Quelimane, Tete, Zambezia - Bud's Big Blue

Map credit: Gerben van Gelder, Stamp World History

Bud's Big Blue

Bud's Observations

I’ll comment on the stamps of Zambezia (1894-1920) and its two districts – Quelimane and Tete – in a single post. Scans for all three are shown below. They’re straight forward Portuguese colonial stamps, but not well understood philatelically. At the turn of the 20^th century, social turmoil in the Mozambique part of Portugal’s empire makes anything said about its philately highly conjectural.

If you like research and are willing to risk not coming up with much, then the stamps of Zambezia, Quelimane and Tete might be the topic on which to build an internationally acclaimed reputation. Be forewarned, however, that existing literature is scant and often contradictory, analytical history almost nonexistent, and official documents scarce and inaccessible. A familiarity with the Portuguese language will help, though.

If you or anyone you know are interested in such a venture, here’s what I’d like to know about these stamps:

·       Why and when exactly was Zambezia split into two districts, Quelimane and Tete? Current philatelic literature posits three dates: 1902, 1907, and 1913. Or was it never really a split?

·       Was military action involved when the split occurred, perhaps in Tete?

Scott Tete #s 38 (brown on pink), 39, (orange on salmon) and 40 (green on blue)

·       If the earlier date is more accurate, why were Zambezia stamps continued in use and Quelimane and Tete stamps not issued until 1913-14? And why were overprinted Zambezia stamps issued in 1915?

  Scott Zambezia #s 86 (light green), 75 (yellow green, local overprint) and 87 (carmine)  

 Why was the Zambezia Company not a charter company that had control over postal services, such as was the case with the Nyasa Company and Mozambique Company?

·       In what ways did the prazo system of land tenure in Zambezia affect postal service? Through prazo, large feudal estates were controlled by Portuguese traders and soldiers in the Zambesi River basin. Prazo-holders’ loyalty to the Portuguese crown was minimal and they operated independently sometimes supported by their own armies.

·       Apart from the overprint “Republica” on the Vasco da Gama series, how did the coup d’état in Portugal (5 October 1910) affect colonial postal services? 

Scott Quelimane #s 23 and 7, bister brown

·       Why were the Vasco da Gama stamps recycled for use 20 years after they were first issued? Do the recycled stamps differ from the originals in ways other than the overprints? Was there a huge oversupply?

Scott Tete #10, red

Why are Quelimane and Tete stamps usually found in mint condition while Zambezia’s are commonly in used condition? Were the former issued mainly for sales to collectors and not so much for local use?

·       Why are Quelimane and Tete stamps exact duplicates, except for the key plates and overprints of the districts’ names? Inhambane has similar issues.

·       Why are covers from this area scarce and expensive? What can be learned from covers that do exist?

·       To what extent were stamps of the various Mozambique districts used interchangeably, say, Inhambane stamps cancelled at a Tete post office?

·       How scarce were stamps in Tete and Quelimane? Some covers exist that have only a small fraction of a stamp on them.

Ambitious researchers need not start from scratch. Three sources provide something of a head start: 1- Gerben van Gelder’s Stamps World History site has discussions about the stamps of all Mozambique districts. See for instance: https://stampworldhistory.com/country-profiles-2/africa/quelimane/. 2- See also relevant articles in the UK-based Portuguese Philatelic Society Bulletin. 3- Writing in Portuguese, Luís Brito Frazão focuses on general Portuguese philately and has a book titled Contribuição para a história postal do Baixo Zambeze (2008) Contribution to the Postal History of the Lower Zambezi.

Frazão’s book cover showing Scott Quelimane #27, olive brown. Currently out of print.

A final caution: Portuguese officials sometimes grossly overstate the quality of life in the African colonies. Franco Nogueira, Portuguese Foreign Minister (1961-69), boasted: “We alone, before anyone else, brought to Africa the notion of human rights and racial equality. We alone practiced the principle of multi-racialism, which all now consider to be the most perfect and daring expression of human brotherhood and sociological progress…. Our African provinces are more developed, more progressive in every respect than any recently independent territory in Africa south of the Sahara, without exception.”(1) Nogueira uttered these falsehoods during the Mozambiquan war for independence (1964-75) that cost one million lives, displace five million citizens, and created nearly two million international refugees.

Ordinary life in Tete, much as I saw it on my last visit. (2)

Census: Quelimane, 20 in BB spaces, 15 on supplement page. Tete, 21 in BB spaces, 19 on supplement page. Zambezia, 37 in BB spaces, 41 on supplement page.

(1) Cited by Gerald J. Bender, Angola Under the Portuguese: The Myth and the Reality, (1978) p xxi.

(2) Photo credit: Cgreenhaf. Accessed via https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Tete,_Mozambique.jpg. In public domain.

Jim's Observations

I haven't visited the area as Bud has, but my contribution is linked below...

Quelimane Post & BB Checklist

Tete Post & BB Checklist

Zambezia Post & BB Checklist

Quelimane

Page 1

1a

1b

Supplements

Page 1

Tete

Page 1

1a

1b

Supplements

Page 1

Zambezia

Page 1

1a

1b

1c

1d

Supplements

Page 1

Comments appreciated!