50 years independence in Mauritius: three new African Postal Heritage papers

On the occasion of the Independence celebrations in Mauritius (50 years since 12 March 1968) the Netherlands Embassy in Dar es Salaam (also responsible for the Dutch diplomatic relationships with Mauritius) asked the African Studies Centre Leiden to contribute a paper about the Dutch heritage of what was once called '’t Eylandt Mauritius'. That paper was illustrated with relevant postage stamps, and stimulated the production of three new APH (African Postal Heritage) papers: one about Mauritius before 1968 (APH 27), one about the period after Independence (APH 28), and one about the history of Mauritian postmarks (and hence the ‘penetration’ of postal services on the islands that currently form the Republic of Mauritius) and the ‘iconography’ of the images on Mauritian postage stamps (APH 29).

Mauritius is one of the most ‘iconic’ postal areas in Africa (and in the world): it was one of the earliest areas with its own postage stamps (already in 1847; only preceded by Great Britain - 1840) - two Swiss cantons, the United States, and Brazil). These early Mauritian postage stamps are currently worth a fortune. The three APH papers about the postal history and iconography of Mauritius cover the complete postal heritage of the area, from 1847 (or even before) until the end of 2017.

African Postal Heritage paper 27: Mauritius before 1968 
African Postal Heritage paper 28: Mauritius since 1968
African Postal Heritage paper 29: Mauritius : postmarks and iconography since 1847