1.
Post office
–
A post office is a customer service facility forming part of a national postal system. Post offices offer mail-related services such as acceptance of letters and parcels, provision of post office boxes, and sale of stamps, packaging. In addition, many post offices offer services, providing and accepting government forms, processing government services and fees. The chief administrator of a post office is a postmaster, prior to the advent of postal and ZIP codes, postal systems would route items to a specific post office for receipt or delivery. The term post office or post-office has been in use since the 1650s, in early Modern England, post riders – mounted couriers – were placed every few hours along post roads at posting houses or post houses between major cities. These stables or inns permitted important correspondence to travel without delay, in early America, post offices were also known as stations. This term and post house fell from use as horse and coach service was replaced by railways, aircraft, today, post office usually refers to postal facilities providing customer service. The term General Post Office is sometimes used for the headquarters of a postal service. A postal facility that is used exclusively for processing mail is known as sorting office or delivery office. Integrated facilities combining mail processing with railway stations or airports are known as mail exchanges, there is evidence of corps of royal couriers disseminating the decrees of the Egyptian pharaohs as early as 2,400 BC and the service may greatly precede even that date. Similarly, organized systems of posthouses providing swift mounted courier service seems quite ancient, certainly, by the time of the Persian Empire, a system of Chapar-Khaneh existed along the Royal Road. The 2nd-Century BC Mauryan and Han dynasties established similar systems in India, suetonius credited Augustus with regularizing the Roman network, the cursus publicus. Local officials were obliged to provide couriers who would be responsible for their messages entire course, locally maintained post houses privately owned rest houses were obliged or honored to care for them along their way. Diocletian later established two parallel systems, one providing fresh horses or mules for urgent correspondence and another providing sturdy oxen for bulk shipments, procopius, though not unbiased, records that this system remained largely intact was dismantled in the surviving empire by Justinian in the 6th Century. The Princely House of Thurn and Taxis initiated regular mail service from Brussels in the 16th century, the British Postal Museum claims that the oldest functioning post office in the world is on High Street in Sanquhar, Scotland. This post office has functioned continuously since 1712, an era in which horses, in parts of Europe, special postal censorship offices existed to intercept and censor mail. In France, such offices were known as cabinets noirs, in many jurisdictions, mail boxes and post office boxes have long been in widespread use for dropoff and pickup of mail and small packages outside of post offices or when offices are closed. Deutsche Post introduced the Packstation for package delivery in 2001, in the 2000s, the United States Postal Service began to install Automated Postal Centers in many locations both in post offices and in retail locations
Post office
–
The
General Post Office Building in
Shanghai,
China.
Post office
–
The old
General Post Office on
Lombard Street, London, in 1803
Post office
–
A Canadian sorting office in 2006
Post office
–
Indian Post Office at the Mango Orange village, Ooty Road
2.
Mail
–
The mail or post is a system for physically transporting documents and other small packages, or, the postcards, letters, and parcels themselves. A postal service can be private or public, though many governments place restrictions on private systems, since the mid-19th century national postal systems have generally been established as government monopolies with a fee on the article prepaid. Proof of payment is often in the form of adhesive postage stamps, modern private postal systems are typically distinguished from national postal agencies by the names courier or delivery service. Postal authorities often have other than transporting letters. In some countries, a postal, telegraph and telephone service oversees the system, in addition to telephone. Some countries postal systems allow for savings accounts and handle applications for passports, the Universal Postal Union, established in 1874, includes 192 member countries and sets the rules for international mail exchanges. The word mail comes from the Medieval English word male, referring to a bag or pack. It was spelled that way until the 17th century, and is distinct from the word male, the French have a similar word, malle for a trunk or large box, and mála is the Irish term for a bag. In the 17th century, the mail began to appear as a reference for a bag that contained letters. Over the next hundred years the word began to be applied strictly to the letters themselves. The U. S. Postal Service delivers the mail, the term email first appeared in the 1970s. The term snail-mail is a retronym to distinguish it from the quicker email, various dates have been given for its first use. Post is derived from Medieval French poste, which stems from the past participle of the Latin verb ponere. The practice of communication by written documents carried by an intermediary from one person or place to another almost certainly dates back nearly to the invention of writing, however, development of formal postal systems occurred much later. The earliest surviving piece of mail is also Egyptian, dating to 255 BC, the first credible claim for the development of a real postal system comes from Ancient Persia, but the point of invention remains in question. He also negotiated with neighbouring countries to do the same and had built from the city of Post in Western Iran all the way up to the city of Hakha in the East. Other writers credit his successor Darius I of Persia, other sources claim much earlier dates for an Assyrian postal system, with credit given to Hammurabi and Sargon II. Mail may not have been the mission of this postal service
Mail
–
Postal wagons at the postal sorting facility in
Sion, Switzerland. Mail between regional cities is transported by rail, to be delivered by postal bus, vans and cycles at a local level.
