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Greece commemorates the first modern 1896 Olympics by invoking Pallas Athene

Something old is new again. Both Greece and the Olympics. So in hope that the present will also be great, why not cover all the bases by invoking the blessing of the Warrior Queen defender of Athens. 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 19th century is very early for commemorative stamps. Great Britain, the inventor of the postage stamp did not have one till 1913. The fact that Greece had a large and diverse set of commemoratives for the Olympics in Athens in 1896 shows how important the event was. The stamps show the modern stadium and athletes, but also call back to the ancient games. It was a good early effort. It probably did not fail to occur to the Greek postal authorities that the country would be playing host to many, and an attractive set of stamps would be a good memento, all the revenue of which would pass directly to the government. The earlier stamps of Greece had all featured not their German Kings but a Royal style medallion profile of  ancient Greek God Hermes

Todays stamp is issue A5, a 20 Lepta stamp issued by Greece in 1896. The stamp shows a vase displaying Pallas Athene. It was part of a 12 stamp issue in various denominations issued in celebration of the 1896 Olympics held in Athens. According to the Scott catalog, the stamp is worth $8.25.

The inspiration of the ancient Greek Olympics was still widespread in the nineteenth century. Pseudo Olympic games were held between British public schools beginning around 1850 as a way for exersize and to teach constructive competition. This inspired French aristocrat Pierre de Coubertin. He was depressed by the defeat of France by Germany in 1870 at a time when Britain was on a roll. In his mind he equated the relative success with the athletic training the British aristocracy had received in the public schools of their youth. He began a program of lobbying to have a broad program of physical education.

Coubertin was not having much luck in his efforts. He hit upon the stunt of conducting a modern Olympic games tied to the 1900 Paris Exposition and formed an international committee to organize it in 1894. It soon became clear that 1900 was too far off to sustain momentum and so 1896 was chosen for the first games. After a flirtation with a London location, the committee picked Athens as the first site. 14 nations sent 241 athletes to compete in 43 events. No women competed as Coubertin thought it impractical, uninteresting, unaesthetic, and incorrect. Already in 1896 there was pushback to this. A Greek woman named Stamata Revithi ran the same marathon as the men the next day. Her time was over an hour longer than the medalists but she unsuccessfully petitioned to have her participation recorded. At the time, there was only a silver medal for first and a bronze for second, no gold medals.  The Panathenaic Stadium is on the site of an ancient Athens stadium and is made completely of marble. The 19th century Greek government refurbished it and it still stands having also been used for some events of the 2004 Olympics.

Panathenaic Stadium

Pallas Athene was the warrior princess palace guardian of the city of Athens in Greek mythology. Athena was born as a result of a union of Zeus and Métis the Goddess of crafty thought. Zeus later worried that the union was not a good match and so swallowed Métis. She had already conceived though. Zeus then had terrible headaches and his doctors took an axe to his forehead. Doing so revealed Athena, fully formed and even armed. Images of Athena were later taken to Rome and are even thought to be the partial basis for later images of the Virgin Mary, Britannia, and even Catherine II of Russia. Freud put forth a theory that her image was centered around her scary motherly genitals.

Well my drink is empty and I think I will abstain from any more to avoid headaches and thoughts of Freud. Come again tomorrow for another story that can be learned from stamp collecting.

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Belgian Congo 1942, Can colonials rely on Askari soldiers when the home country is occupied

Belgium gets a little bit of a raw deal in regards to the Askari soldiers of it’s Force Publique. This is from a misunderstanding over who was in charge when. So slip on your smoking jacket, fill your pipe, take your first sip of your adult beverage, and sit back in your most comfortable chair. Welcome to todays offering from The Philatelist.

Todays stamp is from a strange time in the Belgian Congo. The home country was captured after it’s neutrality was violated. A government in exile was bogged down in confusion and not giving instructions. The King had stayed in Belgium and was trying to negotiate with Germany an end to the military occupation and to allow him to form a pro German government. Into this confusion Pierre Ryckmans the Governor decided himself to cast his lot with the Allies. But his army was entirely black, Askari soldiers at the enlisted level. Whose side were they on, if any? It makes for a very mysterious stamp.

