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Niger Coast 1894, trying to control the palm oil trade

Trading posts often get bogged down in nation building. Even after the failure of the British East India company, it was tried again later, this time in Nigeria. 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 trading post in an exotic land can produce a stamp a little different than a colony. The users of the stamp  will almost always be employees of the trading company stationed in what to them must have seemed the darkest of Africa. Native attacks, tropical diseases, and even attacks of rival traders were real threats. There must have been a terrible sense of being alone. The mail service must have been a lifeline and of course Queen Victoria was a welcome presence on the stamps. To make these adventurers think their home remembered them.

Todays stamp is issue A20, a one Shilling stamp issued by the Royal Niger Company for use in the Niger Coast Protectorate, currently southern Nigeria, in 1894. It was part of a 6 stamp issue in various denominations. One Shilling in 1894 is worth 5.21 Pounds today. According to the Scott catalog, The stamp is worth $90 today in it’s mint state. For once in my undistinguished collection, this is the most valuable version of the issue, if we exclude overprints.

The trade with the Niger river delta mainly involved palm oil, that was used in the production of soap. The early trading post were not successful economically as there were many rival trading stations that often engaged in price wars with each other. There were British, French, and German trading posts in the area which was still ruled by local Africans.

Sir George Goldie had the idea to merge several of the rival British firms so as to be a monopoly of the trade. The British Gladstone government refused a charter. The failure of the British East India Company was recent and the government did not think a private company could adequately administer the area in question. The rival German and French traders also might bring conflict with those countries. Goldie set out raising money to prove his plans creditable and signed exclusive trading agreements with area tribes. A Royal Charter would be good for the stock he was floating and would make the treaties he was signing enforceable by the British government. A conference in Berlin conferred to Britain the territory that Goldie was operating in and the charter was then granted.

King Jaja and palm oil rival George Goldie

Though the harvesting from the palms was performed by African women regardless of the race of the trading house, one local tribal leader became a rival to Goldie and the Royal charter proved it’s worth. King Jaja of Opobo had been sold into slavery among Africans at age 12. He proved his worth in business and rose in a trading house in Bonny earning his freedom. His tribe named him a chief and he became a head of the biggest local palm oil trading house. His trading house broke away the city state of Opobo from the African territory of Bonny. He managed later shipments of palm oil to Britain without dealing with any British middlemen. the only native to do so. He was on board the ship heading for Liverpool with a shipment when a British warship invited him aboard. He was then arrested for violating the trade treaty signed by Goldie but now enforced by Britain and sent into exile. Though he was not imprisoned, indeed was a guest of Queen Victoria at Buckingham Palace. He was not allowed to return to Bonny out of fear he would go back into business. As an old man, King Jaja was given permission to return home but died on the journey. His city state did not survive his absence.

The fears of Prime Minister Gladstone proved correct. The Royal Niger Company was forced to cede the area to the new British Crown Colony of Southern Nigeria. The company was paid less than it’s original capital but was able to continue as a trading house in the new colony. In the 1920s, the company was bought out by Unilever the Anglo-Dutch soap maker. The Nigerian city of Opobo still contains a statue to King Jaja put up at public subscription in 1903.

Palm oil cultivation is no longer a huge industry in independent Nigeria. World suppliers are now dominated by Malaysia and Indonesia. Nigeria is now actually a net importer of palm oil. There is talk of outside economic aid bringing it back this time as a tool of  female economic empowerment.

A modern Nigerian female stomps the palm nuts in a hollowed out log releasing the nuts from the husks and eventually the yellow palm oil. Machines can do this now but would edit out the female economic empowerment.

Well my drink is empty. This turned more a story of economics than of local subjugation as most colony stories end up. The relentless effort to get lower prices eventually makes the underlying activity not worth doing. Come again  for another story that can be learned from stamp collecting. First published in 2018.

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Luxembourg 1891, Help wanted, we have an opening for a German guy, for the position of Grand Duke

With the Kingdom of the Netherlands breaking down along Germanic and Frank lines the German area of Luxemburg was left shrunken and rudderless. This was righted by a Luxembourger politician and a new line of Germans. 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 new guy sure is old. That was okay. The day to day running of the Duchy was in the hands of the much younger prime minister, who is actually from Luxembourg. The old guy also had proved good in a crisis and had a male heir as nature intended. Long Live the Old Guy. No not viva el old guy. We are German. Do your Belching over the border  in their um … Luxembourg province.

