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This is a survey of the postage stamps and postal history of the Netherlands .
The postal region of the Netherlands is located in North-West Europe and comprises the whole territory of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Europe and until 2010 the full territory of the country the Netherlands. Four other postal regions exist in the kingdom: for Aruba, the Caribbean Netherlands (Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba), Curaçao and Sint Maarten.
The first stamps of the Netherlands were issued in 1852 and depicted King William III. [1]
During the Second World War the Netherlands were occupied by Germany. Stamp issues continued and a number of semi-postal stamps were issued. [1]
The Netherlands were liberated on 5 May 1945. The previous stamps continued in use until a new series was introduced on 1 April 1946. This series contained stamps originally issued by the Dutch Government in Exile in Britain in 1944 for use on ships of the Dutch Navy serving with the Allies. [1]
Regular stamp issues have continued since then including several long-running definitive stamp series, numerous commemorative stamps and the regular issue of semi-postal stamps for charitable causes which has become a notable feature of Dutch philately.
In 2002 a series of 12 provincial stamps were issued. Whilst not strictly local stamps, as they were valid throughout the Netherlands, the stamps were only available to purchase from post offices in the relevant province or from the Dutch Philatelic Bureau. [1]
Variable value stamps have been issued in the Netherlands since 1989. [1]
The Dutch Post Office has been an enthusiastic issuer of postage stamp booklets, issuing over 150 since the first one in 1902. [1]
A number of stamps have been issued since 1934 for use at the International Court of Justice in The Hague. [1]
The Netherlands Antilles was a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The country consisted of several island territories located in the Caribbean Sea. The islands were also informally known as the Dutch Antilles. The country came into being in 1954 as the autonomous successor of the Dutch colony of Curaçao and Dependencies. The Antilles were dissolved in 2010. The Dutch colony of Surinam, although it was relatively close by on the continent of South America, did not become part of the Netherlands Antilles but became a separate autonomous country in 1954. All the island territories that belonged to the Netherlands Antilles remain part of the kingdom today, although the legal status of each differs. As a group they are still commonly called the Dutch Caribbean, regardless of their legal status. People from this former territory continue to be called Antilleans in the Netherlands.
The British Central Africa Protectorate existed in the area of present-day Malawi between 1891 and 1907.
This is a survey of the postage stamps and postal history of the postal areas Netherlands Antilles as well as its predecessor Curaçao. The area consisted of the islands Bonaire, Saba and Sint Eustatius as well as Sint Maarten, Curaçao and Aruba.
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.
Same-sex marriages are not performed in Aruba, Curaçao, or Sint Maarten, which are constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The islands were obliged after several court rulings to register any marriage registered in the Kingdom, but this primarily considers residency rights and they do not have to give same-sex marriages the same legal effect as opposite-sex marriages. As marriage in the European territory of the Netherlands, as well as in Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba, is open to any two people, marriages performed there have to be registered in the islands.
The Netherlands Antillean guilder is the currency of Curaçao and Sint Maarten, which until 2010 formed the Netherlands Antilles along with Bonaire, Saba, and Sint Eustatius. It is subdivided into 100 cents. On January 1, 2011, in the islands of Bonaire, Saba and Sint Eustatius, the guilder was replaced by the United States dollar. On Curaçao and Sint Maarten, the Netherlands Antillean guilder was proposed to be replaced by a new currency, the Caribbean guilder, but this was stalled indefinitely by negotiations over the establishment of a separate central bank for Curaçao. In November 2020, the Central Bank announced the introduction of the replacement guilder, which was planned to be implemented in the first half of 2021; however, implementation was delayed several times.
The Netherlands Antilles was an autonomous Caribbean country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It was dissolved on 10 October 2010.
The Joint Court of Justice of Aruba, Curaçao, Sint Maarten, and of Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba serves the three Caribbean countries of the Kingdom of the Netherlands and the three Caribbean special municipalities of the Netherlands. The court primarily hears disputes in first instance and on appeal of these six islands, and is on the same level as similar courts in the Netherlands. Since 2012, the court has also been authorized to hear inquiry procedures originated on Curaçao, of a type that would be heard in the Netherlands by the Enterprise Chamber in Amsterdam.
Mauritius, a small island in the southwest Indian Ocean, is important to the world of philately for a number of reasons. Its first two postage stamps issued in 1847, called the "Post Office" stamps, are of legendary rarity and value. They were the first stamps issued in any part of the British Empire outside of Great Britain. The unique cover bearing both “Post Office” stamps has been called "la pièce de résistance de toute la philatélie" or "the greatest item in all philately". The cover was sold at auction, in Zurich, on 3 November 1993, for 5.75 million Swiss francs, the equivalent of about $4 million – the highest price ever paid for a single philatelic item up to that time. In addition, Mauritius is well known for the subsequent locally produced issues known as "primitives," also prized by collectors.
The Kingdom of the Netherlands, commonly known as simply the Netherlands, is a sovereign state and constitutional monarchy with 98% of its territory and population in Western Europe and with several small West Indian island territories in the Caribbean.
The following is an alphabetical list of topics related to the former nation of the Netherlands Antilles.
Aruba has produced its own stamps since 1 January 1986, when it was granted internal autonomy within the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It had previously been part of the Netherlands Antilles. The official language is Dutch.
The Caribbean Netherlands are the three special municipalities of the Netherlands that are located in the Caribbean Sea. They consist of the islands of Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba, although the term "Caribbean Netherlands" is sometimes used to refer to all of the islands in the Dutch Caribbean. In legislation, the three islands are also known as Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba or the BES islands. The islands are currently classified as public bodies in the Netherlands and as overseas countries and territories of the European Union; thus, EU law does not automatically apply.
A common visa exists since the end of 2010 for the territories of Aruba, Curaçao, Sint Maarten and the Caribbean Netherlands which form together the territory of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in the Caribbean. The visa is not valid for the European part of the Netherlands, which is part of the Schengen Area.
The three public bodies of Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba started issuing postal stamps after the dissolution of the Netherlands Antilles in 2010. The islands form a separate postage region under the name Caribisch Nederland .
The Dutch Caribbean are the territories, colonies, and countries, former and current, of the Dutch Empire and the Kingdom of the Netherlands in the Caribbean Sea. They are in the north and south-west of the Lesser Antilles archipelago.
Sint Maarten, a country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands, started issuing postal stamps after the dissolution of the Netherlands Antilles on 10 October 2010. The island thus became one of the five postage regions in the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The first stamp issued showed the map of the island Saint Martin.
This is a survey of the postage stamps and postal history of Grenada.
Same-sex marriage in Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba has been legal since 10 October 2012, the effective date of legislation passed by the States General of the Netherlands enabling same-sex couples to marry.