Tag: Southern Rhodesia stamp

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Southern Rhodesia 1953, The golden leaf from the high velts gets the colony beyond gold

Tobacco requires many things to be able to be a cash crop. Proper temperature and rainfall so only certain land, the leaves need curing which requires energy and access to transport for export. Then perhaps a devalueation to make the profits flow. So slip on your smoking jacket, fill your pipe, take your fir sip of your adult beverage, and sit back in your most comfortable chair. Welcome to todays offering from The Philatelist.

There was just a short window when Queen Elizabeth II appears on a Southern Rhodesia stamp as shortly after her Assentation Southern Rhodesia entered into a federation with Northern Rhodesia, (Zambia) and Nyasaland, (Malawi). Notice also that the tobacco farmer is white. That was a period truth as well as one of the reasons tobacco farming took off in Rhodesia and the lands that were useful for tobacco had not been allocated by previous generations as native reservations.

Todays stamp is issue A19, a one penny stamp issued by the Crown Colony of Southern Rhodesia in 1953. It was a five stamp issue in various denominations. According to the Scott catalog, the stamp is worth 25 cents used.

Even in modern Zimbabwe tobacco is known as the golden leaf not just for it’s color but because the export revenue of the crop rivals that of the gold mines. In the 1920s and 1930s it was realized that the belt of high velts was ideal for tobacco. The 3000 to 4000 feet elevation moderated temperatures and allowed  rainfall in the ideal range. The land was both owned by white settlers but close enough to ample black contract labour. The preexisting railroads would allow for export from the landlocked country and the tobacco leaves were cured on site. A big bonus to the industry happened when the pound was devalued after the war making the product more competitive. Starting in 1945, tobacco surpassed gold as Rhodesia’s chief export.

The transfer to black rule did not mean the end of tobacco cultivation. The first years of Zimbabwe saw the tobacco planters as the Rhodesians most likely to stay. As recently as 2000, there were 1500 active tobacco growers. In 2019 there were 171,000 and most whites have been pressured into leaving. In some countries after land reform, there is a large boost in output. This has been the case in Zimbabwe with production nearly four times the level of 1950. The end of the necessity of white ownership or ideal land has seen a dramatic increase in area under cultivation. Zimbabwe is the fourth largest tobacco exporter in the world, the largest in Africa.

There has been a down side. There is a great deal of slash and burn cultivation with much accompanying deforestation. I mentioned above that cultivation requires curing. The requires heat mostly generated by burning firewood. The government started a new tax of 1.5 percent gross to counteract deforestation. This has not solved the problem, as the programs main goal is to raise awareness instead of planting trees. Zimbabwe technological expertise might now be offering a solution. The government has been promoting the use of a coregated tin “twin turbo barn” for fast tobacco curing. It allows the switching to natural gas when available as a heat source. Exciting stuff.

High Zimbabwe tech Twin Turbo Barn for tobacco curing

Well my drink is empty and so I will have to wait till  when there will be another story to be learned from stamp collecting. First published in 2020.

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Southern Rhodesia 1940, Remembering the British South Africa Company

Administering a large area requires much money. So much so that despite all the mineral wealth brought on stream, the company was not able to pay a dividend until after administration of Southern Rhodesia was turned over. Well speculative companies usually don’t pay. We know that the company succeeded in finding the minerals, but did it lead to great wealth? and whatever happened to it. 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 shows the coat of arms of the British South Africa Company that had administered Rhodesia for 33 of the 50 years. Notice however the two native warriors, one from 1890 and one from 1940. Notice how different they look and think how much work was involved in getting between the two. No wonder the company only made money after offloading administrative tasks. Cecil Rhodes and his backers had a vision that would have required more minerals than even he could find.

Todays stamp is issue A9, a half penny stamp issued by the British Crown Colony of Southern Rhodesia on June 3rd, 1940. It was an 8 stamp issue in various denominations celebrating the 50th anniversary of the founding of Southern Rhodesia under the auspices of Cecil Rhodes and his British South Africa Company. According to the Scott catalog, the stamp is worth 25 cents unused. The stamp is worth more used unlike the rest of the set. Even 80 years ago 1/2 cent wouldn’t take your letter far.

The British South African Company received a Royal Charter in 1889. Cecil Rhodes was backed by several prominent Jewish financiers and was tasked with discovering  new mineral wealth, negotiating mineral rights from African tribes and bringing it to market. A tall order, but the kind of stock issue that can fluctuate wildly on good or not so good news. It was more than money though to Rhodes. He had visions of a British railroad from Cairo to Cape Town that would have all along it communities of English settlers. He thought the Africans belonged on reservations until civilized.