Today’s stamp is issue A7, a 10 Centimes stamp issued by Luxembourg in 1891. It was part of a 10 stamp issue in various denominations displaying Grand Duke Adolphe. According to the Scott catalog, the stamp is worth 40 cents in its cancelled state.

Luxembourg was left much shrunken in the 19th century. Prussia had taken a part and Belgium had taken the French, or Belch, speaking part. The small Duchy had as its Grand Duke William III. He was also the King of Holland, so that grabbed the bulk of his attention. When he died, he lacked a male heir so his empire passed to his daughter Queen Wilhelmina. The shrinking proved that having the Dutch rule was not working. Luckily there was a provision in the rules of the Duchy that disallowed a female to reign as long as there was a related male to take the job. For this reason the Duchy passed to a 7th cousin once removed. Adolphe was a German who had formally served as Duke of the German Duchy of Nassau in nearby Rhineland. Nassau had been absorbed by Prussia so Adolphe was out of a job.

Adolphe had proved adept in a crisis. In the insurrections of 1848, he quickly returned to Wiesbaden, Nassau from Berlin to find a crowd outside the palace demanding change. He walked alone in full uniform through the crowd in a friendly manner and entered the Palace. From the balcony, he announced that he accepted all their demands and the insurrection turned into a celebration. He did not actually enact the demands but survived.

Adolphe when he Adolpho of Nassau. I am very interested in what you think good citizen. May I offer you a beer and we will talk.

For the country to survive and thrive was the job of Prime and Foreign Minister Paul Eyschen, an actual Luxembourger. He served for over a quarter century and kept the Belgians at bay by allowing the Germans to keep  troops at the country’s large fort while paying lip service to Holland and maintaining neutrality in any conflict between Germany and France. This was obviously a tight rope to balance on. At the same time the economy was changing to a more industrialized model that required much economic and educational reform. Luckily Eyschen had spent much time in Berlin and had studied Bismarck’s reforms in these same areas. He enacted successfully the needed changes.

The balancing act ended when World War I broke out and Germany ignored Luxembourg’s neutrality and conquered it. Eyschen was allowed by the Germans to stay in office but he was heartbroken and took his own life. Adolphe’s granddaughter was by then Duchess and she openly collaborated with what were after all her fellow Germans. She was forced to abdicate after the Germans were defeated in World War I.

Prime Minister Paul Eyschen. Things are bad, and mad, and it is making me sad.

Well my drink is empty and I will pour another to toast Luxembourg and it’s ability to stay on it’s own course. Come again for another story that can be learned from stamp collecting. First published in 2018

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Georgia 1920, a new socialist republic remembers an ancient Queen, while Whites, Reds, and Turks pound on the door.

Chaos in Russia allows peoples to escape the empire, only to find all around still desperate for colonies.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 country of Georgia was new. Part of legitimacy is establishing an historic basis for a country. It would normally be unusual to feature a Royal on the stamp issue of a socialist government. Queen Tamar ruled a much larger Georgia successfully 700 years before and it was important to show a basis for a brighter future. The low quality of the stamp printing hint at the desperation of the times.

The stamp today is issue A3, a 3 Ruble stamp issued by the Democratic Republic of Georgia in 1920. It features Queen Tamar, who ruled Georgia from 1178-1213. According to the Scott catalog, the stamp is worth 65 cents mint. There are printings with inversions that are considered fraudulent. Also considered fraudulent are versions over stamped Constantinople. They were issued by the Georgian Embassy there after Georgia was conquered by the Soviets in 1921.

When the last Czar abdicated in early 1917 several areas of the Russian Empire broke off. In this, they had the support of Germany and Austria whose defeat of Russia in WWI contributed to the Czars fall. A federation with Azerbaijan and Armenia was first attempted but in 1918 it was decided that Georgia would stand independent. The land area was 70% larger than modern day Georgia but still much smaller than the Georgian Empire ruled by Queen Tamar.