Todays stamp is issue A75, a 10 Belgian Franc stamp issued by the Belgian Congo in 1942. It was part of a 20 stamp issue in various denominations. The stamp displays a local Congolese soldier that served in the colonial army. These type of soldier were known as Askari soldiers after the Arabic word for soldier. He is seen with his khaki uniform and his Fez cap that Askari troops were known for. According to the Scott Catalog, the stamp is worth 25 cents.

King Leopold could not get his country interested in African colonization so he took the unusual step of setting up the colony personally. The King’s early administration very closely resembled the private companies that were sometimes charged with less important areas. As such the profit motive was of prime importance. This can be seen in the Force Publique military police force formed. The officers were of various European nations and the men were Askari. They would make sure that less than 25 percent were from the local tribe  and the soldiers also had duties enforcing work quotas under contract labor agreements . This enforcement was by a chicote, which was a type of bull whip made of hippopotamus hide. This is all such a sorted business that pressure came on Belgium to take over the colony and put in a more enlightened rule.

There was at least economic progress under the Belgians and  mining and rubber plantations grew the economy and allowed for some education of locals. The decision of Governor Ryckmans to side with the Allies in WWII was very beneficial. They became the primary source of rubber after the loss of the Dutch East Indies, and the uranium used in the Manhattan project came from the Belgian Congo. His efforts saw him named a Count posthumously. The Force Publique also participated successfully in the British East Africa campaign that removed Italy from Ethiopia and Somaliland.

The chicote was still in use till the end of the colony in 1960 and no Askari had completed training to be officers. Later President Maputo was only a Sargent. Upon independence the Force Publique became the Congolese Army and the intention was to retain Belgian officers. This only lasted four days. A Belgian general addressed Askari troops in a mess hall saying that nothing had changed with independence. He was perhaps calling for discipline but instead started a large mutiny. The army began looting and specifically targeting whites that remained in Congo. The remaining Belgians gathered in Katanga province and attempted to secede from Congo and civil war was the result. Katanga hired white mercenaries to fight, no longer trusting Askari. In a sad coincidence, former governor Ryckmans’ son Andre was shot down while flying in a helicopter looking for Belgians caught behind the lines. The pilot and Andre were taken prisoner by the Congo army but then tortured and killed. Andre was also posthumously made a Count.

With the end of African colonies, came the end for the most part of the end of the Askari soldier. Not entirely, in post war Iraq, Ugandans are hired by private security companies to perform security missions and are referred to as Askaris. They no longer seem to wear the fez, but hopefully they also no longer carry the chicote.

Well, my drink is empty and this is one of those times where I can’t toast the fellow on the stamp, but I will toast the senior and junior Counts Ryckmans. Come again tomorrow for another story that can be learned from stamp collecting

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Uzbekistan remembers the old Soviet Antonov 8 just as they all head for Africa

Replacing the DC3/C47/Li2 cargo planes proved nearly impossible. They were cheap and numerous and there were many pilots and mechanics who could operate them. Some are still in use but perhaps the best attempt at a military replacement was the Soviet Antonov 8. 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.

Uzbekistan is a former Soviet republic in central Asia. The last Soviet premier Islam Karimov was the countries first President until his death in 2016. Given this, despite being an officially Muslim country, heck the Presidents first name is Islam, even if there were rumors that he was really Jewish. Uzbekistan might have more than its share of Soviet nostalgia. Well why not, especially when it comes to a neat old airplane like the Antonov 8. The plane does have a surprise Uzbek connection, having been built at the Antonov factory in Tashkent between 1958-1961.

