Easter Island was another of those isolated islands that has to decide whether to pledge themselves to outsiders for protection or just go it alone. Easter chose to go with Chile but so late there was almost no one left to pledge. 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 more going on than first appears. The map of the island brought me in and I am glad it did because the story of how Chile acquired Easter Island is interesting. The generic person on a Latin American stamp has proven to be somewhat troublesome for me at this website. There is often just very little information on these fellows on the internet. I think the interest in them had waned by the time history went online.
Todays stamp is issue A199, a five Escudo stamp issued by Chile on January 26th, 1970. It was a single stamp issue celebrating the 80th anniversary of the treaty between Chile and Easter Island. The treaty was actually signed in 1888 so there timing was a little off but such are things. According to the Scott Catalog, the stamp is worth 25 cents used. There is a better issue for the 100th anniversary in 1988 that was better printed, offered more views of the island and actually came out in the correct year.
Easter Island was first occupied by Polynesians in the 11th century. When the first Europeans arrived, they estimated 2000 natives lived there. The interaction with outsiders and internal turmoil took a heavy toll on the local population. In 1877 the native population was down to 111 people. There was some involvement from French people with a French Catholic missionary operation and a large sheep farm run by a French Jew from Tahiti. The French tried to keep the tribal organizations going while sending not replyed to appeals to France to grant protectorate status to Easter. The island was being frequently raided by Peruvians who were shanghaiing natives into slavery.
The Chilean Navy had visited the island several times and a naval Captain named Policarpo Toro proposed to his government that the sheep farm be purchased and negotiations started to make Easter Island a protectorate of Chile. Permission for this was granted and after a year of negotiation a treaty was signed by Captain Toro and native King Atamu Tekena. The King was able to keep his title and the native part of the island was made a protected national park using the Polynesian name for the island Rapa Nui. The islands population has rebounded to 7750 with about 45 percent being of Polynesian decent. So Chile has proved to be a good steward of the island. The sheep farm closed in the 1950s but the 80s saw an expanded airport that has allowed more tourism.
Captain Toro was not revered for long in Chile. In 1892 there was a civil war that saw the navy on one side and the army on the other. Captain Toro refused to participate and was dismissed from the service dishonorably. A few years later there was an amnesty that restored to former Captain Toro his pension. He died in 1921 and his brother’s family stayed on Easter Island.
Well my drink is empty and I will pour another to toast Captain Toro and King Atuma. Over time islands cost more than they make for their protector and it can’t be easy for the natives to pledge loyalty to outsiders in order to survive. The fact is though that the island surviving was achieved. Come again tomorrow for another story that can be learned from stamp collecting.