The gold rush had indeed attracted English settlers especially to Southern Rhodesia and the company financed a train through Northern Rhodesia but stopping short of Lake Victoria, the original goal, where it could connect to the northern African part. It was very expensive to build a railroad, secure and maintain it. Rhodes also had vision that added lands would allow for large families of settlers that didn’t pan out. Since mineral output was below what was hoped and lower margin copper and lead rather than gold the train did not make money. The company continued to administer the railroad until the late 1940s.

A Punch magazine cartoon of Cecil Rhodes when he imagined a telegraph line to go with the railroad from Cape Town to Cairo

After Rhodes death, the area became a British Colony. This was not Rhodes intention, he thought the settlers where still Englishmen who deserved representation in British Parliament. In taking over the colony, the settlers paid half and Britain paid the company half for mineral rights in Rhodesia and the accumulated deficit from the former administration. Finally the company was able to make a profit and pay a dividend. The profits got a lot better in the 30s and 40s as the company brought on stream new copper resources in Northern Rhodesia. Under threat of nationalization, the British South Africa Company sold mineral rights in Northern Rhodesia  to Zambia for 4 million pounds in 1964, again half paid by Britain and half by Zambia. In 1965 the remaining operations were merged into a British engineering company called Charter Consolidated. One third of the shares were still owned by Anglo American, the misleadingly named operation of Cecil Rhodes’ Jewish financial backers. In the 1980s Charter sold off the remaining mining operations, This was then sold in 2012 to Colfax, an American spinoff of the American engineering firm Daneher. When you think of these timelines what comes out is the machinations of finance taking over from Rhodes’ drive to find and build things. One wonders if Rhodes needed better backers or just there were more limits on what could be found than what could be hollowed out.

Well my drink is empty. Rhodes died at only 47 without heirs. If he had lived another say 25 years, would he have had the ability to find enough resources to make his vision for Africa a reality? Not likely, but also unlikely was the manifest destiny of the few English settlements in the then Indian/First Nation territory of North America. Come again soon for another story that can be learned from stamp collecting. First published in 2020.

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Swaziland 1947, A Royal visit tries to influence Southern African choices

3 months, 10,000 miles, the King and Queen and their glamorous daughters, a battle cruiser, a train whistlestop tour. The future Queen turns 21 and makes a speech pledging her whole life to service of the people of the Empire. Why go to the trouble? Well South Africa had just, unlike others, sacrificed greatly in the War, and maybe Britain was trying to return the favor by trying to prevent a mistake they could see about to happen. 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.

In the late forties the Royal family must have sensed the interest in their coming of age children in the world of celebrity. So here we have Princess Elizabeth and Princess Margaret displayed prominently. Unusually though, was the substance behind it. King George VI wasn’t that old but sickly and so he knew Elizabeth would be facing her duty sooner rather then later. Hence the speech she gave on this tour where she promised to be with her subjects through all the changes coming. It can’t be said she did not live up to her pledge even if the trip might have worked against British intentions for this part of the Empire.

Todays stamp is issue A3, a 3 Penny stamp issued by Swaziland on February 17th, 1947. It was a three stamp issue celebrating the Royal visit. The design of the stamp was borrowed from a similar stamp from Basutoland. According to the Scott catalog, the stamp is worth 25 cents.

South Africa had contributed much of their military to fight for Britain in World War II, especially in the North African theatre. The most successful British fighter ace Sailor Milan with 72 kills was South African. So when South African Prime Minister Jan Smuts invited the Royals, they came. South Africa was grappling on how to deal with the African majority. Mr. Smuts popularity was falling as he was proposing easing off restrictions that kept blacks out of the big cities. This meant tortuous commutes to where the jobs were for blacks. It was hoped that the pomp and circumstance might rub off on Smuts, who was facing a tough election.

As far as the welcome received and getting through what must have been impossible logistics, the Royal visit went off spectacularly well. However it did not have the intended effect on the then white and mostly Boer South African voter. Smuts was seen as too tight with Britain, even to the extent of abandoning his own people. The British Royals would not have to deal with the added crime that would have been the direct result of virtue signaling they were proposing. Smuts failed in his bid to D F Milan who took a much harder line on the question of the Africans. This was not the road Britain had in mind for it’s southern African dominions, protectorates, and colonies. Eventually South Africa and Rhodesia would feel the need to leave the Commonwealth.

