 | This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations .(December 2008) |
This is a survey of the postage stamps and postal history of Indochina.
| This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations .(December 2008) |
This is a survey of the postage stamps and postal history of Indochina.
The postage stamps of French Indochina begin on May 16, 1886, with the overprinting of "5" or "5 C. CH." on the generic stamps of the French Colonies, for use in Cochinchina (mainly Saigon). [1]
On January 21, 1888, stamps crudely overprinted A & T (meaning Annam & Tonkin), along with a "1" or "5", and also on the generic colonies stamps, were issued for those territories. The example at right was cancelled at Hanoi (spelled "HA-NOI") in Tonkin, on 17 March 1888. [2]
The 1889 unification of colonial administration first resulted in surcharges in January 1889, on the 35c French Colonies stamp, reading INDO-CHINE 89 / 5 / R D (8 January) and INDO-CHINE / 1889 / R - D (10 January), where the "R" referred to the colonial governor P. Richaud, and the "D" to the postmaster at Saigon, General P. Demars. The example illustrated at right was cancelled at Vinh Long, a town of the Mekong Delta, on 4 April 1889, just a few months after the stamp was issued. [3]
In 1892 the first five regular stamps of Indochina were issued as part of the standard Navigation and Commerce, and inscribed INDO-CHINE. Three succeeding ones were issued in 1900, and two in 1902 - all in the same basic design with different colors.
Inscription of INDO-CHINE in the typical blank box at the bottom was replaced with printing of INDO-CHINE FRANCAISE from the definite stamps issued in 1904.
Subsequent issues included an attractive and artistic set featuring native women (1907), a surcharged set of 1919 necessitated by the changeover from centimes and francs to cents and piasters in the previous year, and a reprinted set valued in the new currency, starting with a 1/10-cent denomination.
Sets featuring local sights appeared in 1927, 1931, and in 1936 depicting cultural views like a farmer plowing the ground or constructions, Apsara, and native emperors of Annam and Cambodie. They are followed by a variety of commemoratives honoring notable figures, up to a last airmail issue June 13, 1949, which was issued in only small numbers due to the growing rebellion.
A number of the 1940s issues were later overprinted and used by the Viet Minh
The French post offices in China were among the post offices maintained by foreign powers in China from the mid-19th century until 1922. The first French Post Office in China opened in 1862. Initially, the French government used ordinary French postage stamps for these offices. These forerunner stamps can be shown to have been sold or used in China only by a postmark. Stamps used at Shanghai prior to 1876, for example, can only be identified by diamond-shaped cancel made of a type referred to as a “losange à gros chiffres” with the numbers "5104" in the center of the cancel.
"French Colonies" is the name used by philatelists to refer to the postage stamps issued by France for use in the parts of the French colonial empire that did not have stamps of their own. These were in use from 1859 to 1906, and from 1943 to 1945.
During its time as a French colony, Obock issued its own postage stamps. At first the inhabitants used the general stamps of the French Colonies, but in 1892 they were overprinted with "OBOCK", as were stamped post cards. Later in the year some of these were also surcharged with values from 1 centime to 5 francs. By the end of the year, a supply of the omnibus Navigation and Commerce issues became available, inscribed OBOCK in red or blue.
Ubangi-Shari was a French colony in central Africa which later became the independent country of the Central African Republic on August 13, 1960. It followed the establishment of the Bangui outpost in 1889, and was named in 1894.
Gabon is a country in west central Africa sharing borders with the Gulf of Guinea to the west, Equatorial Guinea to the northwest, and Cameroon to the north, with the Republic of the Congo curving around the east and south. Its size is almost 270,000 km² with an estimated population of 1,500,000. The capital and largest city is Libreville.
The Banque de l'Indochine, originally Banque de l'Indo-Chine, was a bank created in 1875 in Paris to finance French colonial development in Asia. As a bank of issue in Indochina until 1952, with many features of a central bank, it played a major role in the financial history of French Indochina, French India, New Caledonia, French Polynesia, and Djibouti, as well as French-backed ventures in China and Siam. After World War II, it lost its issuance privilege but reinvented itself as an investment bank in France, and developed new ventures in other countries, such as Saudi Arabia and South Africa.
Each "article" in this category is in fact a collection of entries about several stamp issuers, presented in alphabetical order. The entries themselves are formulated on the micro model and so provide summary information about all known issuers.
A concise postal history of French Annam protectorate and Tongking protectorate, former territories of colonial French Indochina, that were located in present-day Vietnam. Dates 1888 - 1892
Each "article" in this category is in fact a collection of entries about several stamp issuers, presented in alphabetical order. The entries themselves are formulated on the micro model and so provide summary information about all known issuers.
Each "article" in this category is a collection of entries about several stamp issuers, presented in alphabetical order. The entries are formulated on the micro model and so provide summary information about all known issuers.
This is a survey of the postage stamps and postal history of Chad.
The postage stamps of Vietnam were issued by a variety of states and administrations. Stamps were first introduced by the French colonial administration. Stamps specifically for Vietnam were first issued in 1945. During the decades of conflict and partitioning, stamps were issued by mutually hostile governments. The reunification of Vietnam in 1976 brought about a unified postal service.
This is a survey of the postage stamps and postal history of Laos.
This is a survey of the postage stamps and postal history of Fezzan and Ghadames, both now part of Libya.
This is a survey of the postage stamps and postal history of Réunion.
This is a survey of the postage stamps and postal history of Madagascar, briefly also known as Malagasy.
The Ordre du Mérite indochinois was a regional award of France awarded by the Governor-General of Indochina for the local population of French Indochina.
Tonkin, or Bắc Kỳ (北圻), was a French protectorate encompassing modern Northern Vietnam. Like the French protectorate of Annam, Tonkin was still nominally ruled by the Nguyễn dynasty, but in 1886, the French separated Tonkin from the Nguyễn imperial court in Huế by establishing the office of "Viceroy". However, on 26 July 1897, the position of Viceroy was abolished, officially making the French resident-superior of Tonkin both the representative of the French colonial administration and the Nguyễn dynasty court in Huế, giving him the power to appoint local mandarins. In 1887, Tonkin became a part of the Union of Indochina.
The Franco-Chinese Bank, in French Banque Franco-Chinoise (BFC), full name Banque Franco-Chinoise pour le Commerce et l’Industrie, was a French bank with operations in China and French Indochina, and later in the Indian Ocean and the French West Indies. In 1925 it succeeded the Société française de gérance de la Banque industrielle de Chine, an asset management company that had been formed in October 1922 following the closure of the Banque Industrielle de Chine.
The Military Medal of Annam, also known as the Military Medal of Emperor Đồng-Khánh; officially the Military and Native Guard Merit Medal, was a short lived Order of Merit of the French protectorates of Annam and Tonkin within the federation of French Indochina. The Military Medal of Annam was awarded to Annamese and Tonkinese soldiers of the Tirailleurs indochinois, the Garde indigène de l'Annam er du Tonkin, and other Indochinese military forces as well as police officers in the Garde Civil indigène for distinguished action or serious wounds.
