Egypt: Suez Canal by Postcard

When Egypt became a Republic in 1952, understandably its government wanted to regain control of the Suez Canal and secure the associated financial benefits. In 1956, Egyptian President Nasser revoked concessions granted to the predominantly French and British controlled Suez Canal Company – an act that led to conflict and the subsequent nationalisation of the

Egypt: Egyptian Ports

In the nineteenth century, international trade relied heavily on ships and so ports became important places through which that trade flowed. Strong trade links required effective communication systems and with telephony and radio still to be discovered and electrical telegraphy still in its infancy, this demand fell to the postal system. Established trading nations such

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

Martinique: The First Distinctive Issue

Martinique is part of the Lesser Antilles island group of the Caribbean and was discovered by Columbus in June 1502 but not colonised until the French founded a settlement in 1635. The island lies directly north of Saint Lucia, northwest of Barbados and south of Dominica. Before 1886 Martinique used the French general stamp issues

Egypt: Nationalisation of the Suez Canal

The Suez Canal is synonymous with Egypt as it lies completely within Egyptian territory. For centuries the early Egyptians had visions of joining the Nile to the Red Sea, creating a sea route between the Mediterranean and the Indian Ocean. Early proposals included the canal construction from Suez (at the Gulf of Suez in the

Egypt: 1931 Graf Zeppelin Overprint

At the end of the 1920s, airships and nitrogen filled balloons came to prominence as a form of air travel and the conveyance of light freight such as mail. This development was primarily championed by a German engineer called Zeppelin. He set up his base in Bavaria, Germany, in close proximity to Switzerland and Austria