The stamp today is issue A22, a 10 Sum stamp issued by the Republic of Uzbekistan on October 10th, 1995. It was part of a 7 stamp issue that displayed Soviet cargo planes, in this case the Antonov 8. There was also a higher denomination  souvenir sheet that displayed the Ilyushin 114 aircraft. According to the Scott catalog, the stamp is worth $2 whether mint or cancelled to order like this one.

The C47 was made in larger numbers than any other cargo plane in history. They were  produced in the Soviet Union as the Li-2. Even on the Axis side, the Japanese had a prewar early version in production. The only close competitor was the German Junkers 52 that was smaller and slower despite it’s third engine. After the war, by the 50s thoughts occurred as to how to replace it. A military cargo plane purposely built as such would contain a central load door so small vehicles could be driven aboard and be able to take off from shorter fields. The C47, and the Ju 52 could not do this as they were converted airliners.

The first attempts at this in west were compromised designs. The French Nord Nordatlas and the American C123 Provider had the cargo door, but both had to resort to auxiliary small jet engines to get them off the ground from a short field. This added complexity and shortened the range of the airplanes.

The Soviets tried a different approach. They had a new in 1956 turboprop engine that could get the twin engine Antonov 8 Camp off in a shorter roll and with a longer range. A turboprop engine still has a propeller but the prop powers a turbine rather than a radial engine. The advantage in mainly in terms of efficiency instead of speed but was an added cost. 150 An 8s were made and all were initially in Soviet military service. Larger 4 engine turboprops like the American C130 Hercules and the Soviet Antonov 12 Cub proved more useful still and became the worldwide standard even today.

In the 1970s, the Antonov 8s were transferred to Aeroflot to be used as freighters. By the 90s they were retired in Russia with Antonov withdrawing certificates of airworthiness and service support for the aircraft. That does not mean the old airplanes were done. Many came under the control of Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout who used them to ferry illicit arms around Africa. Bout was jailed in the USA in 2011 after being caught in Thailand trying to sell arms to American agents posing as members of the Columbian FARC organization. The trail goes cold from there as to what happened to his planes but if wouldn’t be shocking if a few Antonov 8s were still in use in Africa. Bout must have some pull. He is still in jail but his appeals are being handled by former American Attorney General John Ashcroft.

Well my drink is empty and I will pour another to toast Antonov 8 designer A Y Belolipetsky. I bet he would have never imagined how long a life some of his designs had. Come again tomorrow for another story that can be learned from stamp collecting.

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Germany 1995, A west victory stamp as Deutsche Bundespost becomes Deutschland

Once the achievement is in the bag, it is natural to celebrate. Victors celebrating can seem like taunting to the losers however. 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 Wall, shown at night with searchlights and killing fields is quite the dramatic picture. The building of the Wall was perhaps one of the riskiest times of the long cold war. Getting rid of it was a major achievement of West Germany. Closer to the time, there was a stamp with a hole in the Wall well expressing hope for a united future. This was a different. This was looking back and judging those responcible as bad. Not a lot of people standing up for the DDR, but perhaps not the way to move forward together.

Todays stamp is issue A862, an 100 Pfenning stamp issued by Germany on November 9th, 1995. It was a single stamp issue put forth as honoring the victims of the Berlin Wall. According to the Scott catalog, the stamp is worth 60 cents used.

The Berlin Wall came down dramatically at the end of 1989. West Germany started negotiations to bring East Germany in under the West German government. This had been provided for as part of the 1949 West German Basic Law. Doing so required much negotiating, The four major Allied Powers had to renounce their claims to Germany. The East German government had to agree to be dissolved. Soviet/Russian military units had to be withdrawn back to Russia. West Germany also had to formally renounce claims to former German territory east of the Oder-Neisse Line that was the current border between Germany and Poland that left much German territory in the hands of the Poles and the Russians. Getting this territory back had always been at least an agenda item for German Chancellor Kohl’s CDU political party.

Pulling this all together was a major victory for German diplomacy. Doing so was massively expensive. A 2011 study put the cost at over 2 trillion Euros. The expense I think is what lead to the anger that comes across pretty boldly in todays stamp.