Mail
–
Many early post systems consisted of fixed courier routes. Here, a post house on a postal route in the 19th century
Finland
Mail
–
The use of the
Scinde Dawk adhesive stamps to signify the prepayment of postage began on 1 July 1852 in the
Scinde /
Sindh district, as part of a comprehensive reform of the district's postal system.
Mail
–
Early stamps of
India were
watermarked with an elephant's head.
3.
Australia Post
–
Australia Post provides postal services in Australia and its overseas territories. Australia Post is the name, Australian Postal Corporation is the Australian-Government-owned entity responsible for the services. The head office of Australia Post is located at 111 Bourke Street and this location also serves as a post office. Before colonial control of mail started in 1809, mail was passed on by ad hoc arrangements made between transporters, storekeepers and settlers. These arrangements were flexible and depended on cooperation of the country people and it was common for early settlers to ride many miles out of their way to deliver neighbours mail that had been collected from informal distribution points. The first organisation of a service in Australia commenced in 1809 with the appointment in Sydney of the first Postmaster of New South Wales. He was an ex-convict, Isaac Nichols, who took the post operating from his home in George Street, Sydney. His main job was to charge of letters and parcels arriving by ship. Nichols would pick up the mail and post a list of recipients outside his house and he would advertise in the Sydney Gazette the names of all those who received mail. Recipients paid a price of one shilling per letter to collect mail from Nichols home. VIP addressees were accorded personal delivery by Nichols, the Postal Act of 1825 allowed the governor to fix postage rates and appoint postmasters outside Sydney, enabling the first organised postal service. Letter deliveries began in 1828 and posting boxes first appeared in 1831, stamps were not required in those days, as the addressee paid for the letter, not the sender. Postal services grew throughout the Australian colonies as they were established, a regular overland service between Sydney and Melbourne, Port Phillip District began in 1838. Also in 1838, the first prepaid stamped letter sheets were introduced in Sydney, by 1849, uniform postal rates were established by agreement between the colonies. Prepaid adhesive stamps were introduced in the 1850s, Victoria was the first to make prepayment by stamps compulsory in 1852. Monthly steamship sea mail to the United Kingdom was established in 1856, the separate colonies joined the Universal Postal Union in 1891. Following federation in 1901, the colonial mail systems were merged into the Postmaster-Generals Department and this body was responsible for telegraph and domestic telephone operations as well as postal mail. An airmail service was introduced in 1914, the worlds first large-scale mechanical mail sorting system was introduced in Australia, and operational in the Sydney GPO in 1967
Australia Post
–
The Sydney General Post Office (George Street façade) circa 1900
Australia Post
–
An old style post box in
Marrickville, Sydney
Australia Post
–
Express (yellow) and normal (red) street posting boxes
Australia Post
–
Riverina Mail Sorting Centre in
Wagga Wagga,
New South Wales
4.
