Postage stamps and postal history of Madagascar
Encyclopedia
This is a survey of the postage stamps
and postal history
of Madagascar
, briefly also known as Malagasy.
Madagascar is an island nation in the Indian Ocean
off the southeastern coast of Africa
. The main island, also called Madagascar, is the fourth-largest island in the world.
A runner service between Tananarive and the French Post Office at Tamatave was organised by British residents before 1884. It was made official by the British Vice Consul in 1884. It used locally produced stamps between 1884 and 1897 after which stamps were discontinued but the service continued with handstruck marks.
During the French war of occupation the British ran an inland postal service using special stamps between January and September 1895. This was not an official service of the British Post Office.
. The first stamps of the republic were issued in December 1958.
Postage stamp
A postage stamp is a small piece of paper that is purchased and displayed on an item of mail as evidence of payment of postage. Typically, stamps are made from special paper, with a national designation and denomination on the face, and a gum adhesive on the reverse side...
and postal history
Postal history
Postal history is the study of postal systems and how they operate and, or, the study of postage stamps and covers and associated material illustrating historical episodes of postal systems...
of Madagascar
Madagascar
The Republic of Madagascar is an island country located in the Indian Ocean off the southeastern coast of Africa...
, briefly also known as Malagasy.
Madagascar is an island nation in the Indian Ocean
Indian Ocean
The Indian Ocean is the third largest of the world's oceanic divisions, covering approximately 20% of the water on the Earth's surface. It is bounded on the north by the Indian Subcontinent and Arabian Peninsula ; on the west by eastern Africa; on the east by Indochina, the Sunda Islands, and...
off the southeastern coast of Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
. The main island, also called Madagascar, is the fourth-largest island in the world.
British posts
British interests in Madagascar organised two different posts on the island.A runner service between Tananarive and the French Post Office at Tamatave was organised by British residents before 1884. It was made official by the British Vice Consul in 1884. It used locally produced stamps between 1884 and 1897 after which stamps were discontinued but the service continued with handstruck marks.
During the French war of occupation the British ran an inland postal service using special stamps between January and September 1895. This was not an official service of the British Post Office.
Independence
The Malagasy Republic was proclaimed on 14 October 1958, as an autonomous state within the French CommunityFrench Community
The French Community was an association of states known in French simply as La Communauté. In 1958 it replaced the French Union, which had itself succeeded the French colonial empire in 1946....
. The first stamps of the republic were issued in December 1958.
See also
- Postage stamps and postal history of the ComorosPostage stamps and postal history of the ComorosThe postage stamps and postal history of the Comoro Islands is an overview of the postage stamps and postal history of the Comoro Islands, an Indian Ocean archipelago located on the south-east side of Africa....
- Postage stamps of Diego-SuárezPostage stamps of Diégo-SuarezDiego-Suárez is a city at the northern tip of Madagascar in Antsiranana province. It was a French colony in the late 19th century until it was returned to Madagascar in 1896...
Further reading
- "Early Madagascar" by Gavin H. Fryer in The London Philatelist March-June, 1977.
External links
- http://www.stampdomain.com/country/madagascar/index.shtml
- http://catalogue.klaseboer.com/vol1/html/madag.htm