Queen Tamar. Tamar was a Hebrew name, the Georgian Bagrationi Dynasty thought themselves descended from ancient Israel’s King David.

The challenges facing the new Georgia were all around. Local Bolsheviks and ethnic Ossetians caused trouble at home. Pressuring for territory were the Ottomans and Armenians to the south. An army of White Russians who were fighting both the Red Army as well as Georgia. Also the Red Army itself was trying to bring the newly independent nations back into the fold, this time labled as Soviet Republics rather than colonies.

The new Georgian government did much to build a new country. While building an army and attempting to muster foreign recognition and support, many laws were passed. There was land reform and a judiciary. Georgia was also a multiparty political state with much self rule granted minorities. German support ended at the conclusion of WWI but for a short while there was a stabilizing British presence that helped keep out the White Russians. It was still a time of great economic dislocation and hyper inflation. Notice the high denomination, Rubles not Kopecks of todays stamp. Soon the Transcaucus Ruble was replaced by a Geogian currency called a Maneti.

The lefty Second International being hosted in Tbilisi in 1918. They must have not liked what they saw. The first Georgian Prime Minister was assassinated by Bolsheviks in 1930 well into his Paris exile.

For a brief period, the Soviet Union recognized Georgian independence and borders as well. In 1921, the Soviet Army invaded and conquered Georgia. They clamed a pretext of alleged mistreatment of Georgian Bolsheviks. For 70 years, Georgia was a Soviet Socialist Republic. It still faces some of the old issues of western recognition and  managing Russian ambitions and the minority of Ossetians.

Queen Tamar ruled an empire that included much of the Caucus mountains and areas deep into modern Turkey and Ukraine. Her  rule was Orthodox Christian and coincided with a blooming of Georgian culture. She was often portrayed in Russian literature as an exotic temptress of the East. In Georgia itself, the picture was more of the mother of the country. In the 19th century, a 13th century portrait of her was discovered of her and this image was widely distributed among Georgians longing to be free of Russia. Tamar is a Hebrew name  as the then Royal House believed itself descended from ancient Israeli King David.

Well my drink is empty and so I will pour another to toast Queen Tamar. Come again for another story that can be learned from stamp collecting. First published in 2018.

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Rhodesia and Nyasaland 1959, Trying a more liberal path to maintaining minority rule

Trying to maintain a prosperous colonial life when the home country wants out and your race is less than 10% of the population is difficult. The apartheid system in South Africa was one but a more liberal method was also tried for about 10 years to the north. 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 attractive and very representative of the last years of British colony status. It also displays the seeds of the failure of the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland. Between the Queen and the grave of Cecil Rhodes, it was just all about what the whites wanted. Under the distant but benign auspices of Britain with Cecil Rhodes as the father of the country. That aspiration was not what the 96% of the population that was black was interested in, namely majority rule.

Todays stamp is issue A20, a three penny stamp issued by the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland in 1959. It was part of a 15 stamp issue in various denominations over a four year period. According to the Scott catalog, the stamp is worth 25 cents used. The stamp to look out for in this issue is the 1 pound stamp showing the coat of arms of the territory. It is worth $47 mint.

The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland comprises the territory of modern day Zimbabwe, Zambia, and Malawi. These were territories that were claimed for Britain by adventurer, diamond miner, and proponent of empire Cecil Rhodes in the 19th century. It was his intention that British colonists build a self ruled country that was still a subject of the British empire. However, the European settlers never were more than 10 percent of the population and lived at a level 10 times their African neighbors.

In 1953, in preparation for the end of colonial status a federation of the colony of Southern Rhodesia and the British Protectorates of Northern Rhodesia and Nyasaland was established. A federation was chosen as to limit the power of economically and militarily dominant Southern Rhodesia. It was thought that this unit would work economically and it did so with rapidly rising incomes for Europeans and indeed Africans. Institutions were opened up to allow more African participation. However Britain saw the federation as a vehicle to transition to majority rule and independence. The leader locally Roy Welensky saw things differently. He did not feel that blacks were ready for rule and that the Europeans could not stay post black rule.