There were many manifestations of this anger. Promises made during reunification about not pursuing crimes from DDR times were reniged upon. Egon Krenz, the last East German leader was sentenced to jail for election irregularities and behavior of East German border guards. Eric Honnecker, the long term East German leader, elderly and stricken with cancer was hounded out of Germany and left at the Chilean Embassy in Moscow asking for asylum. His daughter was married to a Chilean and East Germany had taken many Chilean leftists when Allende fell from power. He was refused and stood trial in Germany after being forced back against his will. The trial was bogged down and eventually he was released and now with a passport he was allowed to join his wife and daughter in Chile to die.

Even the fairly new Palace of the Rebublic was torn town in former East Berlin. In the way of the modern, it took longer to tear down in the 2000s than it had taken for the East Germans to build it in the 70s. The structural steel from it was exported to the UAE and used in the Burj Khalifa, the tallest building in the world.

Palace of the Republic when new in 1977

Well my drink is empty so I will open the conversation in the below comment section. Come again tomorrow for another story that can be learned from stamp collecting.

 

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Afghanistan 1963, as a start to development, lets begin to feed ourselves, if only someone could build us an irrigation system

A country has to sometimes start at the beginning. Even an ancient country. Sometimes though, everything has to be done for them. 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 has a 60s United Nations look to it. It was the prime era for Western and sometimes Eastern experts to come in and explain to locals how they could get things going. The arrogance and naivete seem almost charming in retrospect.

The stamp today is issue A205 a 300 Pouls stamp issued by the Kingdom of Afghanistan on March 22nd, 1963. The stamp promoted the growth of grain farming and other stamps in the issue promoted corn and rice as part of a plan toward food self sufficiency. Seems like an awfully dry place to try to grow rice. I am not sure why the currency on the stamp is not listed as 3 Afghan Rupees but in any case it is a big bump over the other values in the set of 2 Pouls and 3 Pouls. Perhaps it reflects the relative value of wheat in the food plan. According to the Scott catalog, the stamp is worth 75 cents whether mint or canceled to order.

Zahir Shah became King of Afghanistan in 1933 at the age of 19 upon the assassination of his father. For many years he was under a regency of his uncles. The country is a very poor and a very violent place. With almost constant attempted coups, and assassination attempts, the Royal house was constantly trying to look for way to bolster military capabilities. Zahir Shah’s title included the phrase “Leaner on Allah” but in reality he was more practical. Zahir Shah therefore came hat (crown?) in hand to both East and West seeking arms. The Soviet Union had been most generous in this regard but the tanks and supersonic fighter planes supplied were really beyond the capabilities of the backward country to operate.

As the King matured he sought ever more to take the reigns of power. The rights of women were increased and the veil was made optional. The post war UN-US  aid program was put together to bring the country up. Completely paid for by outside. The crown jewel of the aid plan was a system of dams modeled on the Tennessee Valley Authority that would allow for irrigation and electricity for farming of mainly wheat. The Helmand Valley Authority constructed 8 dams, many by Morrison Knudson, the makers of the Hoover Dam. Only 12 percent of Afghanistan was arable and only 6 percent was cultivated. Food production indeed went up but dried up again with war and the cessation of USA aid in 1979.

There was also natural gas resources first tapped in 1967. This gas was useful to Afghanistan in that it could be sent straight to the Soviet Union as a token partial payment for the large quantity of munitions that the country as a way of using.

The King was deposed in 1973 while on one of his frequent foreign trips and after he left the country became ever more dependent on the Soviet Union. He lead a life of leisure in Italy. After the new government in 2002. Zahir Shah returned with the new ceremonial title of “Father of the Country”. He even theoretically took possession of his old palace that had been built by the Germans in the 30s, though now it was a bombed out shell. That seemed to happen a lot, even in his time, so it was probably just as he remembered it. Naturally he spent most of his last years abroad. The Palace is now being renovated at a cost of $20 million paid for by the USA, hopefully in time for some fake 100th anniversary in 2019. When will we learn?

