HISTORY OF MARITIME MAIL: COLOMBIA

[aukepalmhof]

History of the mail transport, Colombia issued five stamps in 1966, which shows us mail transport packages and the ships which transported this mails.

5c: Shows us a Spanish galleon of the 16th century. At that time the name “galleon” was given to Spanish vessels that set sail annually from Spain to Cartagena with supplies and returning with silver and gold and other precious merchandise from Peru. Also the mail was carried in both directions.

15c: Shows us a “brigantine” of 1850 from Riohacha an town on the Caribbean coast of Colombia, I can’t find a harbour that vessel have to discharge and load at anchor on the road. The brigantine is a small sailing vessel mainly from the 17th till the 19th century. Two masted with a rig with square sails set on both masts from the late 17th century.

20c: Shows us a “canoa” from Uraba, two masted used in the Gulf of Uraba and the Caribbean coast. The “canoa” is a plank extended dugout with sharp raked ends. Outboard rudder; long tiller. Set two boomed leg of mutton sails and a large staysail.(the stamp shows more a schooner type sail). The “canoa” is now mostly motorized. Have been a few times in the Gulf of Uraba loading bananas at anchor but I never have seen a canoa only barges which brought the pallets with bananas from somewhere out of a creek on the coast.

40c: The stamp shows us a stern-wheeler paddle steamer, pushing a barge on the Magdalena River in 1900, the steamer is not identified. The first sternwheelers were invented in Europe but they saw the most service in America, especially on the Mississippi.
The Magdalena River. (Commonly known Rio Grande de la Magdalena) is the principal river of Colombia, flowing northward about 1,528 kilometers (949 mi) through the western half of the country. It takes its name from the biblical figure Mary Magdalene. It is navigable through much of its lower reaches, in spite of the shifting sand bars at the mouth of its delta, as far as Honda, at the downstream base of its rapids. It flows through the Magdalena River Valley.
In 1825, the Congress of Colombia awarded a concession to establish steam navigation in the Magdalena River to Juan Bernardo Elbers, but his company closed shortly after. By 1845, steamboats regularly travelled on the river until 1961, when the last steamers ceased operation.

50c: Shows us a modern motor ship, she has a king post mast near the bow, and by comparing photos of Colombian ships only one group of ships has this mast. The ships belong to the Flota Mercante Grancolombiana and are the CIUDAD DE PASTO, CIUDAD DE GUAYAQUIL, CIUDAD DE PEREIRA and CIUDAD DE ARMENIA built by Empresa Nacional Elcano, Seville, Spain between 1958 and 1960. Tonnage around 5279 GRT. The design on the stamp is not exact, the third mast before the accommodation block is missing, but I believe the designer has used a photo of one of this ships for his design. All four ships were scrapped between 1981 and 1984. The photo of the class is of the CIUDAD DE PEREIRA.

Colombia 1966 5c/50c sg 1171/75, scott?
Source: Wikipedia. Aak to Zumbra a dictionary of World’s Watercraft. http://www.miramarshipindex.nz

[mariof]

Scott numbers of the set: 755/59