The flag of the Federation. The rising sun is for Nyasaland,(Malawi), the lion for Rhodesia(Zimbabwe), and the wavy zebra lines are for Northern Rhodesia (Zambia)

Britain began separate contacts with independence proponents in Nyasaland and Northern Rhodesia. Welensky considered unilaterally declaring independence from Britain but could not bring himself to do it. The Congo to the north had gone independent and within a month had descended into chaos. Thousands of whites fled south but Welensky was not allowed to help them escape by Britain. They favored a UN solution and Daj Hammerjold, the UN Secretary General flew to Northern Rhodesia to start negotiations. When his plane crashed, The Communist and African world blamed Welensky although there is no evidence that he had any responsibility.

Meanwhile in Southern Rhodesia, many whites thought Welensky too accommodating to England and a new party formed with a more radical racialist agenda. Welensky was mocked for being a Jew and a Socialist and the new party came to power. In 1963 the Federation was disbanded. In 1964, now black ruled Northern Rhodesia became independent Zambia and Nyasaland became black ruled independent Malawi. Rhodesia unilaterally declared independence that was not recognized by Britain or the UN and fell into civil war. The war dragged on for 15 years until Rhodesia recognized Britain’s right to install a majority black government and grant independence as Zimbabwe. All of the countries economically underperformed post independence and succumbed to one party, president for life corruption. Upon independence in 1980, Welensky relocated to Britain for his final years.

Prime Minister Roy, ne Raphael, Welensky. He didn’t believe whites could continue under black rule, so after the federation ended he moved first to Salisbury,(Harare) and then London which to date as kept it’s name.

To date Cecil Rhodes grave as yet to be desecrated in Zimbabwe. It is a lucrative tourist draw in the poor country and foreigners are charged four times the local admissions price, despite being in a UN supported national park. There is the usual talk of him being an interloper disturbing the spirits of real Zimbabwe heroes whose names nobody can remember.

Cecil Rhodes grave in more modern times. The rock formations make visits more dramatic at sunrise and sunset

Well my drink is empty. I wonder if the federation had been granted more time to integrate blacks in the institutions if the outcome would have been better. The three countries together would have been a much bigger power, but I really can’t see a modern country in Africa named for Cecil Rhodes. Come again for another story that can be learned from stamp collecting. First published in 2018.

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USA 1913, Panama Pacific Exposition, Celebrating permanent construction by building things designed to crumble

An immense construction project is completed and so America celebrates in a city that had lately needed some construction itself. 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 Panama Canal was a massive project. It involved some wild political maneuverings to get control of the land. Some engineering challenges that must have seemed insurmountable. A massive requirement for labor in a hot, buggy tropical place at a time when it was no longer possible to have slaves do it. Just a massive challenge. A challenge that was by no means complete in 1913 when this stamp came out. The project was being handled so confidently that an international exhibition was scheduled to celebrate the successful completion. Imagine the egg on the face if the Panama project bogged down the way modern projects of any scale always seem to. The stamp was a success though because everything came off. Could even China pull that off now? I am confident the west could not. To the collector all these years later it might have been better for the stamp value had it been a failure.

The stamp today is issue A145, a 2 cent stamp issued by the United States in 1913. The four stamp issue was part of the build up to the Panama Pacific International Exposition scheduled for San Francisco in 1915. According to the Scott catalog, the stamp is worth $1 used. A mint version of the 10 cent stamp of this issue is worth $700.

The stamp displays the Pedro Miguel locks. This was one of the more simple locks on the Pacific ocean side of the canal. This made sense both for fact that this lock was done early enough to be shown on the stamp and also since a Pacific lock is more in keeping with the Pacific theme of the Exposition. It must be remembered at the time power and population was mainly located in the East and the power shift to the west on a complete different but soon not so far separated ocean. I can see why this would generate so much excitement about the project. After this stamp was issued in 1913 an order went out by telegraph from the White House that set off an explosion of a dyke that first connected the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.