The Palace in 2006

Well my drink is empty and I am wondering if there will ever be an accounting of how much foreign treasure has been squandered in Afghanistan. Come again tomorrow for another story that can be learned from stamp collecting.

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USA Olympic stamp 1980, childhood Philatelist dreams of getting rich from the boycot dashed

In 1979, Russia invaded Afghanistan, something I am sure they quickly regretted. The USA decided to skip the upcoming Moscow Olympics after the celebratory stamps were out. This curiosity sure seemed like a grade A stamp investment to 11 year old me. 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 displays an American javelin thrower. An individual, who paid the price in not being able to compete. He likely would not have medaled as most medalist from the period were Eastern bloc or Finnish. Even at the 84 no Soviets Los Angeles Olympics, no Americans medaled. Maybe we didn’t open the gates for our athletes.

Todays stamp is issue A1179, a 10 cent stamp issued by the USA on September 5th, 1979. It displayed a Javelin thrower training for the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow. It was part of a four stamp issue showing various summer sports. There were thoughts that these stamps would be valuable due to the boycott. They are not. According to the Scott catalog, the stamp is worth 25 cents whether mint or used. Since this seems to be the minimum catalog value for any stamp, my childhood theory is conclusively and unfortunately disproved.

The Olympic sport of javelin throwing involves throwing a 3 and one half meter metal arrow for the greatest possible distance. The gold medal in 1980 went to 21 year old Soviet Dainis Kula. The silver went to another Soviet and an East German won the bronze.

The medal is controversial for two reasons. The Javelin is supposed to land by poking into the ground but Kulas glided along the ground and many believe he was given a generous spot by the officials. There were also rumours among the Finnish team that when the home team threw the stadium gates were opened. This would allow more wind into the stadium and farther throws.

At an event in 1984 in Helsinki, when Kula went on the field, the Finnish crowd chanted “open the Gates” in remembrance of their perceived taint on his medal. Kula was let go from the Soviet team in 1988 but competed as late as 1993 for his new home country of Latvia.

The javelin event was held at the 88,000 seat Lenin stadium. The stadium was built in 13 months in 1953-54 and was the host stadium for the 1980 Olympics. It was recently updated and is now known as Luzhniki Stadium. It recently hosted this years World Cup.

Well my drink is empty and I will pour another to toast the Soviet officials at Lenin stadium in 1980. At least they supported their countries team. The same cannot be said for American President Carter in 1980 or Soviet Premier Chermenko in 1984. Come again tomorrow for another story that can be learned from stamp collecting.

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Saint Vincent against all odds has a stable currency even if Joshua gone Barbados

Saint Vincent formed an alliance with the other newly independent east indies islands and it worked surprisingly well with a stable currency and good neighbor relations. That doesn’t mean that the people are doing great and they don’t perceive there leaders as gone Barbados. 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 is the rare small island British Commonwealth stamp that actually means to be used on the island. As such the Queen and say a cool old English airplane are dispenced with. With that diference we probably just lost the Commonwealth collecters. For those of you still with us, I will explain why this stamp is more interesting. It actually opens a window to the actual island, both the achievements and failures.

Todays stamp is issue A148, a fifty cent stamp issued by the independent republic of Saint Vincent in 1987. It was part of a 19 stamp issue in various denominations that display the same value coinage of the East Caribbean Dollar that had successfully supplanted the colonial currency. According to the Scott catalog, the stamp is worth 35 cents. There are overprinted versions that were used for revenue and these stamps are not generally part of the normal Commonwealth farm out issues. Hence the actual instead of to order cancelation. So far it hasn’t helped the value, but maybe in a 100 years.

