Postage stamps and postal history of Colombia
Encyclopedia
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
is a country in north-western South America
South America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
. Colombia is bordered by Venezuela
Venezuela
Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...
, Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
, Ecuador
Ecuador
Ecuador , officially the Republic of Ecuador is a representative democratic republic in South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and by the Pacific Ocean to the west. It is one of only two countries in South America, along with Chile, that do not have a border...
, Peru
Peru
Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....
, Panama
Panama
Panama , officially the Republic of Panama , is the southernmost country of Central America. Situated on the isthmus connecting North and South America, it is bordered by Costa Rica to the northwest, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south. The...
and the Caribbean Sea
Caribbean Sea
The Caribbean Sea is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean located in the tropics of the Western hemisphere. It is bounded by Mexico and Central America to the west and southwest, to the north by the Greater Antilles, and to the east by the Lesser Antilles....
and the Pacific Ocean
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...
. With a population of over 45 million people, Colombia has the second largest population in South America, after Brazil. The capital is Bogotá
Bogotá
Bogotá, Distrito Capital , from 1991 to 2000 called Santa Fé de Bogotá, is the capital, and largest city, of Colombia. It is also designated by the national constitution as the capital of the department of Cundinamarca, even though the city of Bogotá now comprises an independent Capital district...
.
First stamps
The first stamp of Colombia was a revenue stampRevenue stamp
A revenue stamp, tax stamp or fiscal stamp is a 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...
issued on 1 September 1858. The first postage stamp of Colombia was not issued until 1859 for the Granadine Confederation
Granadine Confederation
The Granadine Confederation was a short-lived federal republic established in 1858 as a result of a constitutional change replacing the Republic of New Granada. It comprised the present day nations of Colombia and Panama...
.
United States of New Granada
In 1861 a series of stamps in five values was issued inscribed Estados Unidos de Nueva Granada, or the United States of New Granada.United States of Colombia
Later in 1861 the United States of New Granada became the United States of ColombiaUnited States of Colombia
The United States of Colombia was the name adopted in 1861 through the Rionegro Constitution for the nation which had been known as the Republic of New Granada since the dissolution of the federation of Gran Colombia in 1830-1831....
and stamps were issued marked Estados Unidos de Colombia until 1868.
Republic of Colombia
The Republic of Colombia was created in 1886 and stamps marked Republica de Colombia were issued from then, subsequently changing to just Colombia.Colombian states
The constituent states of Colombia continued to issued separate stamps until the early 1900s.See also
- Postage stamps and postal history of Antioquia
- Postage stamps and postal history of Bolívar
- Postage stamps and postal history of Boyacá
- Postage stamps and postal history of Cundinamarca
- Postage stamps and postal history of SantanderPostage stamps and postal history of SantanderLike other Colombian states, Santander issued its own postage stamps between 1884 and 1905, with a provisional stamp appearing in 1907. The designs were based on the state's coat of arms, except for a 50c stamp in 1904 featuring a locomotive. All of the stamps of Santander are commonly...
- Revenue stamps of ColombiaRevenue stamps of ColombiaThe first revenue stamp of Colombia was issued on 1 September 1858, one year before the first Colombian postage stamp.-Granadine Confederation:The first Colombian revenue stamp was a 20c value for the Granadine Confederation.-United States of New Granada:...