Correos
Encyclopedia
Sociedad Estatal de Correos y Telégrafos, S.A., popularly known as Correos, is the national postal service of Spain
, as recognized by the Universal Postal Union
. With 63,000 employees and 5.4 billion pieces of mail sent each year, Correos is one of the largest postal services in the world. Based in Madrid, it has over 10,000 postal centres all over Spain.
During the Middle Ages
, the post belonged to the Crown
. There was a long period of messengers, royal couriers, runners—like the 80 that the King of Aragón
, Pedro el Ceremonioso, had—and of important positions related to correspondence, like the Main Post Office in the court of the Spanish Catholic Monarchs
.
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In the modern era, under the rule of the Habsburgs
, the administration of the service was contracted to individuals and Correos started to have a more homogenous structure with a certain similarity to the current service. From 1506, Philip I
bestowed the postal monopoly on Francisco Tassis who gave us the system and organisation that he himself had used in Germany. Juan Francisco Goyeneche was the last postal service contractor
From the 18th century, with the accession of the Bourbons to the throne, Philip V
made Correos into a state service available to all citizens. The service developed through detailed regulations (like those of 1720 and the Postal Orders of 1743) and through the men who managed Correos in the following years; men such as Rodríguez de Campomanes who from 1755 standardised charges, introduced home deliveries and created the post offices and post boxes in them (the precedents of local post) and improved the road network. These were just some of the reforms which led to the modernisation of the postal service in Spain.
In 1850, the first postage stamp appeared in Spain, bearing the image of Queen Isabella II. This had two important consequences. On one hand the cost of deliveries was reduced as the service was paid for by the sender rather than the person receiving the correspondence and on the other, the number of deliveries increased considerably. That year 18,500,000 deliveries were made. In 1889 the Cuerpo de Correos (the Postal Workforce) was created in Spain. From then on the presence of postmen increased in more and more towns and Correos started to become an indispensable element for the unity and structure of Spain.
Correos has continued to evolve until the present day and to adapt to new requirements in society; and these changes have acquired a frantic pace in the last few years. In 1992 it ceased to be a Government Department and became an independent commercial organisation, and five years after that it became a state company. In June 2001 a new form of management was introduced when the company became a Public Limited Company. Nowadays, Correos is moving forwards to a modern and innovative business concept, in tune with the reality of the 21st century.
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
, as recognized by the Universal Postal Union
Universal Postal Union
The Universal Postal Union is an international organization that coordinates postal policies among member nations, in addition to the worldwide postal system. The UPU contains four bodies consisting of the Congress, the Council of Administration , the Postal Operations Council and the...
. With 63,000 employees and 5.4 billion pieces of mail sent each year, Correos is one of the largest postal services in the world. Based in Madrid, it has over 10,000 postal centres all over Spain.
History
Correos has covered the whole of Spanish territory every day in public service for more than 300 years.During the Middle Ages
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
, the post belonged to the Crown
Spanish monarchy
The Monarchy of Spain, constitutionally referred to as The Crown and commonly referred to as the Spanish monarchy or Hispanic Monarchy, is a constitutional institution and an historic office of Spain...
. There was a long period of messengers, royal couriers, runners—like the 80 that the King of Aragón
Aragon
Aragon is a modern autonomous community in Spain, coextensive with the medieval Kingdom of Aragon. Located in northeastern Spain, the Aragonese autonomous community comprises three provinces : Huesca, Zaragoza, and Teruel. Its capital is Zaragoza...
, Pedro el Ceremonioso, had—and of important positions related to correspondence, like the Main Post Office in the court of the Spanish Catholic Monarchs
Catholic Monarchs
The Catholic Monarchs is the collective title used in history for Queen Isabella I of Castile and King Ferdinand II of Aragon. They were both from the House of Trastámara and were second cousins, being both descended from John I of Castile; they were given a papal dispensation to deal with...
.
Habsburg Spain
Habsburg Spain refers to the history of Spain over the 16th and 17th centuries , when Spain was ruled by the major branch of the Habsburg dynasty...
, the administration of the service was contracted to individuals and Correos started to have a more homogenous structure with a certain similarity to the current service. From 1506, Philip I
Philip I of Castile
Philip I , known as Philip the Handsome or the Fair, was the first Habsburg King of Castile...
bestowed the postal monopoly on Francisco Tassis who gave us the system and organisation that he himself had used in Germany. Juan Francisco Goyeneche was the last postal service contractor
From the 18th century, with the accession of the Bourbons to the throne, Philip V
Philip V of Spain
Philip V was King of Spain from 15 November 1700 to 15 January 1724, when he abdicated in favor of his son Louis, and from 6 September 1724, when he assumed the throne again upon his son's death, to his death.Before his reign, Philip occupied an exalted place in the royal family of France as a...
made Correos into a state service available to all citizens. The service developed through detailed regulations (like those of 1720 and the Postal Orders of 1743) and through the men who managed Correos in the following years; men such as Rodríguez de Campomanes who from 1755 standardised charges, introduced home deliveries and created the post offices and post boxes in them (the precedents of local post) and improved the road network. These were just some of the reforms which led to the modernisation of the postal service in Spain.
In 1850, the first postage stamp appeared in Spain, bearing the image of Queen Isabella II. This had two important consequences. On one hand the cost of deliveries was reduced as the service was paid for by the sender rather than the person receiving the correspondence and on the other, the number of deliveries increased considerably. That year 18,500,000 deliveries were made. In 1889 the Cuerpo de Correos (the Postal Workforce) was created in Spain. From then on the presence of postmen increased in more and more towns and Correos started to become an indispensable element for the unity and structure of Spain.
Correos has continued to evolve until the present day and to adapt to new requirements in society; and these changes have acquired a frantic pace in the last few years. In 1992 it ceased to be a Government Department and became an independent commercial organisation, and five years after that it became a state company. In June 2001 a new form of management was introduced when the company became a Public Limited Company. Nowadays, Correos is moving forwards to a modern and innovative business concept, in tune with the reality of the 21st century.
Facts & Figures
- Almost 65,000 people work for Correos: 38,000 people deliver the 5.4 billion deliveries which Correos handles every year; 11,800 sell a wide range of services in its offices and around 2,000 work on tasks of processing, classification, loading and unloading in their logistical centres.
- Correos has 12,800 vehicles for the transport and distribution of deliveries with different load capacities, from motorbikes to 24 tonne lorries, which cover more than 340,000km every day. To put it another way, they cover the equivalent distance of going around the world 9 times in a day.
- Correos operates more than 10,000 postal centers: 1,987 multiservice offices (visited by more than 250,000 customer and clients every day); 1,980 distribution units; and 8,094 rural service points. The online office www.correos.es, counts 750,000 users every month.
- In 2005 Correos invested 212 million euros (excluding financial investments) to, among other things, improve infrastructure and equipment, information, communications and automation systems.