Saint Vincent was first occupied by Carib Indians. They were unfriendly to European explorers and for many years the issue wasn’t pressed. Over the years though several slave ships ran aground and the Africans were welcomed and intermarried with the Indians swelling their numbers. Eventually the British set up outposts on Saint Vincent but had to fight several wars with the Black Caribe to get a foothold at least on the coasts. The often active Volcano at the center of the island, not so much. Sugar cane plantations were started and further slaves brought in. A British Caribbean dollar was introduced that was fixed to British Sterling.

The end of British Empire slavery saw the end of the planters prosperity and many left the island, although some tried to keep the plantations going with contract laborers brought in from India and Portugal. The freed slaves were not having much luck keeping the crops planted and poverty grew. The island also faced frequent hurricanes and even eruptions from it’s volcano. As the British faded local leaders from the islands upper classes tried to fill the void offering socialist economics and banana planting. On such leader was Ebenezer  Joshua who worked to unionize the sugar caine workers and replace British institutions with Caribbean ones.

His biggest success though was also his biggest failure. The Eastern Caribbean dollar has been successful in replacing the old British one and has maintained a fixed USA dollar peg for over 40 years, that’s a better record than China for example. That does not mean the people of the island are not stuck uneconomically growing sugar cane, now without slavery but with no one doing well at it. This dichotomy was graphically pointed out in an 80s Johnny Cash song “Joshua gone Barbados” that you can hear here, https://youtu.be/nN5ui3QOYAk. I recommend it, a great song. Here are some of the lyrics.

Joshua Gone Barbados

Cane standin’ in the fields gettin’ old and red
Lot of misery in Georgetown dreamin’ layin’ dead
Joshua head of the government he said strike for better pay
Cane cutters are strikin’ but Joshua gone away
Joshua gone Barbados staying in a big hotel
People on St Vincent got many sad tales to tell
The sugar mill owner told the strikers I don’t need you to cut my cane
Bring me another bunch of fellas your strike be all in vain
Get a bunch of tough fellas bring ’em from Zion Hill
Bring ’em in a bus to Georgetown know somebody could kill
Sunny Child the overseer I swear he’s an ignorant man
Walkin’ the the canefields pistol in his hand
Joshua gone Barbados just like he don’t know people on the island got no place to go
Police givin’ protection new fellas cuttin’ the cane

Ebenezer Joshua was at a conference about the currency. He was thrown out in the next election. Whether rightly or not I am not the judge put the song does a great job as to why.

Well my drink is empty and I may pour another and listen again to that haunting song. Come again tomorrow for another story that can be learned from stamp collecting.

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India remembers Subramania for advancing Tamil’s, India’s and later even Adele’s culture

An independent India now had the power to honor those that came before that fought for what later had been achieved. The question then becomes is it all what it was supposed to be. 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 aesthetics of this stamp just do not work to western eyes. Perhaps that is the point. Subramania styled himself as a Sikh despite  being a Tamil. It was the time of the British Raj and perhaps appearing threatening to that was an important point to make.

Todays stamp is issue A138, a 15 Naye Paise stamp issued by the Republic of India on September 11, 1960. It was a single stamp issue honoring Subramania Bharati. According to the Scott catalog, the stamp is worth 50 cents whether it is mint or used.

Subramania was born in Madras in 1882. At an early age he displayed a flare for linguistics and music and already at age 11 his learning was such that he was granted the title of Bharati. He was of the highest Indian caste, the Brahmin, who are the priests and the teachers. Though he did not believe in the caste system and took the progressive Sister Nivedita as his guru. She was an Irish convert who did much to bring Indian mysticism and yoga to the west.

He worked for a series of newspapers and journals where he was able to publish his poetry and expound on subjects far and wide. He wrote in a simpler style than those that came before and included music that promoted patriotism toward the idea of an independent, united Indian state that was not ruled by Britain but included Pakistan, Burma and Ceylon. Over time he became involved in the political movement toward independence. The independence movement was divided along lines of  how many ties to Britain should be cut and whether violence was acceptable in achieving it.

