.

Both India’s and Pakistan’s nuclear programs relied on native born scientists given free advanced educations at Cambridge University in Britain during the last days of British India. See https://the-philatelist.com/2019/03/18/india-1984-rakesh-sharma-becomes-a-cosmonaut-and-goes-to-space/.   The theoretical knowledge of how things work does not mean there was any capability. Abdus Salam was still a science advisor to the Pakistani President Ayub Kahn and set up a Pakistani Atomic Commission back in 1956.

Dr Abdus Salam even got a stamp. Yea nuclear proliferator!

The American atoms for peace program began as a speech given by American President Eisenhower in 1953. The idea was that access to nuclear secrets would be provided with view to nuclear power generation in exchange for the countries agreement to not produce nuclear weapons and that nuclear facilities meet international standards. Early recipients of nuclear reactors under the program were Iran, Israel, Pakistan, and India. Only Iran is not yet a nuclear power, probably due to not being part of British India early and getting one of those scholarships to Cambridge. What a calamity.

The calamity of the program came to a head when India exploded a crude nuclear bomb in 1974. They called the operation Smiling Buddha and obfuscated about what the test meant. America and Canada withdrew support for both Indian and Pakistani reactors but by then the programs were far along with expertise built up and new reactors in the pipeline. Pakistan was not able to conduct its first nuclear test until 1998, after China had stepped in to assist Pakistan’s nuclear program. It was quite a test though with 5 bombs detonated. This made clear that Pakistan’s deterrent was in place. The initial bombs were to be tossed sideways from fighters, American supplied F16s.This may or may not have worked. Remember the original atom bombs were dropped from bomb bays of big bombers from high altitude with parachutes to give the plane time to get away. They have since developed medium range nuclear capable missiles. Abdus Salam having received a Nobel Prize, no not for peace, died in 1996 before the test. Therefore perhaps too much credit/blame is given to A. Q. Kahn. Interesting he had left Pakistan in protest to Pakistan declaring his religious sect non Muslim. Too bad they didn’t do that earlier before the damage was done.

Well my drink is empty and I may have a few more while I contemplate the idiocy of atoms for peace. Come again  for another story that can be learned from stamp collecting. First published in 2019.

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Viet Cong 1964, Better blow up the Canberra bombers that the USA wasn’t supposed to send

Here we have a fake stamp covering a real attack on bombers that were not supposed to be there. I will try to get to the bottom of the creation of this unique stamp. 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 stamp is rather hard to identify. It looks North Vietnamese and indeed is printed there. Notice the rough state of the perforations. Instead though it is an issue of the National Liberation Front of South Vietnam, the Viet Cong. The stamp is also a little confusing because the plane blowing up on the stamp is the well known British Canberra bomber. The USA used them as well, repackaged as the B-57 and used them extensively in Vietnam, including before they were supposed to.

The Scott catalog does not recognize the issues of the Viet Cong. For a stamp to be considered real there has to be a postal system. If the Viet Cong had one, they never convinced the stamp collecting world of it.

In 1964, the USA was doing much to help prop up the government of South Vietnam. The mostly communist National Liberation Front was receiving support from North Vietnam and trying to overthrow the South government, which was left by the French when they left in 1954. Under the terms of the Geneva Protocol, outsiders were not allowed to deploy jets to Vietnam. Thus the early bombers sent were old B26 piston engine bombers. In early 1964, a B26 crashed in the USA and the fleet was grounded. It was decided to then get around the ban by deploying B57 Canberra jet bombers, but claim they were out of the Philippines. The idea was to operate them with South Vietnamese markings and joint crews. This just did not work out. In late 1964 48 B57s arrived at Bien Hoa airbase. Four of the aircraft crashed on arrival. The airfield was also not secure from Viet Cong attack. On Halloween night 1964 the base came under a 30 minute long mortar barrage. The base was crowded and many of the bombers were parked in the open air. Five B57s were destroyed that night and 13 more were damaged. This is the attack depicted on the stamp. The idea of joint manning with the South Vietnamese did not work out as the South Vietnamese crews thought the plane was beyond their capabilities. There was another disaster involving the B-57 in early 1965 when a fully loaded bomber exploded while waiting in line to take off that set up chain reaction explosions on over a dozen additional bombers.

