History of Post and Stamps of Uruguay

Spanish rule

In 1724, Spain decided to create a settlement on the eastern bank of the mouth of the Rio de la Plata in order to counter Portugal , which was contrary to the Treaty of Tordesillas . As a result, the Spaniards established another colony opposite Buenos Aires , known as the Colonia de Sacramento . The construction of a new city in this colony, called San Felipe y Santiago de Montevideo , was completed at the end of 1726.

In the 18th century, Montevideo and Buenos Aires were practically isolated from other Spanish colonies in America. The royal packet boats from La Coruña ( Spain ) once every three months delivered along the route through Havana to Montevideo . At the beginning of the XVIII century, there was also the establishment of a postal service between the vice kingdoms of Rio de la Plata and Peru ^[9] .

Back in 1748, the Governor of Buenos Aires organized regular transport links between this city and villages in Peru and Chile. The first packet boat, El Principe ( Spanish: El Príncipe ), delivered mail to the port of Montevideo in May 1767. The rules stated that bags of mail were supposed to be delivered to the port of Montevideo, where correspondence for Buenos Aires was loaded onto boats. In 1785, a weekly mail service was opened between Buenos Aires and Montevideo. Mail was transported in three boats, called chasqueras (boats), from Buenos Aires to Colonia del Sacramento, from where the mail was transported to Montevideo by military couriers .

In February 1797, a weekly postal service was established between Montevideo and Buenos Aires with the involvement of special officers who replaced military couriers, and using up to eight transshipment points. This message continued to function until 1810, when the struggle for independence led by Jose Gervasio Artigas led to its cessation.

To transfer correspondence to the east of this territory, travel along the route between Montevideo and the , 11 transshipment points were established in 1798, and in 1799 a mail service was organized that connected the cities of Montevideo, Minas and Cerro Largo . After the first treaty in San Ildefonso , signed in 1777, Spain exercised control in the southern part of Uruguay, while the north remained Portuguese. This situation changed briefly in 1807 after the capture of Montevideo by British troops.

Independence

In 1811, Uruguay declared its independence, but the Spaniards did not leave this territory until 1815, after the failure of the and the victory of the Eastern Revolution led by Artigas . However, the following year, during the Portuguese-Brazilian invasion , the country was captured by the Portuguese troops, who controlled it from 1816 to 1824. Between 1824 and 1827, the territory of Uruguay was under the control of Brazil . In 1825, the struggle for the final independence of the country began, when Juan Antonio Lavalleja led the so-called . On August 25 of the same year, the independence of the country was proclaimed ^[5] , which actually came in 1830 with the adoption of the and the appointment of Fructuoso Rivera as the first constitutional president . Throughout this period, there was virtually no change in the postal service, the reorganization of which began in 1827, when was appointed General Lavalleja. The first Provisional Rules of the Postal Service were approved on January 11, 1828, and in July of the same year de la Roble submitted the first general postal tariff for approval by the government.

Civil War. Montevideo Government

In 1839, a period of civil war began, the so-called Guerra Grande . It lasted until 1851, and during this time the power almost everywhere belonged to the revolutionaries, while in the hands of the state remained only the city of Montevideo. This situation had a great impact on the domestic postal service, while the mail service between Montevideo and abroad continued to work regularly. During this period, the activity of the Chamber of Commerce of Montevideo began to acquire great importance. This establishment was founded in 1835 by Jorge Tornquist, and served as a sorting point for last-minute mail, accepting commercial correspondence after sealing official mail bags.

The unstable economic situation in which the Montevideo government found itself has led to the transfer to private ownership of several profitable industries, including the postal service. At the beginning of 1846, the postal administration passed under the control of the board of directors of the procurement company, which remained under its authority until 1852, when it was returned to state ownership. One of the first measures taken by the new leadership was the organization of a mail transport service to and from the interior of the country. For this purpose, was appointed as the post contractor, who began to establish transshipment points throughout the country. They began to operate in May 1853. The organized postal coach company, with Lapido at the head, successfully carried out postal services.

Further Development

In April 1856, the general director of the post, Miguel Solsona, resigned, and Atanasio Lapido also transferred the post of director of post without cash.

At the end of 1857, Lapido resigned from his post as director. He was succeeded by Prudencio Echevarriarza , who continued postal reform .

On July 1, 1880, Uruguay became one of the UPU members ^[7] , and in 1911 joined the Postal Union of American States, Spain and Portugal ( UPAEP ) ^[8] .

Correo Uruguayo (Uruguayan Post Office) ^[7] and the Uruguayan National Postal Administration ( Administración Nacional de Correos , abbreviated ANC ), which is organizationally subordinate to the (abbreviated as URSEC ), are responsible for the country's postal services in modern conditions . ) ^[8] .