Subramania aligned himself with Tilak, a leader that promoted violent change and as  a result had to try to promote his ideas from a jail in Burma. Subramania himself did not participate in violence against the British but his articles promoted it. To avoid jail himself he moved for several years to the then French controlled Indian city of Pondicherry where he continued to practice his journalism.

At the end of World War I, Subramania returned to Madras but was quickly arrested. Though the British released him after 3 weeks, his situation took a turn for the worst. He was by now beset with poverty and his health declined. He was then struck by an elephant, and not able to recover, he died shortly after at age 39.

Among Subramania many works was the poem “Achamillai Achsmillai” Translated to English the lyrics translate to

Let the Sky Fall

Let it crumble

We will stand tall, together

These are also the lyrics to Adele’s theme song to the 2012 James Bond movie “Skyfall”. It is short and in another language so I don’t think there is any plagiarism involved. Remember though that both Adele and Subramania were trying to imagine life after the collapse of a British institution, whether the British Raj or MI6.

Well my drink is empty and I will pour another to toast Adele, as now I have that song stuck in my head. Come again tomorrow for another story that can be learned from stamp collecting.

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Costa Rica remembers the the drummer boy that saved Central America from an American manifest destiny

We have had a few stamps that allowed us to see how precarious some of the Central American countries were early on. So weak that if not for the bravery of a young Army drummer. A band of adventurers led by an American southerner  might have turned the whole area into an English speaking slave state. 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 diplays a statue of the drummer boy running with his torch during the decisive battle. Remember that there was no fighting with Spain to liberate Central America. The Filibuster War therefore serves as a worthy substitute. Here was Central America uniting to prevent a private American adventurer from changing the place forever. Sure there were only 60 Americans but they did conquer Nicaragua and how many Spaniards had it taken to defeat the earlier Indian nations.

Todays stamp is issue A30, a one Centimo stamp issued by Costa Rica in January 1901. It displays the statue of Juan Santamaria, a drummer in the Costa Rican Army during the Filibuster War in 1856. According to the Scott Catalog, the stamp is worth 30 cents used. In 1914 the Costa Rican government sold off a large batch of this stamp and others of the time for far less than face value. They were cancelled to order with a distinct cancellation and have an even lower value. Also if you see this stamp in a different color scheme, they are from a private reprint dating from 1948. Also according to the Scott Catalog, these versions have little or no value. That is a fair number of tests for my stamp to have passed only to be worth 30 cents.

William Walker was from Tennessee and spent his early career practicing medicine, the law, and has a journalist. He never married or had children but became enamored with the idea of an American manifest destiny where Central America and Mexico would be brought into the Union as English speaking slave states. The example of Texas was central to his dream. After recruiting a team of 45 adventures he crossed into Mexico and declared the Republic of Sanora. Though for a while he controlled Baja California, the Mexican Army quickly had his group on the run. On his return to the USA, Walker was tried for conducting an illegal war but the jury admired him and acquitted him.

William Walker

Still filled with ambition, he traveled to Nicaragua where the local Liberal and Conservative Party were fighting a Civil War. The Liberal Party recruited Walker and his 60 mostly American adventurers to fight on their side. The Conservatives were quickly defeated and William Walker became the de facto President of Nicaragua. He legalized slavery and made English the official language and American President Franklin Pearce recognized his government. Not everyone did. American Financier Cornelias Vanderbilt and the British had visions of building a canal linking the Atlantic and the Pacific through Nicaragua and those plans did not involve Walker. So the British lobbied the Hondurans and Vanderbilt the Costa Ricans to attack and bring down Walker. The Costa Rican army invaded Nicaragua and defeated Walker’s forces in Rivas. Another force of Hondurans and Salvadorans came down from the North. The US Navy then evacuated Walker and his few remaining men. He tried to come back later by setting up shop in Trujillo Honduras where he made contact with a group of British settlers. He was then arrested by the Royal Navy and turned over to Honduran authorities and quickly executed by firing squad.

