Rio de Oro - Bud's Big Blue

Rio de Oro, 1905-24 (1)

Bud's Big Blue

Bud's Observations

What once was a Spanish colony, Rio de Oro (River of Gold), is now designated as Western Sahara on most maps, although who exactly governs the area is in dispute. Spain quit in 1974. Morocco claims authority, but the United Nations says the matter is unresolved. What is certain – there are no rivers and very little gold in the territory. Parts of it gets foggy once in a while, though. And there are wadi, stony dry river bottoms that flowed full in pre-Jurassic times.

In the mid-1400s Portuguese traders dubbed the area Rio do Ouro because the locals paid gold dust for European wares. The “river” is a misidentified saltwater inlet from the Atlantic Ocean. The Spanish kept the name, ever hopeful that riches would be found somewhere in the desert. Today, artisanal gold mining (small scale, informal, risky, and likely illegal) thrives in the area.

Alfonce XIII, a child, Scott #9 (very) dark green

Legends of forgotten gold hordes stirred the imaginations of early explorers and their royal sponsors. Endless rumors about gold rivers in unknown lands and lost cities prompted many great explorations. Gold does not corrode – an ideal scarce material to accumulate. It validates power and symbolizes immortality. It’s decorative. But, otherwise, it’s rather useless.

Warren Buffett claimed that the most valuable substance on earth is not gold, but a fleck of original gum on a rare postage stamp. He should know. He was a teenage stamp dealer.

Alfonce XIII, a youth, Scott #20 dark brown

The Oracle of Omaha, I suppose, would not recommend checking Big Blue’s Rio de Oro section for that rare fleck. The RdO stamps in our albums, usually mint, have ample gum; used examples are rarer, there being few people living in in the area. 

Alfonce XIII, a young adult, Scott #53 claret

 RdO issues began in 1905 and continued until 1922. They were followed by stamps of Spanish Sahara in 1924. All RdO stamps bear the image of King Alfonso XIII at progressive stages of his maturation, except for two revenue stamps that were overprinted for temporary postal use. Alfonso XIII was King of Spain from birth (1886) until death (1931).

Alfonce XIII, an adult, Scott #81 red

Alfonce XIII, a middle-aged adult, Scott #148 violet

Census: 24 in BB spaces, 35 on the supplement page

Warren Buffett at the APS show, Omaha, Neb., 2019 (2)

An early Big Blue user! Buffett collected stamps in a Scott’s International album during the 1940s.

(1)  Credit: Gerben van Gelder, https://stampworldhistory.com/country-profiles-2/africa/rio-de-oro/

(2)  Credit Linn’s Stamp News, Aug 11, 2019: https://www.linns.com/news/us-stamps-postal-history/warren-buffett-enjoys-aps-stampshow-in-his-hometown

Jim's Observations

The reality is there is no gold there (despite the name), and the landscape is bleak indeed, with essentially no precipitation, although fog is found along the coast.

The small port town of Villa Cisnernos (now Al-Dakhla) had to import drinking water.

Rio de Oro became part of Spanish (Western) Sahara, along with Saguia el-Hamra, in 1924.

Spain actually held on to the territory until 1975, when it was then split between  Morocco and Mauritania influence. Eventually, Morocco assumed administrative control of most of the territory.

The dispute continues. The United Nations considers the lands to be a "non self-governing territory", and has urged a referendum on independence for the Sahrawi population.

Note: My daughter works for the U.S. State Department. She is currently stationed in Amman, Jordan, and works on refugee issues. This is what she said about the Sahrawi situation: 

"Many Sahrawis were forced to flee Western Sahara in 1975-76, and remain refugees nearly 50 years later, the second most protracted displacement in the world.  Approximately 175,000 Sahrawis still live in five refugee camps near the southwestern Algerian town of Tindouf, and are almost entirely dependent on international humanitarian assistance for their survival."

Rio de Oro Blog Post & BB Checklist

Page 1

1a

1b

Supplements

Page 1

Comments appreciated!