This is a survey of the

postage stamp A postage stamp is a small piece of paper issued by a post office, postal administration, or other authorized vendors to customers who pay postage (the cost involved in moving, insuring, or registering mail), who then affix the stamp to the fa ...

s and

postal history Postal history is the study of postal systems and how they operate and, or, the study of the use of postage stamps and covers and associated postal artifacts illustrating historical episodes in the development of postal systems. The term is att ...

Zimbabwe Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the south-west, Zambia to the north, and Mozam ...

. Zimbabwe, formerly

Southern Rhodesia Southern Rhodesia was a landlocked self-governing British Crown colony in southern Africa, established in 1923 and consisting of British South Africa Company (BSAC) territories lying south of the Zambezi River. The region was informally kn ...

is a landlocked country located in the southern part of Africa between the

Zambezi The Zambezi River (also spelled Zambeze and Zambesi) is the fourth-longest river in Africa, the longest east-flowing river in Africa and the largest flowing into the Indian Ocean from Africa. Its drainage basin covers , slightly less than hal ...

and

Limpopo Limpopo is the northernmost province of South Africa. It is named after the Limpopo River, which forms the province's western and northern borders. The capital and largest city in the province is Polokwane, while the provincial legislature is ...

rivers. It is bordered by

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

to the south,

Botswana Botswana (, ), officially the Republic of Botswana ( tn, Lefatshe la Botswana, label=Setswana, ), is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. Botswana is topographically flat, with approximately 70 percent of its territory being the Kalahar ...

to the southwest,

Zambia Zambia (), officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central Africa, Central, Southern Africa, Southern and East Africa, although it is typically referred to as being in Southern Africa at its most cent ...

to the northwest and

Mozambique Mozambique (), officially the Republic of Mozambique ( pt, Moçambique or , ; ny, Mozambiki; sw, Msumbiji; ts, Muzambhiki), is a country located in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi ...

to the east.

History

Early European explorers, missionaries and traders, in the area that became Zimbabwe, hired private couriers, or made other arrangements to have their mail carried to the nearest post office which first meant one in the Cape of Good Hope Colony, and later included the post offices in the

South African Republic The South African Republic ( nl, Zuid-Afrikaansche Republiek, abbreviated ZAR; af, Suid-Afrikaanse Republiek), also known as the Transvaal Republic, was an independent Boer Republic in Southern Africa which existed from 1852 to 1902, when it ...

(Transvaal).

British South Africa Company

The first post was established in 1888 by the

British South Africa Company The British South Africa Company (BSAC or BSACo) was chartered in 1889 following the amalgamation of Cecil Rhodes' Central Search Association and the London-based Exploring Company Ltd, which had originally competed to capitalize on the expecte ...

(BSA) consisting of a route from Gubulawayo in

Matabeleland Matabeleland is a region located in southwestern Zimbabwe that is divided into three provinces: Matabeleland North, Bulawayo, and Matabeleland South. These provinces are in the west and south-west of Zimbabwe, between the Limpopo and Zambezi r ...

Mafeking Mafikeng, officially known as Mahikeng and previously Mafeking (, ), is the capital city of the North West province of South Africa. Close to South Africa's border with Botswana, Mafikeng is northeast of Cape Town and west of Johannesburg. In ...

in Bechuanaland, with post offices in Tati and Gubulawayo. Mail was initially carried by police riders and franked with the stamps of British Bechuanaland. In fact the post offices in Bulawayo and Tati remained under the control of the

Bechuanaland Protectorate The Bechuanaland Protectorate () was a British protectorate, protectorate established on 31 March 1885, by the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland (later the United Kingdom, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland) in So ...

until 1894. The post was introduced to

Mashonaland Mashonaland is a region in northern Zimbabwe. Currently, Mashonaland is divided into four provinces, * Mashonaland West * Mashonaland Central * Mashonaland East * Harare The Zimbabwean capital of Harare, a province unto itself, lies entirely ...