Pedro Miguel Locks in more modern times

Getting the Exposition to San Francisco was a timely move. Panama was a long way away and they were not going to be able to have a world class exposition. The place was just too poor and isolated. It had indeed required a great deal of work on sanitation in Panama so to lesson the dangers of yellow fever and malaria to the thousands of Americans recruited to work on the project. Americans of the period had a special skill in this as they had figured out the connection  of flys to the diseases after a program to reduce the diseases in then newly conquered Havana, Cuba. It still remains that about 5600 workers on the project died of disease and accidents. This does not include workers on an earlier failed French effort in the area.

San Francisco, on the other hand had been devastated by an earthquake in 1906. Nine years later was a perfect time for the city to announce that they were back and better than ever. Much Moorish style architecture was constructed for the fair. Interesting it was purposely designed to be short lived structures. The architect was of the opinion that every great city needs a few ruins. In the end most of it was demolished after the Exposition in 1915. The Palace of Fine Arts was allowed to remain. First as a ruin and later rebuilt as a permanent fixture of San Francisco to this day.

Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco

Well my drink is empty so I will pour another to toast those hearty souls who traveled to the jungles of Panama to build a great canal that still serves today. Quite an American achievement to remember on July 4th. Come again  for another story that can be learned from stamp collecting. First published in 2018.

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New Brunswick 1860, letting the Canadians take over before the Irish do.

New Brunswick was formed when it was decided to be too far way from Halifax, Nova Scotia to be run effectively. So how then does Canada then get control from even farther afield. 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 from the 1860s. Queen Victoria is on her rightful place on the stamp. At the time there was still almost 40 years left in her then longest ever reign. As such a full face portrait of a younger Victoria goes unrecognized by me. In fact I was even wondering if the stamp was from a different New Brunswick. In fact, it is just a very old stamp and the bright color disguises that.

The stamp today is issue A5, a five cent stamp issued by the British Colony of New Brunswick in 1860. There are three color variations of this stamp; yellow green, blue green, and olive green. I think my copy is olive green, but be sure to look at the picture and tell me what you think in the comment section. According to the Scott catalog, the stamp is worth $175 mint. If it was never hinged, the value would double again. Mine was hinged and located long term in an old album, that did a great job in preserving the stamps condition. This is the most valuable stamp I have written about so far at The-Philatelist.com. To be honest, before my research, I had no idea the value or even that I possessed it.

During the American revolutionary war in the 1780s, it was decided that the still British colony of Nova Scotia was too large to be run effectively from Halifax. Therefore Nova Scotia’s territory on the western side of the bay of Fundy was broken away to form New Brunswick. Brunswick was the former name of the British royal house when it was still German. Brunswick was therefore in honour of King George III. A capital was chosen in the small inland city rechristened Fredericton after George III’s son. It was hoped that an inland city would be easier to defend than the larger coastal St. John.

After the revolutionary war a decent number of British loyalists immigrated to the new colony. This increased the ties to Britain and the colony also had close ties to New England. New Brunswick mainly sat out the War of 1812.

With the Irish potato famine of the 1840s came a large number of Irish refugees. So many as to change the demographics of the whole colony. Ireland was seeking independence from Great Britain at the time. See also this fun Irish Republic stamp of alternate history, https://the-philatelist.com/2019/03/15/ireland-1967-100-years-later-irish-stampmakers-fantasize-about-alternate-history/ There were a series of Fenian insurrections that sought to take control of some outpost in New Brunswick and hold it hostage in exchange for Irish independence. This was a huge miscalculation. It greatly overvalued the importance of New Brunswick in Britain’s eyes. It also lead New Brunswick to join in a new confederation with Canada, being one of the original 4 provinces in 1867. This ended the separate stamp issuance of New Brunswick.

American Fenian leader Fighting Tom Sweeney, tasked to establish an Irish Republic in exile in Canada. Notice his American Civil War era Yankee/Union uniform. 35 percent of the Union Army was of recent Irish heritage, giving Canada reason to worry.
Local militia in St. Andrews stands ready. The raid came at Campello Island

The old issues returned for New Brunswick. Rule from Ottawa was not conducive to growth in New Brunswick. There became more distance between the former natural trading partners in New England. New Brunswick entered a period of economic decline.

Well my drink is empty and my next one will be from the top shelf as this stamp proved so valuable. Come again tomorrow for another story that can be learned from stamp collecting.