Standing Mailboxes

In 1879, Uruguay imported a batch of nine cast-iron standing mailboxes manufactured by from Dudley, England. These mailboxes were hexagonal in design , designed by the English architect for the British , but were cast with the inscription in Spanish and with the coat of arms of Uruguay instead of the inscription in English and , present on the original mailbox. Some of these mailboxes survived, and some continue to carry out their mail function until now.

Private issues. First Marks

On October 1, 1856, the Lapido stagecoach company introduced the so-called "Stagecoach" brand. The issue was intended to pay for correspondence carried by stagecoaches, exclusively within the country ^[10] . The first series of stamps , which included three face values , had the inscription “Diligencia” (“Stagecoach,” that is, “[shipping] stagecoach,” hence its philatelic name), and it went on sale during 1856-1857 ^{[5] [ 6]} .

Lapido was pleased with the results of the first Diligencia brands and soon ordered the production of a new series, Montevideo (Montevideo), which was printed in 1858 ^[5] . On the stamps there were inscriptions: “ Montevideo” (“Montevideo”; hence the philatelic name of this series) and “Correo” (“Mail”) ^[6] . They were used to frank the correspondence sent to the Argentine Republic . There were also three denominations in this series They began to call it “Soles de Montevideo” (“Suns of Montevideo”), or “Soles Doble Cifra” (“Suns with double digits”), as the face value of each brand was printed twice at the bottom of the brand.

Government issues

Standard Stamps

At the end of 1857, Prudencio Echevaryarsa submitted to the government a proposal to use postage stamps to pay for the forwarding of correspondence between each point in the country. It was approved and formed the basis of the order of the Uruguayan mail of June 11, 1859. Article 1 of this order stated ^[11] :

The first ordinary series of stamps, issued with state approval, was released on July 1, 1859 and resembled the second private issue of “Montevideo Sun” ^[12] .

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  180 Centesimo , 1859 ( Sc # 11)

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  60 centesimo, 1860

After 1859, many series of Uruguayan standard stamps came out. In addition to various drawings, postal rates changed. Changes in the monetary system also affected postage stamps, in particular after the introduction of the silver peso in 1862.

Since 1864, Uruguayan stamps began to contain the inscription “República Oriental” (“Eastern Republic”). In 1866, the inscription “República Oriental del Uruguay” , or “Rep. O. del Uruguay ” (“ Eastern Republic of Uruguay ”), which was preserved in the future ^{[5] [6]} .

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  “República Oriental” (“Eastern Republic”): 12 centesimo , cancellation by a mute stamp ^{[13] of} an unusual shape ^[14] from Montevideo, 1864 ( Sc # 23d)

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  “Rep. O. del Uruguay ” (“ Eastern Republic of Uruguay ”): 7 centesimo, with the image of Joaquin Suarez , 1881 ( Sc # 45)

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  República Oriental del Uruguay (Eastern Republic of Uruguay): 2 pesos , 1894 ( Sc # 106)

Subsequently, the stamps simply indicated “Uruguay” (“Uruguay”), as well as “Correo” or “Correos” (“Post”) ^[6] .

Commemorative stamps. Theme

The first commemorative stamps of Uruguay appeared in 1896 ^[5] . The reason for the release of the first commemorative series of three stamps was the unveiling of a monument in (Montevideo) to former President Joaquin Suarez (held this position in 1843-1852). The stamps were released on July 18, 1896, and were engraved by in London.

In subsequent years, the stamps were devoted to a wide variety of topics, such as significant events in Uruguay (for example, the end of the civil war in 1897) and anniversaries, aspects of life and culture, famous Uruguayans (statesmen, religious, literary and cultural figures, athletes, etc. .), fauna and flora , works of art, Christmas . International events were also noted.

In 1924, Uruguay and Costa Rica were the first countries to issue stamps in honor of the upcoming Olympic Games , in addition to the country - the direct organizer of the Olympics ^{[15] [16]} .

The first blocks went on sale in 1931. The end of World War II was marked by another commemorative stamp ^[5] . In total, between 1856-1963, 965 standard and commemorative postage stamps and ten blocks were published ^[6] .

In 1993, Correo Uruguayo dedicated a series of postage stamps in denominations of 50 centimo, 1 and 2.60 pesos to their Penfield construction mailboxes ^[17] .

Until 2007, more than 2,200 different standard and commemorative stamps were issued in Uruguay ^[18] .

Overprints

On September 6, 1865, a change in postal rates was announced, which required the release of new stamps. Until 1866, postage stamps were manufactured in Montevideo, but in 1865, the Uruguayan Post Office ordered a new series of postage stamps abroad at the London company . The series did not arrive on time, which necessitated overprints on the 1864 edition of the amended denominations as an emergency measure. So the first series of pharmacies of Uruguay appeared with an overprint of the text “Provisorio” (“Temporarily”) ^[6] and the indication of new denominations.