Adelaide
–
Adelaide is the capital city of the state of South Australia, and the fifth-most populous city of Australia. In June 2016, Adelaide had a resident population of 1,326,354 million. South Australia, with a total of 1, the demonym Adelaidean is used in reference to the city and its residents. Adelaide is north of the Fleurieu Peninsula, on the Adelaide Plains between the Gulf St Vincent and the low-lying Mount Lofty Ranges which surround the city. Adelaide stretches 20 km from the coast to the foothills, and 94 to 104 km from Gawler at its northern extent to Sellicks Beach in the south. Named in honour of Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen, queen consort to King William IV, Colonel William Light, one of Adelaides founding fathers, designed the city and chose its location close to the River Torrens, in the area originally inhabited by the Kaurna people. Lights design set out Adelaide in a layout, interspaced by wide boulevards and large public squares. Early Adelaide was shaped by prosperity and wealth—until the Second World War, it was Australias third-largest city and it has been noted for early examples of religious freedom, a commitment to political progressivism and civil liberties. It has been known as the City of Churches since the mid-19th century, as South Australias seat of government and commercial centre, Adelaide is the site of many governmental and financial institutions. Most of these are concentrated in the city centre along the boulevard of North Terrace, King William Street. Today, Adelaide is noted for its festivals and sporting events, its food and wine, its long beachfronts. It ranks highly in terms of liveability, being listed in the Top 10 of The Economist Intelligence Units Worlds Most Liveable Cities index in 2010,2011,2012 and 2015. It was also ranked the most liveable city in Australia by the Property Council of Australia in 2011,2012 and 2013, prior to its proclamation as a British settlement in 1836, the area around Adelaide was inhabited by the indigenous Kaurna Aboriginal nation. Kaurna culture and language was almost completely destroyed within a few decades of the European settlement of South Australia in 1836, however, extensive documentation by early missionaries and other researchers has enabled a modern revival of both language and culture. South Australia was officially proclaimed as a new British colony on 28 December 1836, the event is commemorated in South Australia as Proclamation Day. The site of the capital was surveyed and laid out by Colonel William Light. Adelaide was established as a colony of free immigrants, promising civil liberties and freedom from religious persecution. Wakefields idea was for the Government to survey and sell the land at a rate that would maintain land values high enough to be unaffordable for labourers and journeymen
Adelaide
–
From top to bottom, left to right:
Central Adelaide from
Mount Lofty, the
UniSA Building on North Terrace,
St Peter's Cathedral, the beachside suburb of
Glenelg, a rotunda in
Elder Park, and
Victoria Square illuminated in the evening
Adelaide
–
Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen, the city's namesake
Adelaide
–
North Terrace in 1841
Adelaide
–
Westpac House, Adelaide's tallest building at 132 metres (Australia's 127th tallest building).
5.
Bosnia and Herzegovina
–
Bosnia and Herzegovina, sometimes called Bosnia-Herzegovina, and, in short, often known informally as Bosnia, is a country in Southeastern Europe located on the Balkan Peninsula. Sarajevo is the capital and largest city, in the central and eastern interior of the country the geography is mountainous, in the northwest it is moderately hilly, and the northeast is predominantly flatland. The inland is a larger region and has a moderate continental climate, with hot summers and cold. The southern tip of the country has a Mediterranean climate and plain topography, Bosnia and Herzegovina is a region that traces permanent human settlement back to the Neolithic age, during and after which it was populated by several Illyrian and Celtic civilizations. Culturally, politically, and socially, the country has a rich history, the Ottomans brought Islam to the region, and altered much of the cultural and social outlook of the country. This was followed by annexation into the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy, which lasted up until World War I. In the interwar period, Bosnia was part of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia and after World War II, following the dissolution of Yugoslavia, the country proclaimed independence in 1992, which was followed by the Bosnian War, lasting until late 1995. The country is home to three ethnic groups or, officially, constituent peoples, as specified in the constitution. Bosniaks are the largest group of the three, with Serbs second and Croats third, a native of Bosnia and Herzegovina, regardless of ethnicity, is identified in English as a Bosnian. The terms Herzegovinian and Bosnian are maintained as a rather than ethnic distinction. Moreover, the country was simply called Bosnia until the Austro-Hungarian occupation at the end of the 19th century, Bosnia and Herzegovina has a bicameral legislature and a three-member Presidency composed of a member of each major ethnic group. The Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina is itself complex and consists of 10 cantons, additionally, the country has been a member of the Council of Europe since April 2002 and a founding member of the Mediterranean Union upon its establishment in July 2008. The name is believed to have derived from the hydronym of the river Bosna coursing through the Bosnian heartland. According to philologist Anton Mayer the name Bosna could be derived from Illyrian Bass-an-as which would be a diversion of the Proto-Indo-European root bos or bogh, meaning the running water. According to English medievalist William Miller the Slavic settlers in Bosnia adapted the Latin designation Basante, to their own idiom by calling the stream Bosna, the name Herzegovina originates from Bosnian magnate Stephen Vukčić Kosačas title, Herceg of Hum and the Coast. Hum, formerly Zahumlje, was a medieval principality that was conquered by the Bosnian Banate in the first half of the 14th century. Bosnia is located in the western Balkans, bordering Croatia to the north and west, Serbia to the east and it has a coastline about 20 kilometres long surrounding the city of Neum. It lies between latitudes 42° and 46° N, and longitudes 15° and 20° E, the countrys name comes from the two regions Bosnia and Herzegovina, which have a very vaguely defined border between them
Bosnia and Herzegovina
–
Mogorjelo, ancient Roman suburban Villa Rustica from the 4th century, near
Čapljina
Bosnia and Herzegovina
–
Flag
Bosnia and Herzegovina
–
Gazi Husrev-beg Mosque in
Sarajevo dating from 1531
Bosnia and Herzegovina
–
Bosniak resistance against the
Austro-Hungarian military intervention in 1878
6.
