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Post by southafrica1 on Nov 4, 2023 19:42:49 GMT
British colonies were my favorite but so were Belgian, Danish, Dutch, French, German, Italian and Spanish colonies. Have I left anybody out? Even the US had some "possessions".
Now colonialism is a dirty word with connotations of slavery, exploitation and subjugation. Not politically correct! But the stamps from those areas I still find very interesting. Hope we don't get punished for collecting those areas!
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swvl
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Posts: 548
What I collect: FDCs, plus some US modern and new issues. Topical interests include music, art, literature, baseball, space...
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Post by swvl on Nov 4, 2023 20:02:46 GMT
I think there's a big difference between colonialism in the real world, with all its horrors, and collecting stamps that reflect that history. You don't have to agree with colonial exploitation to appreciate the stamps that came from those chapters in the history book. Just my opinion, of course.
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renden
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Posts: 9,162 
What I collect: Canada-USA-France-Lithuania-Austria--Germany-Mauritius-French Colonies in Africa
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Post by renden on Nov 4, 2023 20:10:42 GMT
I think there's a big difference between colonialism in the real world, with all its horrors, and collecting stamps that reflect that history. You don't have to agree with colonial exploitation to appreciate the stamps that came from those chapters in the history book. Just my opinion, of course. I agree Simon - my stamp interest is (one of my many) is early "french" Stamps from FRANCE African colonies and I have a few binders and posted many custom pages in proper threads - do not have any left, scanned - Madagascar to be completed.......... History !! René |
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vikingeck
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Posts: 3,549
What I collect: Samoa, Tobacco theme, Mail in Wartime, anything odd and unusual!
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Post by vikingeck on Nov 4, 2023 20:46:58 GMT
You missed Portugal and colonies , and one of the first and in someways reprehensible USColonisation was the take over of Hawaii by greedy American planters. For which President Obama had to apologise! 100 years later.
There was also an abortive attempt to make Nicaragua as a colony in the Fillibuster war, when an American Mercenary, William Walker established himself as President with the connivance of US presidentFranklin Pierce. In the process reintroducing slavery to Nicaragua.
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madbaker
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Posts: 801
What I collect: (Mark) General worldwide collector (to 1975 or so) with a soft spot for Sweden and the rest of Scandinavia.
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Post by madbaker on Nov 4, 2023 23:12:34 GMT
You've touched on something that is near and dear to my heart, so I hope you'll forgive me if I share two thoughts. One short and one longer and more personal.
The short:
I don't think you'll get punished for collecting colonial stamps. It's all about context. Lots of people collect German stamps with Hitler's head on them. Some of these people are neo-nazis. Most aren't.
The long:
I like the old colonial stamps too. The late colonial period, say from 1920 - 1950, coincided with one of the absolute peaks of stamp design and printing. So many gorgeous stamps were printed in that period. The early 'company' stamps from Mozambique are stellar. And no matter your current feelings about the spread of global capitalism, so much interesting postal history was the result of European and Imperial powers conquering and settling foreign lands.
But 100% for sure, I look at those stamps differently as my knowledge and life experience grows. I live in Canada and I've taken the calls to action from the Truth and Reconciliation commission to heart. I spend time listening to Residential School survivors and I'm taking a course on Indigenous culture and colonial impacts. It's opened my eyes to a different world view and a different lived reality for Indigenous people. I'm looking at my own childhood, growing up in the 1970's in Saskatchewan, with a different lens.
These two ideas, learning about the impacts of colonialism plus my love of stamps, have left me conflicted many times. How can I enjoy the artistry of the stamps of Belgian Congo after learning about what went on there? A recent look through my Australian collection, with the massive emphasis of Captain Cook and the First Fleet left me cold. Heck, even the big 'Anglo-Zulu war' exhibit being shared in the philatelic press lately had me noticing some internal discomfort and questioning what exactly is being celebrated.
