French mandate and after 1946 trust territory. Became independent republic 1 January 1960. By the plebiscite of 30 September 1961 incorporated Southern Cameroons and took the name of Federal Republic, altered in June 1972 to United Republic.

Stamp issues were continous from 1915.

After extensive unrest, multi-party elections wee held in March 1992. Presdential elections were held in October 1992 and were won by the existing holder of the office, Paul Biya. In November, a new coalition government was formed which has held power ever since.

There have been armed clashes with Nigeria over the disputed Bakassi peninsula. This dispute is under consideration at the International Court of Justice.

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French Congo:

Came under French control in 1880, when the capital Brazzaville was founded. Pointe Noire and Loango occupied in 1882 and the region was opened up towards Lake Chad in 1888. On 11 December 1888 was made a colony (incorporating Gabon, Ubangi-Shari and Chad) called Gabon-Congo until 20 April 1891, Congo Francais thereafter. Colony was redivided on 1 July 1904, and the central portion was renamed Moyen Congo. Territories were again combined on 15 January 1910 into French Equatorial Africa (this is not reflected in stamp issues until 1936, see French Equatorial Africa). Area became the Congo Republic (see below) on 28 November 1958.

Used French Colonies General Issues c. 1881 (but there was very little postal activity before the absorption of Gabon). Used stamps of French Equatorial Africa 1937-59.

Congo Republic:

Autonomous 28 November 1958, with full independence within the French Community 15 August 1960. Became ‘People’s Republic of the Congo’ on 3 January 1970.

Referred to as Congo-Brazzaville to distinguish it initially from the Belgian Congo and more recently the Democratic Republic of Congo.

In 1968 a National Council of Army Officers took power and created the Parti Congolais du Travail (PCT) and the Peoples Republic of Congo (stamps so inscribed were issued in 1970).

After popular pressure, the PCT gave up its monopoly of power and renounced Marxism in 1990. In 1992 a new multi-party constitution was adopted. There was a minor civil war in 1997, but the country now remains stable, though there are a number of political parties in opposition to the Central Government.

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As part of anti-slavery activities, French established posts on the Gabon estuary and founded Libreville as a settlement for freed slaves. The explorations of Brazza extended the territory. A governor was appointed in 1886. Gabon was absorbed into French Congo between 11 December 1888 and 1 July 1904 and became part of French Equatorial Africa (see below) after 1910. Gabon became autonomous in 1958 and independent within the French Community in 1960.

Earliest office set up at Libreville in 1862 routed mail via the British PO at Fernando Po.

Used French Colonies General Issues from c. 1862 (oblit. GAB in lozenge of dots applied at Libreville). Used stamps of French Congo (see below) from 1891-1904.

Used stamps of French Equatorial Africa (see below) 1936-59.

One of the more stable of the former French African Colonies. Multi-party elections were held in the autumn of 1990 and were won by the ruling Parti Democratique Gabonais (PDG) amid allegations of fraud. The PDG formed a coalition government and the presidential election of 1993 was won by the leader of the PDG. There was some rioting in Libreville in 1994, but these were peacefully resolved amd the recent 1996 elections confirmed the PDG in power.

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Territorial acquisitions by the Italians from 1869 around Assab and Massawa were consolidated by Ethiopian recognition in 1889 and the colony of Eritrea was proclaimed on 1 January 1890. It became part of Italian East Africa in1936-41. Eritrea was occupied by British forces in 1941 and administered by the British until it was federated with Ethiopia on 15 September 1952 (fully integrated ten years later). It still has a strong separatist movement.

Stamps in use in 1936 were equally valid throughout Italian East Africa and can be found used in Ethiopia and Italian Somaliland.

Used stamps of Italian East Africa in 1938-41.
British Occupation of Eritrea (1941-52)
Used stamps of Britain overprinted M.E.F. 2 March 1942.
Used stamps of Britain overprinted B.M.A. ERITREA in 1948-50.
Used stamps of Britain overprinted B.A. ERITREA 6 February 1950-14 September 1952.

Since federation in 1952 has used stamps of Ethiopia.

Stamps inscribed ERITREA purporting to come from ‘areas liberated from Ethiopia’ have been on the market in 1978 (mainly in Switzerland): it is not clear whether they are bogus, propagandist, or were prepared in hope of use. Evidence suggests that any mail from areas of Eritrea not under Ethiopian postal control is sent unstamped by unofficial runner into Sudan and posted there.

During the Federation with Ethiopia, Eritrea retained a high degree of political autonomy. The Ethiopian Emperor, Haile Selassie incorporated Eritrea in 1962 and an armed campaign for independence began in the 1970s, first against Haile Selassie and later against the Communist regime of Mengistu. In May 1991, the Mengistu government was overthrown by the Eritrean People’s Liberation Front (EPLF) and the Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF). In July 1991 the new EPRDF Government agreed to referendum on Eritrean independence. This wass held in April 1993 and recorded a vote of 99% in favour of secession from Ethiopia. Independence was declared on 24 May 1993.