The B57 Canberra eventually proved useful in Vietnam with it’s long range and war load allowing it to fly up and down the Ho Chi Minh  trail for hours at a time hunting supply trucks. The B57 was one of the last American plane units to leave Vietnam in 1972. The Bien Hoa airbase  was directly attacked during the Tet offensive and nearly fell with many planes damaged. However the South Vietnamese managed to hold on to it until the surrender in 1975. The air base is still operational and Vietnam operate SU 30 fighter bombers from there.

North Vietnamese Army capturing Bien Hoa Airbase in 1975. The B57s were gone by then but it looks like they got some F5s

One interesting issue that arose as South Vietnam fell was who runs it post war. Viet Cong officials tried to set themselves up in the government offices in Saigon after the fall. This did not last and quickly South Vietnam was being run directly from Hanoi. It is now the official position of Vietnam that Viet Cong units were part of the North Vietnamese Army.

Well my drink is empty and I will pour another to toast Vietnam veterans. Come again for another story that can be learned from stamp collecting. First published in 2019.

 

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Ghana 1973, Somehow the Gold Coast can’t feed itself

When the Gold Coast became independent Ghana, still with lots of gold, hopes were high. President Kwame Nkrumah had style, copied directly by President Obama, and big plans. When neither him nor his rivals could deliver, it was time for the army to try to get back to basics. What is more basic than a feed yourself campaign? 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 laughed when I examined this stamp. Is Ghana suggesting feeding yourself by way of wet nurses. Did the junta want to celebrate the glorious anniversary of their majestic coup by deploying wet nurses to hungry areas. On closer look she is proposing to feed you by selling you a banana. All in all pretty pathetic for the freaking Gold Coast.

Todays stamp is issue A113, a five penny stamp issued by independent Ghana in April 1973. It was an 8 stamp issue that was also available as a souvenir sheet that promoted the new feed yourself campaign. According to the Scott catalog , the stamp is worth 25 cents whether mint or used.

In 1972 Ashanti Catholic Ghana Army Coronel Ignatius Kutu Acheanpong was dissatisfied by the economic progress of the elected government. In the over a decade since independence, the country under both the left and the right wing governments had performed poorly and still relied on foreign charity for food. The Coronel believed that by promoting agriculture the country would no long feel the humiliation of constantly begging from people you hate. The USA provided the lions share of the worlds food aid at the time. Ghana still had gold, the mine had opened in 1897, but maintaining output under government control was difficult and the crude methods ecologically destructive. Coronal Acheanpong was not able to get the results he wanted. Ghana is still today a large recipient of food aid, theirs now comes from Japan. In 1978 it was time for a General, Fred Akuffo to try his hand. and there was another coup. In 1979, Ghana took a different tact. A Flight Lieutenant from the Air force, Jerry Rawlings, had a third coup and blamed the problems on higher ups in the military and tribal system. He was an outsider to that as he was the illegitimate son of an Englishman with a wife at home and a local female. He had never been trained abroad and had no important tribal connections. To clear the decks, he had both Coronel Acheanpong and General Akuffo shot. The earlier failed politicians had sensibly gone into exile after their failures.

This actually went a little better with Rawlings transitioning to an elected President. The gold mining situation improved with the government selling off a share in the gold mine Ashanti Goldfields. The outside investment allowed for modernized mining methods and proving additional reserves. It also lead into falling back into foreign control of the wealth. Ashanti Goldfields was merged into Anglo-American Gold, of South Africa. You can probably guess that something that calls itself Anglo-American is neither Anglo nor American and you would be correct. It was an old South African front outfit for the German Jews that took over Cecil Rhodes’ mineral empire when he died without heirs. See https://the-philatelist.com/2018/12/21/south-africa-1966-a-tiny-minority-can-go-it-alone-because-they-have-diamonds-but-do-they/   . Ghana still generates over $6 billion a year in gold but still had to rely on food aid. The food aid is mainly wheat, so perhaps the bananas and wet nurses are still local.

Well my dink is empty and I am left wondering how Ghana recruits it’s army officers. Seems like not a good place to rise to the top. Come again  for another story that can be learned from stamp collecting. First published in 2019.