and western

Manicaland Manicaland is a Provinces of Zimbabwe, province in eastern Zimbabwe. After Harare Province, it is the country's second-most populous province, with a population of 2.037 million, as of the 2012 Zimbabwe census, 2022 census. After Harare and Bulawa ...

in 1890 by the BSA who had sent occupying forces there, the

Pioneer Column The Pioneer Column was a force raised by Cecil Rhodes and his British South Africa Company in 1890 and used in his efforts to annex the territory of Mashonaland, later part of Zimbabwe (once Southern Rhodesia). Background Rhodes was anxious t ...

accompanied by the company's police force. By 1894 Matabeleland was fully included within the company's postal system following the

First Matabele War The First Matabele War was fought between 1893 and 1894 in modern-day Zimbabwe. It pitted the British South Africa Company against the Ndebele (Matabele) Kingdom. Lobengula, king of the Ndebele, had tried to avoid outright war with the company ...

. The BSA company had stamps printed in London in 1890, and they arrived in the colony on 1891. Although there was some revenue use of the stamps in 1891, the first ''postal'' use began in January 1892 when the postal route through Beira on the east coast was opened up. Over the next couple of years the area controlled by the BSA grew and land north of the

Zambezi River The Zambezi River (also spelled Zambeze and Zambesi) is the fourth-longest river in Africa, the longest east-flowing river in Africa and the largest flowing into the Indian Ocean from Africa. Its drainage basin covers , slightly less than hal ...

was added. The name "Rhodesia" first appeared on BSA stamps in 1909 when four stamps were overprinted with new values. The stamps of the BSA were not, at first, recognized for international postage, and letters going through Bechuanaland were franked with additional Bechuanaland stamps until Rhodesia joined the South African Postal Union in mid 1892, while mail sent via Beira required additional

stamps until 1894. The area continued to use the stamps of the BSA until 1923 when it became the Self-governing Colony of Southern Rhodesia. The area north of the Zambezi River remained under the BSA until the following year, when it became a protectorate named

Northern Rhodesia Northern Rhodesia was a British protectorate in southern Africa, south central Africa, now the independent country of Zambia. It was formed in 1911 by Amalgamation (politics), amalgamating the two earlier protectorates of Barotziland-North-West ...

Southern Rhodesia

Southern Rhodesia issued its first stamps on 1 April 1924. In 1953, Southern Rhodesia joined the

Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland, also known as the Central African Federation or CAF, was a colonial federation that consisted of three southern African territories: the Self-governing colony, self-governing British colony of Southe ...

. During a short interim period, stamps from Southern Rhodesia, Northern Rhodesia and Nyasaland could be used in any of the three countries. The Federation dissolved in 1963 and the 10th Anniversary of Federation stamps designed for December release were not issued. In 1964, the country issued a definitive series under Southern Rhodesia. This remained until the Unilateral Declaration of Independence after which it released its stamps under the name of Rhodesia.

Rhodesia

Rhodesia Rhodesia (, ), officially from 1970 the Republic of Rhodesia, was an unrecognised state in Southern Africa from 1965 to 1979, equivalent in territory to modern Zimbabwe. Rhodesia was the ''de facto'' successor state to the British colony of S ...

unilaterally proclaimed independence in 1965 and issued stamps until 1978. No stamps were issued in 1979 during the

Zimbabwe Rhodesia Zimbabwe Rhodesia (), alternatively known as Zimbabwe-Rhodesia, also informally known as Zimbabwe or Rhodesia, and sometimes as Rhobabwe, was a short-lived sovereign state that existed from 1 June to 12 December 1979. Zimbabwe Rhodesia was p ...

period.

Zimbabwe

The first stamps with the name Zimbabwe were issued on 18 April 1980, Rossiter, Stuart & John Flower. ''The Stamp Atlas''. London: Macdonald, 1986, p.295. they were a set of definitives and featured the same designs as the previous definitive stamps of Rhodesia.

References

External links

Rhodesian Study Circle
{{Subject bar, auto=y, d=y Postal system of Zimbabwe Philately of Zimbabwe