Identity document
–
An identity document is any document which may be used to prove a persons identity. If issued in a small, standard credit card size form, some countries issue formal identity documents, while others may require identity verification using informal documents. When the identity document incorporates a persons photograph, it may be called photo ID, in the absence of a formal identity document, a drivers license may be accepted in many countries for identity verification. Some countries do not accept drivers licenses for identification, often because in countries they do not expire as documents. Most countries accept passports as a form of identification, some countries require all people to have an identity document available at any time. Many countries require all foreigners to have a passport or occasionally a national identity card from their country available at any time if they do not have a permit in the country. The identity document is used to connect a person to information about the person, the photo and the possession of it is used to connect the person with the document. A unique national identification number is the most secure way, a version of the passport considered to be the earliest identity document inscribed into law was introduced by King Henry V of England with the Safe Conducts Act 1414. For the next 500 years and before World War I, most people did not have or need an identity document, both Australia and Great Britain, for example, introduced the requirement for a photographic passport in 1915 after the so-called Lody spy scandal. The shape and size of identity cards were standardized in 1985 by ISO/IEC7810, some modern identity documents are smart cards including a difficult-to-forge embedded integrated circuit, that were standardized in 1988 by ISO/IEC7816. New technologies allow identity cards to contain information, such as photographs, face, hand or iris measurements. Electronic identity cards are available in countries including Belgium, Croatia, Estonia, Finland, Guatemala, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Morocco, Portugal. Law enforcement officials claim that identity cards make surveillance and the search for criminals easier, in countries that dont have a national identity card, there is, however, concern about the projected large costs and potential abuse of high-tech smartcards. There is debate in these countries about whether such cards and their centralised database would constitute an infringement of privacy, most criticism is directed towards the enhanced possibilities of extensive abuse of centralised and comprehensive databases storing sensitive data. None of the countries listed above mandate possession of identity documents, for example, all vehicle drivers must have a driving licence, and young people may need to use specially issued proof of age cards when purchasing alcohol. Arguments for identity documents as such, In order to avoid mismatching people, Every human being already carries their own personal identification in the form of DNA, which is extremely hard to falsify or to discard. For example, in Sweden private companies such as banks refused to issue ID cards to individuals without a Swedish card and this forced the government to start issuing national cards. It is also hard to control information usage by private companies
Identity document
–
Old South African identity card issued to a permanent resident (PR).
Identity document
–
Sample of the second generation ID card issued in
China
Identity document
–
Hong Kong Permanent ID card
Identity document
–
Frontside of ID card issued in
Taiwan
7.
