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.
The first stamps of Somalia were issued for the Benadir Company by the Italian authorities in 1903. [1]
In 1905, Italy assumed the responsibility of creating a colony in Somalia, following revelations that the Benadir Company had tolerated or collaborated in the perpetuation of the slave trade.
The first stamps were overprinted on the stamps of Benadir in 1905. Further issues were overprinted on the stamps of Benadir until 1926. From 1916 the stamps of Italy were also overprinted for use in Italian Somaliland. [2] The first set of definitives inscribed "Somalia" was issued in 1930.
Governor Maurizio Rava created the first system of postal service stations in Italian Somaliland, that was fully enlarged in 1937. [3]
Italian Trans-Juba was established in 1924, after Britain ceded the northern portion of the Jubaland region to Italy.
The first stamps for the new colony were issued on 29 July 1925, consisting of Italian stamps overprinted Oltre Giuba. Trans-Juba was integrated into Italian Somaliland in 1925, .
Between 1936 and 1941, stamps were issued for use in Italian East Africa, called in Italian Africa Orientale Italiana (A.O.I.), consisted of Italian Eritrea, Ethiopia and Italian Somaliland.
After British forces occupied Italian Somaliland during World War II, British stamps overprinted M.E.F.(Middle East Forces) were used. British stamps overprinted "E.A.F." (East Africa Forces) were also used, beginning 15 January 1943.
These were replaced by issues overprinted B.M.A. SOMALIA and later B.A. SOMALIA, reflecting the change from British military to British civil administration. Stamps overprinted in this way were in use from 1948 to 1950.
In 1949, when the British military administration ended, Italian Somaliland became a United Nations trusteeship known as the Trust Territory of Somaliland. Under Italian administration, this trust territory lasted ten years, from 1950 to 1960. Stamps issued during this interval were inscribed in both Italian and Somali.
Stamps were issued from 1903 to 1960 for the British area, first as British Somaliland, and later as the Somaliland Protectorate.
On 26 June 1960, the British Somaliland protectorate briefly gained independence as the State of Somaliland before uniting as scheduled five days later with the Trust Territory of Somaliland to form the Somali Republic on 1 July 1960. A set of stamps was issued with stamps from Italian Somaliland overprinted "Somaliland Independence 26 June 1960".
Following the establishment of the Somali Republic, the first stamps of the nascent country were issued on 1 July 1960. [4] [5]
After the 1969 military coup, the country and its stamps were renamed the Somali Democratic Republic. [4]
In early 1991, the Somali Postal Service had 100 post offices, with a total staff of between 1,665 [6] and 2,165 personnel. [7] The national postal infrastructure was later completely destroyed during the civil war, with Somali Postal officially suspending operations in October 1991. [8] Residents subsequently had to turn to traditional methods of dispatching parcels and letters. [9] They also communicated via handwritten letters sent through acquaintances and mobile and email messaging services. [10]
Postage stamps continued to be produced illegally internationally during the war, although their subject matter suggests they were designed for external collectors. [11]
In November 2013, international postal services officially resumed. The Universal Postal Union is now assisting the reestablished Somali Postal Service to develop its capacity, including providing technical assistance and basic mail processing equipment. [12] In October 2014, the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications also relaunched postal delivery from abroad. The postal system is slated to be implemented throughout the country via a new postal coding and numbering system. [13] According to the Minister of Posts and Telecommunications Mohamud Ibrihim Adan, the relaunch's next phase will enable local residents to send letters to acquaintances overseas. [10]
This is a survey of the postage stamps and postal history of Iraq. It includes special uses under the Ottoman Empire as well as occupation issues.
Originally mail from British Somaliland used postage stamps of Egypt, then India. In 1903, about 30 types of stamps of India were overprinted "BRITISH / SOMALILAND".
After World War I, the city of Fiume was claimed by both the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes and Italy. While its status was unresolved, its postal system was operated by a variety of occupation forces and local governments.
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.
Somalia is officially divided into 12 administrative regions. These are in turn subdivided into seventy-two districts
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.
This is a survey of the postage stamps and postal history of Tripolitania, now part of Libya.
Oltre Giuba or Trans-Juba was an Italian colony in the territory of Jubaland in present-day southern Somalia. It lasted from 1924 until 1926, when it was absorbed into Italian Somaliland. Trans-juba is the former name of Jubaland, a federal member state of Somalia.
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.
Between 1851 and 1860, the Grand Duchy of Tuscany, an independent Italian state until 1859 when it joined the United Provinces of Central Italy, produced two postage stamp issues which are among the most prized classic stamp issues of the world, and include the most valuable Italian stamp.
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 Cyrenaica, now part of Libya.
This is a survey of the postage stamps and postal history of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, formerly Zaire and the Belgian Congo.
This is a survey of the postage stamps and postal history of Egypt.
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.
British postal agencies in Eastern Arabia issued early postage stamps used in each of Abu Dhabi, Bahrain, Dubai, Kuwait, Muscat and Qatar. Muscat and Dubai relied on Indian postal administration until 1 April 1948 when, following the Partition of India, British agencies were established there. Two agencies were opened in Qatar: at Doha and Umm Said. In Abu Dhabi, an agency was opened on Das Island in December 1960 and in Abu Dhabi City on 30 March 1963. The agencies also supplied stamps to Bahrain until 1960; and to Kuwait during shortages in 1951–53.
Ethiopia issued revenue stamps from when it was an independent empire onwards.
British Somaliland, a British protectorate in present-day Somaliland, issued adhesive revenue or fiscal stamps between 1900 and 1904. All Somaliland fiscals were revenue stamps of India overprinted BRITISH SOMALILAND.