Juan Santamaria was born to a poor unwed Costa Rican mother. During the Costa Rican mobilization for the Filibuster War he joined the army and served as a drummer. The battle of Rivas was not going well as the Walker forces were emplaced in a hostel with good firing lines. The commander had the idea to sent up a single soldier with a torch to burn them out. Santamaria agreed to volunteer for the assignment if the country agreed to take care of his mother if he was killed. He was indeed mortally wounded on his approach but managed to get the hostel burning before he died. His mother later petitioned the government and was granted a special pension.

Well my drink is empty and so I will open up the conversation in the below comment section. Imagine how different the world would be today if the Filibuster War had gone the other way. Come again tomorrow for another story that can be learned from stamp collecting.

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Egypt 1965, Arabs unite to comemorate the burning of a soon to be Arab library in Algiers

France was rapidly tiring of Algeria in the early sixties. So the actions of the OAS were not going to change anything except give Arabist opponents something to talk about. 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 dramatic visually, showing the burning of the library. The stamp was issued with few differences by many of the other Arab countries of the Middle East. It is dramatic and the burning was done by a Pied-Noir  resistance/terrorist organization called the OAS. What the stamps don’t make clear is that the library and the University were not founded by Arabs, but rather by the French then in their last days in Algeria.

Todays stamp is issue A262, a 10 Milliemimes stamp issued by the United Arab Republic(Egypt) on June 7th, 1965. It was a single stamp issue that commemorated the burning of the University of Algiers library three years before. According to the Scott catalog, the stamp is worth 25 cents used.

The pied-noir(black foot) were mainly French Europeans born in Algeria during the time of French rule from 1830-1962. In the last French census of 1960, there were over a million of them and just over 10 percent of the population of Algeria. The cities in Algeria of the time had European quarters where most lived. Many had little experience in France. Post World War II the Arab majority of Algeria rebelled against the French and sought to determine their own future. The French tired quickly of the fighting and President de Galle sought to get France out of Algeria. A cease fire was arraigned and elections were scheduled to let Algerians decide on the future of the relationship with France.

This all seems well and good but forgets the plight of the pied-noir. They did not think it would be possible to live under Algerians. Few were Muslim and many were Jewish. The pied-noir thought it was the duty of France to protect their comfortable way of life. In this they had the sympathy of many of the French soldiers garrisoning Algeria. They formed the OAS, the organization army secret, with the help of several retired French Generals including Raoul Salan, who had fought the losing battle to retain French Empire in Algeria and French Indo China. They sought to create an atrocity that would force the French army to come to the defense of the pied noir. The burning of the pied noir founded University of Algiers library was one such act. The campaign was unsuccessful and there was a mass exodus of pied-noir to a very unwelcoming France in the days leading up to independence. The lack of welcome in France was due to the perception among the French left that the pied-noir were right wing colonial exploiters.

The pied-noir fears of life in Algeria post independence proved justified. Three days after independence an Algerian mob burst into the European quarter of Oran, looting and killing in the street over a thousand Europeans. Nearby French Army units were ordered to stand down and did nothing to help them. The Algerians had agreed to honor the rights of Europeans that remained but soiled themselves by not honoring their promise. Almost all of the 250,000 that attempted to stay in Algeria were gone by the end of the 1960s. The Oran massacre does not seem to come up in Arab grievance stamps. Perhaps they are too busy trying to claim a French cultural institution as their own. French General Salan  of the OAS was arrested and sentenced to life in prison. In 1968 he was amnestied and his military rank was restored in 1982, two years before his death. The most famous pied-noir was philosopher Albert Camus who even studied at the University of Algiers.

Well, my drink is empty and I will pour a few more in  memory of those massacred in Oran. Given what happened there, the Arabs of the time had nerve squawking about a library that didn’t even belong to them. Come again tomorrow for another story that can be learned from stamp collecting.