All that said, the permanence of 21 year old Elizabeth’s words have lasted and proved more true than anyone could have imagined. You can watch it here https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=Princess+Elizabeth+1947+speech&view=detail&mid=D3118D08978E69DF648AD3118D08978E69DF648A&FORM=VIRE Sure there in no more Empire, no more Royal Navy battlecruiser, not even a Royal yacht, But Queen Elizabeth is still working for her subjects, now past 90. (Update RIP Queen Elizabeth, God Save the King).

Well my drink is empty and lets toast recently departed Queen Elizabeth to celebrate so many years of service to the Commonwealth. Come again soon when there will be another story to be learned from stamp collecting. First published in 2019.

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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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Zimbabwe 1984, Suggesting Walls and Banana as check and balance

Britain put a lot of effort into the turnover to black rule at the begining of the 1980s. The transitions 20 years before had been mostly bungled, but lessons were learned. The newly elected rebel force would be guided by a non political President named Canaan Banana and leaving Rhodesean General Peter Walls in charge of the newly integrated army. What could go wrong? So slip on your smoking jacket, fill your pipe, take your first sip of your smoking jacket, and sit back in your most comfortable chair, Welcome to todays offering from The Philatelist.

Two interesting things to note about the appearance of this stamp. First note that the black eagle on the stamp has nothing whatever to do with Zimbabwe. They are native to Asia and are the national bird of The Philippines. So Zimbabwe was doing that old post colonial tradition of having printed topical stamps for money that are meaningless in telling people about the new country. At least it was them doing it, in 2015 the Zimbabwe Postal Authority declared over 80 different souvinier sheets of topical stamps frauds. Don’t worry ladybug fans, the four stamp issue from 2018 was real. Also notice that four years after the transition, 17 cents would still mail a letter. Quite a bargain for all the future trillionaires of Zimbabwe. It takes a while for everything to fall apart.

Todays stamp is issue A86, a 17 cent stamp issued by Zimbabwe on October 10th, 1984. It was a six stamp issue in various denominations with the top value given the African hawk eagle. According to the Scott catalog, the stamp is worth 90 cents whether used or unused.

In late 1979 a deal was struck at Lancaster House in London that specified the structure of the post independence government. Rhodesian General Peter Walls would remain head of the Zimbabwe Army and be tasked with integrating the rebel forces into the Army and maintaining the professionalism of the force. Canaan Banana, a Methodist Reverend and leader of the old Rhodesean legal black party would be the new Presidential Head of State.

There was some reason for optimism. Rhodesia blacks had a much higher standard of living than others. Though the country had a foreign debt left from the Bush war, Britain, Nigeria and others promised aid over three times that amount over the next decade. At first, there was some progress. During the 1980s, life expectancy rose 5 years thanks in part to new health clinics. The average amount of schooling available to blacks rose and there was a slight uptick in their literacy.

I mentioned that the role of Walls and Banana was was to operate as a check on the excesses of Mugabe who remember had never ruled a country before. Walls tried to do his job. He reported personally to Margaret Thatcher that the election carried out in the last days of colony was unfair because of Mugabe intimidation gangs. When Britain had no response he made his report publicly on the BBC. Mugabe was already nervous about Walls asking him soon after independence, “Why are your people trying to kill me?” Walls responded that if his people were trying to kill you, you would be dead. Walls was fired from his position after the interview and forced into exile in South Africa. For the rest of his life he lead a quiet life but there were constant stories that this or that rival to Mugabe was scheming with Walls.

Rhodesia/Zimbabwe General Peter Walls M.B.E.

Reverend Canaan Banana also worked to balance out Mugabe. He was fully anti colonial though less radical and always working within the system in Rhodesia. He had wrote a book aiming to bring Christianity to the poor called “The Gospel according to the Ghetto”. He also rewrote the Lord’s Prayer. in his version it began “Our Father who art in the Ghetto, degraded be Thy Name”. I am not kidding. This may have been someone who could work with Mugabe. Indeed he tried. The two rebel armies against Rhodesia were now rival political parties. This sounds okay except there were a series of massacres between them known as the Gukuruhundi. Banana was able to get the two parties to merge which helped Mugabe by creating a united party still under him. That was not good enough for Mugabe and the constitution was changed making the Prime Minister the President. Banana continued to serve as a diplomat but was arrested in 1996 on charges of sodomy and sentenced to 10 years in jail. His homosexuality had came out when two of his bodyguards faced assault charges when one accused the other of being Banana’s gay wife as well as his bodyguard.

Zimbabwe President Canaan Banana before his fall

Well my drink is empty and we are talking of Zimbabwe so of course no toast. Come again tomorrow for another story that can be learned from stamp collecting.