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An independent sovereign state. Foreign embassies made sporadic contact with emperors and lesser warring chiefs in the 19th century. The imprisonment at Magdala of a British representative to King Theodore led to a celebrated rescue expedition in 1867-8. Various designs on Ethiopia by the Egyptians, French and Italians were resisted by diplomacy or force. It was attacked by Italy on 3 October 1935, invested and annexed on 9 May 1936. Transfers of territory from Ethiopia to Eritrea were made around Adowa, but all became part of Italian East Africa until liberated by Allied forces in 1941. The emperor was restored in January 1942. Further transfers of territory were made in 1948 near Gabredarre, but the Ogaden is still a point of conflict with Somalia. Eritrea was incorporated in 1952. A coup d’etat on 12 September 1974 deposed the emperor, and a military regime is in power.
 
Postal History:

Italian annexation issue (inscribed ETHIOPIA) 22 May 1936.

In 1936-41 part of Italian East Africa (q.v.) when stamps of Eritrea and Italian Somaliland were also indiscriminately valid and on sale. First stamps on restoration of independence were issued on 23 March 1942.

French POs in Ethiopia:

These operated at Harar and Dire Dawas (reached by railway from Djibouti c. 1906) and at Addis Ababa, using stamps of Obock or French Somali Coast to frank mails going overseas. Registered mail is found with a triple combination including stamps of India applied at Aden. The French offices were closed in 1908 when Ethiopia joined the UPU.
 
External mail pre-1908 is also known via British Somaliland, bearing triple frankings Ethiopia/British Somaliland/Aden.

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Alexandria:

PO Opened 1830; closed 31 March 1931. Used stamps of France 1857-76 (numbered oblit. 3704 or 5080).

Port Said:

PO opened June 1867; closed 31 March 1931. Used stamps of France 1867 - 99 (numbered obilt. 5129).

A joint issue of ‘Postage Due’ stamps was used at both offices in 1928-30.
Italian PO at Alexandria:

In 1863-84 used an oblit. numbered 234 in an oblong of dots.

There were also Austrian, Russian and Greek POs in Alexandria.
Suez Canal Company:

A concession was granted in 1854, work started in 1859, and the Canal opened on 17 November 1869. The company transported mail free between Port Said and Suez in 1859-67. Between 18 July and 16 August 1868, a charge was made and special stamps were used. The Egyptian government then took over the service, and the charge was incorporated by treaty into the overall postage.
British forces in Egypt (1932-41):

Concessional rates applied to letters home from service British troops. First ’seals’ issued 1 November 1932, were followed in 1936 by stamps inscribed ARMY POST until April 1943 (these were used also in 1940 by some personnel in the Sudan).

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A former province of the Ottoman Empire which became quasi-independent after the Napoleonic invasion (1798-1801) when Mehmet Ali of Kavalla established a dynasty of governors. His successors were granted the title of Khedive in 1867. From the Battle of the Nile (1798), British interest in guarding the route to India, improving imperial communications and suppressing the slave trade ensured continuing interference in Egyptian affairs. British troops occupied the country in 1882 to prevent the threat of the nationalist Jehad (holy war) spreading to the Suez Canal; a British resident and consul-general advised the Khedive. On 18 December 1914 (Turkey, to whom Egypt theoretically owed allegiance, being an enemy) Egypt was declared a British protectorate and the dynasty assumed the title of sultan. In 1922 Egypt became an independent kingdom, but a British presence was maintained until 1954. In 1952 a military coup d’etat forced first the abdication of King Farouk and then of his infant son. A republic was proclaimed on 18 June 1953. The seizure (nationalization) of the Suez Canal in 1956 occasioned a disastrous Anglo-French attempt at reoccupation by force. Egypt federated with Syria on 1 February 1958 as the United Arab Republic; Syria left the Union on 28 September 1961, though Egypt clung to the name for another ten years. A similar attempt at federation with Libya did not make progress. Recent history has been of intermittent war against Israel with consequent de facto changes of boundary between the two followed by reconciliation.
 
Postal History:

Government postal carriers date back far into the Islamic middle ages, and regular pigeon posts are said to have been started by Sultan Nureddin in 1146. In the early 19th century the need for external posts was felt only by foreign residents such as Greek merchants. Private posts to Europe (Posta Europea) were maintained by an Italian company, first organized in 1821 (handstamps). In 1857 this received government sanction to operate inland posts (already begun by local enterprise in Lower Egypt in 1843) until the concession was bought by the government in 1865. This explains why the first government cancellers are inscribed in Italian (POSTE VICEREALIEGIZIANE).

In 1835 Alexandria became the HQ of the ‘Overland Route’, Lieut. Waghorn’s pioneer enterprise to speed the mails between Britain and India. The significance of Egypt to the British Empire was thus extended from the strategy of defence to the day-today business of communication.

