Revenue stamps of Nyasaland and Malawi

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Map of Nyasaland, now known as Malawi. LocationMalawi.svg
Map of Nyasaland, now known as Malawi.

Nyasaland , now known as Malawi , first issued revenue stamps as British Central Africa in 1891 and continued to do so until the late 1980s. [1]

Nyasaland former British Protectorate in central Africa

Nyasaland was a British Protectorate located in Africa that was established in 1907 when the former British Central Africa Protectorate changed its name. Between 1953 and 1963, Nyasaland was part of the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland. After the Federation was dissolved, Nyasaland became independent from Britain on 6 July 1964 and was renamed Malawi.

Malawi Country in Africa

Malawi, officially the Republic of Malawi, is a landlocked country in southeast Africa that was formerly known as Nyasaland. It is bordered by Zambia to the northwest, Tanzania to the northeast, and Mozambique on the east, south and west. Malawi is over 118,000 km2 (45,560 sq mi) with an estimated population of 18,091,575. Lake Malawi takes up about a third of Malawi's area. Its capital is Lilongwe, which is also Malawi's largest city; the second largest is Blantyre, the third is Mzuzu and the fourth largest is its old capital Zomba. The name Malawi comes from the Maravi, an old name of the Nyanja people that inhabit the area. The country is also nicknamed "The Warm Heart of Africa" because of the friendliness of the people.

Revenue stamp A revenue stamp, tax stamp, duty stamp or fiscal stamp is a (usually) adhesive label used to collect taxes or fees.

A revenue stamp, tax stamp, duty stamp or fiscal stamp is a (usually) adhesive label used to collect taxes or fees on documents, tobacco, alcoholic drinks, drugs and medicines, playing cards, hunting licenses, firearm registration, and many other things. Typically businesses purchase the stamps from the government, and attach them to taxed items as part of putting the items on sale, or in the case of documents, as part of filling out the form.

Contents

British Central Africa

British Central Africa first issued revenue stamps in 1891. These were revenue stamps of the British South Africa Company overprinted B.C.A. Later that year large designs bearing stamps of the British South Africa Company but in a large ornate border inscribed REVENUE B.C.A. were issued. The 2/6 to £10 values were vertical and perforated but the £25 and £50 values were horizontal and exist perforated and imperforate. In 1893 some of these were surcharged with new values. These were withdrawn around 1895 and high value postage stamps were used for fiscal purposes afterwards. Since they were in use for a short period of time they are scarce and command high prices by collectors.

British Central Africa Protectorate

The British Central Africa Protectorate (BCA) was a protectorate proclaimed in 1889 and ratified in 1891 that occupied the same area as present-day Malawi: it was renamed Nyasaland in 1907. British interest in the area arose from visits made by David Livingstone from 1858 onward during his exploration of the Zambezi area. This encouraged missionary activity starting in the 1860s, undertaken by the Universities' Mission to Central Africa, the Church of Scotland and the Free Church of Scotland followed by a small number of settlers. The Portuguese government attempted to claim much of this area, but their claims were disputed by the British government. To forestall a Portuguese expedition claiming effective occupation, a protectorate was proclaimed, first over the south of this area, then over the whole of it in 1889. After negotiations with the Portuguese and German governments on its boundaries, the protectorate was formally ratified by the British government in May, 1891.

Between 1898 and 1906 various postage stamps were overprinted Consular or CONSULAR. Later similar postage stamps were defaced with this wording by manuscript. All of these are hard to find and quite rare.

Postage stamps and postal history of British Central Africa

The British Central Africa Protectorate existed in the area of present-day Malawi between 1891 and 1907.

Nyasaland

In 1913, postage stamps received a manuscript consular overprint. From 1908 to 1921 Nyasaland used postage stamps for other fiscal purposes. High values of these were mainly intended for fiscal rather than postal use. In 1921 a King George V 6d stamp was overprinted Revenue Only to restrict it to fiscal use. In 1938 a £10 keyplate stamp featuring King George VI was issued. In all, 6300 were printed, but only about 8 survive to this day making it one of the rarest Commonwealth revenues ever issued. [2]

Postage stamps and postal history of the Nyasaland Protectorate

On 6 July 1907 the British Central Africa Protectorate became the Nyasaland Protectorate and its first stamps were issued on 22 July 1908.

In 1953, postage stamps from the Queen Elizabeth II issue were overprinted REVENUE or Revenue for fiscal use. In 1955 a new design featuring the Queen and the coat of arms was issued, and some of these were later overprinted for postal purposes in 1963. Employment stamps featuring the coat of arms were also issued around 1962.

From 1956 to 1963, Nyasaland used revenue stamps of the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland.

Revenue stamps of the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland

The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland was a short lived semi-independent state in southern Africa that existed from 1953 to the end of 1963. The state comprised the former self-governing colony of Southern Rhodesia and the British protectorates of Northern Rhodesia and Nyasaland. It issued its own revenue stamps from around 1953 to 1955, and these were withdrawn after the federation ceased to exist.

Malawi

In 1970, Malawi issued a set of six numeral stamps to pay the Graduated Tax, and it was denominated in shillings and pence. A year later this was reissued in Malawian kwacha, and in 1973 there were some surcharged issues. These are not common but they do not command high prices.

Between 1980 and 1988, Malawi also issued stamps to pay the Passenger Service Charge, or airport tax. These were denominated wither in kwacha (MK) or US dollars (US$) for local or international flights.

See also

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References

  1. ↑ Barefoot, John. British Commonwealth Revenues. 9th edition. York: J. Barefoot, 2012, pp. 327-330. ISBN   0906845726
  2. ↑ Littlewort, Denis. The Nyasaland 1938 King George VI £10 Revenue Issue. Philatelic Database, 1998. Retrieved 2 February 2014.
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