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Cuba 1910, The Titan of Bronze falls before the finish, preserving his legacy in Cuba

A Cuban revolutionary general falls in battle before he can disappoint in office, 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 today’s offering from The Philatelist.

The stamp today features a Latin American General and was issued in 1910. From that you can visualize what the stamp looks like. Now look at the stamp in the picture. Pretty close to what you imagined, correct? The generic aspect of such stamp issues makes you wonder how like minded rulers of the time really were.

Todays stamp is issue A26, a 50 centavo stamp issued by the Cuban republic on February 1st, 1910. The stamp displays Cuban revolutionary General Antonio Maceo. It was part of an 8 stamp issue in various denominations that celebrated heroes of the revolution against Spanish rule in the 19th century. According to the Scott catalog, the stamp is worth $1.90 mint.

Antonio Maceo was born to a Venezuelan father and a mixed race mother of Dominican roots. That of course is not very Cuban and also unlike the vast bulk of the ruling class of Cuba, he had dark skin. Cuba contained more Spanish colonists than many places in Latin America, but also many of African slave roots. Slavery lasted in Cuba until 1886 and Spanish rule lasted until 1898. This did not mean there was not a series of uprisings against slavery and Spain in 19th century Cuba.

From an early age, Maceo was part of the resistance to Spain. He fought in over 50 battles and rose to second in command of the revolutionary force. His dark skin and tall height earned him the nickname, El titan de bronce. After a failed 10 year war against Spain, he was banished to Costa Rica. After that war Spain finally ended slavery and initiated economic reforms. This proved not enough and in 1895 there was a new rebellion with Maceo back from exile to help lead it. The rebellion was of mixed success with the rebels controlling the countryside and Spain the cities. A Spanish politician quipped that we have sent 200,000 troops and don’t control much more land than we are standing on.

A Castro era statue honoring Maceo. Are they honoring his battle prowess or just that he died before he could disappoint.

Spain changed tacks then with some success. Those in the countryside were ordered into concentration camps in the cities where many died. This then allowed the army to go hard after the rebels and many fell in battle, including General Maceo.

Spanish peasant concentration camp that turned the tide against the Titan in Bronze

America had been watching the carnage and sympathizing with the rebels. After the incident with the battleship Maine in Cuba, America invaded and quickly defeated a battle weary Spain. Though there was an American military occupation and some thought of annexation, Cuba was soon turned over to the leaders of the failed revolution. They proved to be bickering and incompetent.

Interestingly, General Maceo was asked what he thought of being annexed by the USA. He replied that on this one issue, his sword would be with Spain. None of his fellow revolutionaries sided with Spain when the USA invaded. They were too busy fighting for personal power.

Well my drink is empty and one wonders of an accounting of the costs on both sides in Cuba would have let people to come to a different end. Spain surely would have said good riddance long before and one might not see statues to Maceo still in Cuba. Come again  for another story that can be learned from stamp collecting. First published in 2018

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Fiume 1920, the city state, and Italian Regency of Carnaro, whose principle was music and weapon was castor oil

A city state near a moveable border and with a diverse population is a formula for unrest. Sometimes what comes to occupy the vacuum is just bizarre. 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.

Fiume never had a stable government in it’s five years of existence. So there was not time to let the drama of the place be reflected on the stamps. Many were just overprints of Italian or Hungarian stamps. The stamp today is a newspaper stamp that though Fiume specific is somewhat generic.

Todays stamp is issue N2, a newspaper stamp issued  by the free state of Fiume on September 12th, 1920. This was during the time the right wing Italian poet and soldier Gabriele D’Annunzio had declared himself El Duce and that Fiume was the Italian regency of Carnaro. According to the Scott catalog, the stamp is worth $4.00 mint.

Fiume is a port city on the Adriatic that for many years belonged to the Austria-Hungarian Empire. It was administered by Hungary and was their only port. The people who actually lived there were mainly Italians and Croatians. At the end of World War I, Fiume was not part of the land that transferred from Austria to Italy and Hungary was also not able to hold on to it. Italy and Serbia claimed it but at the suggestion of mediator Woodrow Wilson it was declared a free state. There was much turmoil with new governments every few months.