I solved this dilemma for myself by accepting the stamps for what they are, and giving myself permission to tell the stories I want to tell within my collection. I can select classic colonial stamps for their design, beauty and quality. I can elevate Indigenous designs and topics if I choose. I can de-centre colonialist heroes. I can be sure to add some post-independence issues to my collection. I can even build a thematic collection on colonial impacts, or on stamps as state propaganda, etc. etc. if I ever feel I have learned enough to write them up well.
There is a saying that once you see something, you can't unsee it. I think it applies here. Once you see the impacts, you can't unsee them. But you can still enjoy the stamps for what they are.
I'd love to dig into this more with folks if you're interested. Not debating history or impacts or the dreaded 'politics', but the idea of how we look at these historical artifacts with a modern lens. Each of us are curators of our own philatelic museums and art galleries, and I think that is fascinating.
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swvl
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Posts: 548
What I collect: FDCs, plus some US modern and new issues. Topical interests include music, art, literature, baseball, space...
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Post by swvl on Nov 5, 2023 0:12:49 GMT
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Post by greaden on Nov 5, 2023 1:32:34 GMT
The prettier the stamps, the more horrendous the regime issuing them. NSDAP Germany and Belgian Congo, vs the drabbest stamps from Scandinavia.
As for colonizers, Portugal is one, but also Russia (Central Asian entities, and post great war fragments), China (Tibet etc), Japan (China etc).
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madbaker
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Posts: 801
What I collect: (Mark) General worldwide collector (to 1975 or so) with a soft spot for Sweden and the rest of Scandinavia.
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Post by madbaker on Nov 5, 2023 5:03:57 GMT
I'm glad you mentioned China and Japan, greaden. I was thinking about those areas this evening, and how much of the complexity of philately is down to war and unrest. The regional issues of China in 1946-1950 comes to mind -- so many overprints to control theft and fraud while the country was dealing with occupation, then civil war, etc. In that way, postage stamps show the history better than any other medium. |
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Post by michael on Nov 5, 2023 9:48:49 GMT
Britain may not have an empire anymore but they still have British Overseas Territories. The 14 territories are: Anguilla Bermuda British Antarctic Territory British Indian Ocean Territory British Virgin Islands Cayman Islands Falkland Islands Gibralter Montserrat Pitcairn Islands St. Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha South Georgia and the South Atlantic Islands Akroti and Dheklia Turks and Caicos Islands Akroti and Dheklia, a military base in Cyprus is the only one that doesn't issue stamps. Would make a good collecting theme.  |
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djcmh
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What I collect: Worldwide
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Post by djcmh on Nov 5, 2023 13:22:33 GMT
I collect worldwide, and in organizing my collections I always put the colonial era in with the same volume (or group with the same volumes) as the modern independent nations, toshow the historical evolution of the modern nation states with their colonial antecedents (and it is especially important to remember that the majority of postcolonial states would not exist today had it not Been for the colonial eras that created the modern borders and bringing toghether geographic expenses thas, before colonialism has often consisted of disparate political states in the same geographical era). So Ubangi-Shari is the first part of my Central African Republic collection, Mali starts with French Sudan, the Straits Settlements the first part of my Singapore collection (as governance was based in Singapore rather than what would become Malaysia, which I start with the Federated Malay States), and so forth.
So especially when contextualized within the history of the modern nation states of 2023 I do not see major ethical issues with collecting colonial-era stamps. For good of ill they are part of the historical evolution of the modern nations that continues to this day.
(full disclosure, I have an MA in history and worked on a PhD for several years before academic burnout led me to leave academia)
Similarly, I think one could make fascinating collections of "used in" for places that once were part of larger states but then gained full national self-determination. So for example Russian or Soviet-era stamps with clear CDS used in say Azerbaijan or Tajikistan, Sudan used in South Sudan, USA used in Marshall Islands, and so forth. We already see this with say Austria used in what became Czechoslovakia, Ottoman Empire used in Syria or Macedonia, etc etc. Adding a page or two of such items (or a few pages of postal history showing postcards/entries with cancels of areas that ate now fully independent states) help tell the philatelic history of these nations just as much as the single stamps issued in their own name or their pre colonial predecessors.
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