Egyptian stamps with values in paras were used in Northern Sudan, in Eritrea (Massawa) in 1869-85, on the Somali coast (Berbera and Zaila) in 1881-4, and in Ethiopia (Harar) in 1881-4.

Stamps bear inscriptions with EGYPT/EGYPTE in English or French; or Arabic; or Italian, POSTE KHEDIVIE EGIZIANE. Stamps used 1 March 1958 - 1 September 1972 bear the inscription UAR.

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The area now called Cabinda, north of the River Congo, was a separate administrative territory and had separate stamps from 1894 to 1920, when it was incorporated into Angola.

Like Angola, Cabinda declared its independence on 11 November 1975, but this was followed by a 20 year war . This was led by the Front for the Liberation of the Cabinda Enclave (FLEC) which signed a cease-fire with the government in September 1995. The subsequent peace agreement was confirmed in April 1996.

Postal relations with the outside world. It is presumed that Cabinda continues to use the stamps of Angola, but such usage is quite rare and sought after by collectors.

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Principal Portuguese possession in Africa was founded in 1576, but its boundaries were only gradually fixed after 1886. In 1935 was declared an integral part of Portugal, and after 11 June 1951 was treated as an overseas province. Proclaimed independent on 11 November 1975.
Angola became independent in the midst of a civil war. The Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA) took control early in 1976 with Soviet-Cuban assistance, but remained under pressure from the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA). After a cease fire in 1988, a peace agreement was signed between the two parties in 1991 and all foreign forces were withdrawn. Elections took place in 1992 which were won by the MPLA. Howver, UNITA refused to accept the result and the civil war was resumed in 1993 when, at one point, UNITA controlled 75% of the country.

The United Nations were asked to mediate and the two parties signed a further peace agreement in 1994. A Government on National Reconstruction was formed in April 1997. But when President Mobutu of Zaire, one of UNITA’s supporters, fell from power, fighting resumed in May 1997.

On 30 October 1997, the UN Security Council ordered sanctions against UNITA for failing to fulfil its obligations under the previous protocol and UNITA was obliged to return much of the territory it had gained to government control in the following months.

In March 1998 UNITA became a legitimate political party, although fighting still continued. The UN adopted a resolution in September 1998 that urged the rejection of military force by all parties and named UNITA as the primary cause of the crisis in Angola.

During all this period, the MPLA had continued to issue stamps, partly as means of obtaining hard currency. At one stage an issue appeared from UNITA for much the same purpose. The situation of the mails is unknown and it unlikely that the recent issues have served any postal purpose.

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French punitive expedition against Algiers pirates in 1830 led, after some indecision, to a war of conquest in 1840-8. A period of pacification followed until 1871 and then a period of peace in 1872-90 before the conquest of the Saharan oases. The early history and hence also postal history is military: civil administration did not begin until 1848, was not widespread until 1871, and only reached the desert provinces in 1902. Rivalry between military and civil authority extended to postal matters. The European population, c.600 in 1830, exceeded 10,000 in 1835 and 100,000 soon after 1845. Before 1881 there were more than 320,000 Europeans, and provision of state primary schools for the native population had begun. A declaration that Algeria was to become an integral province of France led to open war on 1 November 1954 between Algerians and French troops backed by settlers, which lasted until a cease-fire on 18 March 1962. By referendum Algeria became independent on 3 July 1962.

Postal History:

Letters from Europeans in Algiers are known at least from 1690, and a postal mark was used in Spanish-occupied Oran from 1749. But no regular service existed until 1830, when the military postal organization (Tresor et Postes) was introduced in Algiers. It was opened to civilians in 1835. Gradually the posts were separated from the paymaster branch and in 1860 they became autonomous. From 18 POs in 1845, the service grew to 97 offices in 1860 and 295 in 1880.

Postal services were initially by courier and by coastal steamboat service operated by the French navy. The coastal service passed to Messageries Maritimes in 1866, and from 1862 railways slowly pushed forward (Algiers-Oran opened 1871; Constantine-Philippeville 1870).
 
Military handstamps were used in 1830-9; datestamps bearing town names and dates were issued to POs after 1839.

Used stamps of France from 1 January 1849.

Oblit. 16 January 1849 - 31 December 1851 by dumb grille: stamps are identifiably from Algeria only on cover. After 1852 cancellation was by lozenge of dots with small figures (3710 - 4448) and after 1863 by similar lozenge with large figures (5000 - 5171). N.B. Most of these numbers, but not all, were issued to Algeria. Datestamps were used to cancel stamps from April 1876.

Used stamps of France 22 July 1958 - 27 June 1962.

Used locally overprinted stamps c. 4 July 1962 - 31 October 1962 until independence stamps were available.

There were 862 POs in 1969.

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