Into this quagmire lands uninvited an Italian poet and war hero named Gabriele D’Annunzio. This was before the fascists had taken over in Italy but Fiume became a model for that takeover. He declared himself El Duce of the Italian regency of Carnaro. Only the Soviet Union recognized his government. He gave long poetic and musical speeches from his balcony in the central square. He reorganized the government into a series of corporations where people were assigned various tasks. He famously enshrined in the constitution that one corporation was to protect the interest of poets, heroes and supermen. What no Philatelists? Perhaps they were covered by the title of Supermen. Music was also enshrined as a fundamental principle of the state. He put forth a new moto for Fiume, “This place is the best!”

Gabriele D’ Annunzio during the Regency of Carnaro. They say the Yugoslavs masacred all the right wing looking Italians in 1945. as the Italians did to the Hungarians in 1919. Wonder if any or these fellows were good at disguises.

D’Annunzio clamped down on opposition by the use of black-shirted thugs. They are believed in originating the technique of dousing opponents in castor oil. This was an extreme laxative that would immobilize and humiliate them. Eventually the Italian military forced D’Annunzio to withdraw from Fiume and Fiume reverted to Italy in 1924. This was opposed by the local government which became a government in exile. At the end of World War II they again tried to claim the city but their leaders were quickly assassinated by Yugoslavia which took the city for itself. Fiume is now the Croatian city of Rijeka.

D’Annunzio returned to Italy and retired to his villa. He was weakened physically when he fell from a window on the second floor. It is not clear if he was pushed or lost his footing due to intoxication. It meant though that he did not participate in the rise to power of his fascists allies in Italy. He did live on into the rule and was the recipient of honors from them. His son was a movie director of movies based on his stories.

Fiume passed to Italy in 1924, to Yugoslavia in 1945 and finally to date Croatia in 1991.

The now much sleepier Croatian city of Rijeka. Not many Italians or Hungarians left, the biggest minority is now Bosnians. Lucky Croatia.

Well, my drink is empty, and as I am on the third floor so I will abstain as I like lack the castor oil to keep the bastards at bay. Come again  for another story that can be learned from stamp collecting. First published in 2018.

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Pakistan 1954, The “Light of the World” designs a tomb for her husband the “Conqueror of the World”

A large empire rules over a quarter of the people on Earth deserves to be remembered, and this one is by some of it’s surviving architecture. So slip on your smoking jacket, fill your pipe, take your first sip of tea and sit back in your most comfortable chair. Welcome to todays offering from The Philatelist.

Pakistan was newly independent when this stamp was issued. What better way to celebrate the independence than by showing off relics of a long ago empire that the people might feel more connection to than their recent colonial memory. In the early days anything can seem possible and reminding of past greatness can be a good tool for that.

The stamp today is issue O47, a one and a half Anna stamp issued by Pakistan in 1954. It features the tomb of Jahangir, a Mughal Emperor from the 1600s. It was part of a 7 stamp issue celebrating the seventh anniversary of independence from Great Britain. The service overprint signifies the stamp was for official use. According to the Scott catalog, the stamp is worth $2.50 used.

The Mughal Empire stretched through much of current day India, Pakistan, and Afghanistan in the 14th and 15th centuries. The government was Sunni Muslim and the leaders were of mixed Indian and Persian decent. Hindu was allowed to be practiced and Hindu civil law governed them. Muslim law was only applied to Muslims. The empire is remembered for it’s architecture that was heavily influenced by the Persians. The Taj Mahal is the most famous example of such architecture.

Mughal Emperor Jahangir ruled in the 1600s and though he suffered a defeat at the Afghan city of Kandahar he succeeded in expanding the empire. His name means in old Persian, “conqueror of the world” He didn’t quite do that but a quarter of the world’s then population was in his realm. He had 18 wives the last of which was his and his subjects favorite. Upon the marriage, her second, she was given the name Nur Jahan. This means “light of the world.”