Overprints of a new denomination on existing stocks of postage stamps for use as standard stamps have become more common due to problems with the supply of postage stamps and printing errors, as well as for commemorative purposes. In the XIX century there were ten issues with overprints, and in the next century - twice as many.

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  Overprint “1883 / Provisorio” on the 1877 stamp at 5 centesimo

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  Overprint “Provisorio / 1 centesimo / 1884”

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  Overprint of 1892 for the new face value of 1 centesimo on a mark of 20 centesimo from the issue of 1889-1901 ( Sc # 100)

Ordinary postage stamps were also imprinted to indicate their special purpose: designed for airmail , business mail , express mail , copayments or newspapers .

Airmail

The first airmail stamps were published in Uruguay in 1921 ^[5] . The text on these stamps read: “Correo aéreo” (“Airmail”) ^[6] .

Service

In the years 1880-1928 service stamps ^[5] were issued , on which there was an inscription (in the form of an overprint): “Oficial” (“Service”) ^[6] .

In 1937, stamps were issued for official correspondence of the judicial authorities ^[5] .

A total of 142 service marks were issued ^[6] .

Paid

In 1902-1942 surcharge stamps were published ^[5] , which had the inscription: “Tasa” (“Surcharge”). A total of 30 additional stamps were issued ^[6] .

Parcels

Stamps for parcels have been used in Uruguay since 1922 ^[5] , and they indicated: “Encomendas” (“ Parcels ”). In total, 94 parcels (packages) were produced ^[6] .

Hurry

Uruguay's mail also used hasty stamps with the imprint “Mensajerías” (“Hurry Post”) ^[6] .

Stamps for late letters

In the past, special stamps were provided for letters sent after the closure of postal institutions, that is, delivered late. In Uruguay, six stamps have been issued in the history of postal issues ^[6] .

Very few envelopes are known until 1872, addressed to the other side of the Atlantic , with Uruguayan postage stamped on them. This is a consequence of the illegal actions of foreign consulates in Montevideo, which received and dispatched mail using ships flying the flags of their own states, without any involvement of the Uruguayan postal service. At the British Consulate in Montevideo in 1862-1872, United Kingdom postage stamps were used, which can be determined by the presence of the imprint of the number (alphanumeric) postmark “C28” ^[12] .

Foreign correspondence has been franked with Uruguayan postage stamps since the end of 1872, after the so-called postal incident in Montevideo, when the government introduced a ban on any non-Uruguayan mail in Uruguay.

• Catalogo de estampillas del Uruguay / , ed. - Uruguay: Mundus, 1985. (Spanish)
• Hoffmann R. Estudio de las Falsificaciones de los Sellos Postales del Uruguay. - Club Filatelico del Uruguay de Montevideo, 1948. (Spanish)
• Hoffmann R. Catalogo de las variedades mas importantes. - 1948. (Spanish)
• Kalckhoff F. , Festschrift zur feier des 25 Jahrigen Bestehens des Berliner Philatelisten-Klub. - Berlin, 1913. (German) [Contains an article about the first issues of Uruguay.]
• Kobylanski JK, Casal GE Documentos historico postales del correo en la Republica Oriental del Uruguay. - Uruguay: Mundus, 1984. (Spanish)
• Kurchan MD Historia Postal Marítima del Río de la Plata: Uruguay. - 1996. (Spanish) [The book was awarded the in 1996, which is an award from the (FIAP).]
• The Postage Stamps of Uruguay. - L .: Stanley Gibbons Ltd., 1931. (English)
• Lee EJ Uruguay, The Grand Prix Collection Formed by Mr. EJ Lee. - L .: Plumridge & Co., 1936. (English)
• Lee EJ The Postage Stamps of Uruguay; with special reference to the " plating " of most of the lithographed issues. - New York: Postilion Publications, [1994?]. (eng.)
• 150 Jahre "Sonnen-Marken" aus Uruguay // Philatelie. - 2006. - Nr. 354 (December). - P. 45-51. (German)
• Narath A. Die Nummern-Zierstempel der Departamentos von Uruguay. - Berlin, 1961. (German)
• The Revenue Stamps of Uruguay. - Patente de Rodados de Departamento de Montevideo, 2005. (English)
• Rowe DT, Catchpole P. The Railways of South America. - Arrow: P. Catchpole Ltd, 2000. - ISBN 1-900340-10-0 . (eng.)
• Sigismond J. Les Timbres de L'Uruguay. - Paris: Editions Charles Mendel, 1908. (Fr.)

• Smithsonian National Postal Museum, Mr. John M. Taylor Specialized Collection of Uruguay - Finding Guide
• Official site of Correo Uruguayo - Filately