Postage stamps and postal history of Italian East Africa are related to the stamps and their history issued by the Kingdom of Italy between 1936 and 1941 for use in Italian East Africa, called in Italian Africa Orientale Italiana (A.O.I.). A.O.I. was made of Italian Eritrea, [1] Ethiopia [2] and Italian Somalia. [3] [4]
Italy had possessed colonial territories in eastern Africa since the end of the 19th century.
In Italian Somalia, one of the first areas was the Benadir around Mogadiscio, that was later extended and became Somalia italiana with the inclusion in 1926 of the "Oltre Giuba" territory. [5] Some famous stamp issue commemorated this expansion. [6]
In Eritrea, the first official Italian possession in east Africa was created, called Colonia Eritrea. The first stamp series was issued on 1 January, 1893, [7] followed by the first Postal cards with inserted stamps [8] and by the first Post notes. [9]
"Africa Orientale Italiana" was created in 1936 when Italy annexed Ethiopia. Stamps were issued until 1941 (when Italian East Africa was conquered by the Allies during World War II).
In 1937 Governor Maurizio Rava created the first system of postal stations in Italian Somalia, that later was fully enlarged to include all of Italian Eritrea and most of Italian Ethiopia when WW2 started. [10]
The most well known series of AOI stamps were those called "Pittoriche" issues in 1938 [11] and 1939/1940. [12] The "Buono Posta Aerea" of April 1941 is the only one showing the former British Somaliland annexed to A.O.I in a map of Italian East Africa. [13]
In Italian Ethiopia were issued stamps with the image of Victor Emmanuel III as Emperor'; the stamps were written in Italian, Arabic and Amhara language.
On 22 May 1936, three stamps (in just conquered and created A.O.I.) were issued -25c, 30c and 50c- featuring the image of Emperor Victor Emmanuel III. Later in the year on 5 Dec, four additional stamps were issued -10c, 20c, 75c and 1.25l- also featuring Victor Emmanuel with a backdrop scenes of Ethiopia.All of the stamps were inscribed in Roman, Arabic and Amharic scripts, and included the date: 9 May 1936 to commemorate the day that Ethiopia was annexed by Italy.The occupation stamps were replaced with Stamps of Italian East Africa on 7 Feb, 1938. Michael Adkins [14]
Three stamps featuring the image of Emperor Victor Emmanuel III were issued on 22 May 1936. Later in the year, four additional stamps were issued, also featuring Victor Emmanuel with the scenery of Ethiopia in the background. All of these stamps were inscribed in Italian, Arabic and Amharic, and marked "9 May 1936" to take note of the date Ethiopia was annexed by Italy. These series were replaced by the stamps of Italian East Africa on 7 Feb, 1938. [14] [15]
Italian East Africa was an Italian colony in the Horn of Africa. It was formed in 1936 through the merger of Italian Somalia, Italian Eritrea, and the newly occupied Ethiopian Empire, conquered in the Second Italo-Ethiopian War.
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.
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.
The lira AOI was a special banknote circulating in Italian East Africa between 1938 and 1941.
The British post offices in Africa were a system of post offices set up by the United Kingdom to be used by its Middle East Forces and East Africa Forces in Africa during and after World War II.
Kastellorizo is the easternmost Greek island and is situated in the Eastern Mediterranean. It lies about 2 miles (3 km) from the Anatolian coast (Lycia), more or less halfway between Rhodes and Antalya.
The Italian guerrilla war in Ethiopia was a conflict fought from the summer of 1941 to the autumn of 1943 by remnants of Italian troops in Ethiopia and Somalia, in a short-lived attempt to re-establish Italian East Africa. The guerrilla campaign was fought following the Italian defeat during the East African Campaign of World War II, while the war was still raging in Northern Africa and Europe.
Oltre Giuba formerly Trans-Juba, is the former name of Jubaland, in the southwesternmost part of Somalia, on the far side of the Juba River, bordering Kenya.
Italian Eritreans are Eritrean-born descendants of Italian settlers as well as Italian long-term residents in Eritrea.
The postal history of San Marino can be traced to October 7, 1607, with the introduction of public postal services. The republic's postal needs were handled by a post office in nearby Rimini, Italy; the first San Marino post office opened in 1833.
This is a survey of the postage stamps and postal history of Ethiopia. Long an independent state in Africa, messages were originally carried by couriers called méléktegnas, who held the letters attached to a stick.
This is a survey of the postage stamps and postal history of Eritrea.
This is a survey of the postage stamps and postal history of Djibouti, known as the French Territory of the Afars and Issas before independence, and as French Somaliland before that.
The following is a survey of the postage stamps and postal history of Somalia. From the late 1800s to 1960, northwestern present-day Somalia was administered as British Somaliland, while the northeastern, central and southern part of the country were concurrently administered as Italian Somaliland. In 1960, the two territories were unified as the Somali Republic.
Eritrea Governorate was one of the six governorates of Italian East Africa. Its capital was Asmara. It was formed from the previously separate colony of Italian Eritrea, that was enlarged with parts of the conquered Ethiopian Empire following the Second Italo-Ethiopian War.
Somalia Governorate was one of the six governorates of Italian East Africa. It was formed from the previously separate colony of Italian Somalia, enlarged by the Ogaden region of the conquered Ethiopian Empire following the Second Italo-Ethiopian War.
Italian Ethiopia, also known as the Italian Empire of Ethiopia, was an Italian formal entity of the territory of the conquered Ethiopian Empire. Italian Ethiopia was not an administrative entity, but the formal name of the former territory of the Ethiopian Empire which now constituted the Governorates of Amhara, Harar, Galla-Sidamo, and Scioa after the establishment of Italian East Africa.
Vincenzo DiMeglio, called also Vincenzo Di Meglio (1903-1987), was an Italian doctor who worked in the Africa Orientale Italiana in the late thirties and during World War II. He was also an Italian Eritrean politician who saved Eritrea from being divided in 1947 between Sudan and Ethiopia
Ethiopia issued revenue stamps from when it was an independent empire onwards.
Mario Mazzuca was an Italian lawyer, Rugby player, and sports manager.