Jamaica: Mail Packet Boats

The featured image is of the mail packet boat Thames which is one of four vessels that appear on stamps issued by Jamaica in April 1974 to commemorate those that frequented Jamaica and neighbouring British embassies, colonies and outposts in the 19th century. The issue was accompanied by a miniature sheet included a depiction of

Jamaica: Self Government

The featured image is of a stamp issued between 1945 and 1946 to commemorate the New Constitution and Self-Government of Jamaica. The issue is typical of many following World War II that introduced sweeping decolonisation. As for many British colonies in the Caribbean, this represented a step in the transition from a Crown Colony to

Bermuda: Down at the Docks

Around the time of the death of Queen Victoria in 1901, pictorial stamp designs were introduced across the British Caribbean territories. Jamaica saw the introduction of the ‘Arms of Jamaica’ issue (1903) and the Bahamas ‘Queen’s Staircase’ issue (1901). This was a break from the traditional young portrait image of Queen Victoria that had graced

Grenada: CARIFTA

The featured image is of a stamp from the Grenada 1969 issue commemorating the now defunct Caribbean Free Trade Association (CARIFTA) Expo event in April 1969. Grenada had joined CARIFTA in July 1968. However, despite the apparent success in improving trade relations between the various Caribbean islands, CARIFTA was wound up in mid-1974. The 60c stamp

Anguilla: Battle for Anguilla

Anguilla is one of the most northerly of the Leeward Islands in the Lesser Antilles, lying east of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands and directly north of Saint Martin. Dedicated postal stamp issues for the small Caribbean island begin in 1967 and celebrate its peaceful and colourful culture. However, a stamp issue of 1976 provides insight of the military battles fought on land

Haiti: Toussaint Louverture Remembered

Haiti (officially Republic of Haiti) has appeared in in the 21st century news bulletins for all the wrong reasons having endured a coup d’état in 2004 and a sequence of catastrophic earthquakes, most notably in 2010 that killed more than 250,000 people. However the country, located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles

St Vincent: Island Fortifications

A few weeks ago I posted a blog about the rather bizarre commission of HMS Diamond Rock, The Unsinkable ‘Stone Frigate’, as a fortification off the coast of Martinique. However, it seems that the propensity to occupy otherwise barren and hostile rocks in the Caribbean Sea for military purposes is not unique. A set of

Martinique: Paris of the Caribbean

The featured image is of a 1947 4f stamp issued by the Caribbean island of Martinique. The design is simple, depicting a vista looking across a bay with shoreline buildings in the foreground and an impressive mountain rising up in the background. Surprisingly, the portrayed vista is the scene of one of the most devastating

St Lucia: Rising from the Ashes

Built on reclaimed land and tucked away in the north west of a tropical Caribbean island, Castries is the capital and largest city of St Lucia. It lies on a flood plain but on 19 June 1948 was devastating by a fire that destroyed more than 75% of the city and led to a reconstruction

Cayman Islands: Tempting the Tourists

Tourism has been a predominant theme for a number of recent posts relating to Caribbean issues on this blog – notably Martinique (The Unsinkable ‘Stone Frigate’), Jamaica (Local Artist Comes to the Rescue) and St Lucia (A Case of Unfortunate Timing). In the early 1930’s, these stamp issues were unashamedly targeting a small but wealthy audience