The Emperor Jahangir died in 1626 on his way back to his home in Lahore. Nur Jahan set out to build a Persian style tomb in the peaceful gardens of  the home. She was interested in architecture and the result was an elaborate tomb with four minarets that displayed a resurgence in Timurid architecture at the time. The tomb faced Mecca and was decorated with Frescoes. It took 10 years to build. Jahangir’s third son became Emperor having murdered the two older sons. It was not a good time for Nur Jahan as she was confined to palace. She had backed the wrong son in the power struggle.

Nur Jahan holding a portrait of Emperor Jahangir.

When Nur Jahan later died she was placed in a tomb nearby. Later the tombs was damaged by the Sikh Empire under Maharajah Rangit Singh. His occupying general lived at the tomb and took relics back to Punjab when they ran the area.  Some believe the Sikhs even stole a dome off the tomb. British rule saw repairs made but a new railroad routed between the tombs of husband and wife dividing them. The site still exists and is a protected heritage site but some encroachment of the property was allowed.

Sikh Maharajah Rajit Singh. Wars with Britain eventually ended Sikh rule of the area. Note the crazy high heel shoes and little foot stool. Out of place for a warrior King?

Well my drink is empty so I will salute the architectural vision of Nur Jahan, the light of the world. Come again for another story that can be learned from stamp collecting. First published in 2018.

 

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Dominican Republic 1951,Trujillo builds a beach resort for Batista

Today is one of those stories of a badly remembered leader who built many things that his successors couldn’t keep going. 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 features a newly built beach front resort. The kind of all inclusive beach and spa resorts that the Caribbean is famous for. The Hotel Hamaca was one of the first. Yet the angle of the photo and the poor printing makes the hotel look like an airport terminal. A failure.

Todays stamp is issue A100, a 1 centavo stamp issued by the Dominican Republic in 1951. The stamp features the Hotel Hamaca in Boca Chica. It is part of a 7 stamp issue that features the hotels of the Dominican Republic. According to the Scott catalog, the stamp is worth 25 cents whether it is mint or used.

Rafael Trujillo was the strongman leader of the Dominican Republic from 1930 until his assassination in 1961. This is not completely true as during times of unpopularity with America he stepped back and let an aged vice president and his brother be his puppet. In 1955 he celebrated 25 years of rule with much public celebration even though he was theoretically not in power at the time. He tried to rename the capital Santo Domingo Trujillo City in honor of his rebuilding efforts after a hurricane. He even had a stamp issue for his mother for Mother’s Day.

Trujillo did much infrastructure building and regained control of the countries customs duties which were being seized by USA in lieu of debt repayment. He also worked to better control the border with desperately poor Haiti. He offered to take up to 100,000 Jewish refugees at the time of the Holocaust. In the event, only 800 came and most moved on quickly to the USA. Trujillo was assassinated while in his 1957 Chevrolet Bel Air by military leaders. His family was able to remain in power long enough to have the conspirators tracked down and killed but soon there was a second revolution and the family was forced to leave the country going initially to France.

The monument built by later losers at the place President Trujillo was assassinated. If you are going to build a monument to show your country backward, it is best I suppose to make it as ugly and Satanic as this one.

The Hotel Hamaca in Boca Chica was quite the landmark when it was built. It lies on the largest lagoon in the Caribbean. There was a Trujillo vacation home in the bay that included a private zoo. In early 1959, Nearby Cuban strongman Batista left the country with his family and close advisers. He also allegedly made it out with many millions. Trujillo took a large financial tribute from Batista and allowed them to stay at the Hotel Hamaca. Denied entry into USA or France, they later went on to Portugal.

The Hotel Hamaca was closed very shortly after Trujillo left power. Resorts of it’s type are very successful in the Carabean so a quick closing is a rather stinging indictment of the countries future leaders. The most basic function of government is to keep things going. The hotel was eventually reopened in the early 90s and today operates as the Be Live Experience Hamaca Gardens. According to the online reviews it is not in a good state with much intrusion by locals panhandling the guests. In the old days Trujillo would have done that for the people, and only the important guests like Batista.

Hotel Hamaca reborn as the Be Live Experience Hamaca Gardens Hotel. What sane person would think that a better name?

Well my drink is empty leaving me wondering why it is so hard to find a waiter in an all inclusive resort. Come again for another story that can be learned from stamp collecting. First published in 2018.