Cambodia
–
Cambodia, officially known as the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is 181,035 square kilometres in area, bordered by Thailand to the northwest, Laos to the northeast, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia has a population of over 15 million. The official religion is Theravada Buddhism, practiced by approximately 95 percent of the population, the countrys minority groups include Vietnamese, Chinese, Chams, and 30 hill tribes. The capital and largest city is Phnom Penh, the political, economic, the kingdom is a constitutional monarchy with Norodom Sihamoni, a monarch chosen by the Royal Throne Council, as head of state. The head of government is Hun Sen, who is currently the longest serving leader in South East Asia and has ruled Cambodia for over 25 years. In 802 AD, Jayavarman II declared himself king, uniting the warring Khmer princes of Chenla under the name Kambuja. The Indianized kingdom built monumental temples including Angkor Wat, now a World Heritage Site, after the fall of Angkor to Ayutthaya in the 15th century, a reduced and weakened Cambodia was then ruled as a vassal state by its neighbours. In 1863 Cambodia became a protectorate of France which doubled the size of the country by reclaiming the north, the Vietnam War extended into the country with the US bombing of Cambodia from 1969 until 1973. Following the Cambodian coup of 1970, the king gave his support to his former enemies. Following the 1991 Paris Peace Accords, Cambodia was governed briefly by a United Nations mission, the UN withdrew after holding elections in which around 90 percent of the registered voters cast ballots. The 1997 coup placed power solely in the hands of Prime Minister Hun Sen and the Cambodian Peoples Party, important sociopolitical issues includes widespread poverty, pervasive corruption, lack of political freedoms, low human development, and a high rate of hunger. While per capita income remains low compared to most neighbouring countries, agriculture remains the dominant economic sector, with strong growth in textiles, construction, garments, and tourism leading to increased foreign investment and international trade. Cambodia scored dismally in an annual index ranking the rule of law in 102 countries, placing 99th overall, Cambodia also faces environmental destruction as an imminent problem. The most severe activity in this regard is considered to be the countrywide deforestation, the Kingdom of Cambodia is the official English name of the country. The English Cambodia is an anglicisation of the French Cambodge, which in turn is the French transliteration of the Khmer Kampuchea, Kampuchea is the shortened alternative to the countrys official name in Khmer, Preah Reacheanachak Kampuchea. The Khmer endonym Kampuchea derives from the Sanskrit name Kambujadeśa, composed of देश, desa and कम्बोज, Kambujas, colloquially, Cambodians refer to their country as either Srok Khmer, meaning Khmers Land, or the slightly more formal Prateh Kampuchea, literally Country of Kampuchea. The name Cambodia is used most often in the Western world while Kampuchea is more used in the East. Excavations in its lower layers produced a series of dates as of 6000 BC
Cambodia
–
Glazed stoneware dating back to the 12th century.
Cambodia
–
Flag
Cambodia
–
Khmer army going to war against the
Cham, from a relief on the
Bayon.
Cambodia
–
Angkor Wat
8.
Canada Post
–
Canada Post Corporation, known more simply as Canada Post, is the crown corporation which functions as the countrys primary postal operator. Originally known as Royal Mail Canada, rebranding was done to the “Canada Post” name in the late 1960s, on October 16,1981, the Canada Post Corporation Act came into effect. This abolished the Post Office Department and created the present day Crown corporation which provides postal service, the act aimed to set a new direction for the postal service by ensuring the postal services financial security and independence. Canada Post provided service to more than 15.8 million addresses and delivered almost 9 billion items in 2015, Delivery takes place via traditional to the door service by 25,000 letter carriers, through a 13,000 vehicle fleet. There are more than 6,200 post offices across the country, in terms of area serviced, Canada Post delivers to a larger area than the postal service of any other nation, including Russia. As of 2004, nearly 843,000 rural Canadian customers received residential mail delivery services, Canada Post operates as a group of companies called The Canada Post Group. It employs approximately 64,000 full and part-time employees to deliver a range of delivery, logistics. The Corporation holds an interest in Purolator Courier, Innovapost, Progistix-Solutions, in 2000, Canada Post created a company called Epost, allowed customers to receive their bill online for free. Canada Post is the Federal Identity Program name, the legal name is Canada Post Corporation in English and Société canadienne des postes in French. On August 3,1527 in St. Johns, Newfoundland, while in St. Johns, John Rut wrote a letter to King Henry VIII about his findings and planned voyage. Mail delivery within Canada first started in 1693 when the Portuguese born Pedro da Silva was paid to deliver mail between Quebec City and Montreal, official postal services began in 1775, under the control of the British Government up to 1851. The first postage stamp went into circulation in Canada that same year and it was not until 1867 when the newly formed Dominion of Canada created the Post Office Department as a federal government department headed by a Cabinet minister, the Postmaster General of Canada. The Act took effect April 1,1868, providing postal service throughout the newly established country. Prior to rural mail delivery, many Canadians living outside major cities, on 10 October 1908, the first free rural mail delivery service was instituted in Canada. The extension of residential mail delivery services to all rural Canadian residents was an achievement for the Post Office Department. The Post Office Department was a pioneer of airmail delivery, with the first airmail flight taking place on June 24,1918. They had with them the first bag of mail to be delivered by air in Canada, wind and rain buffetted the small plane and forced it to make refuelling stops at Kingston and Deseronto. Finally, at 4,55 p. m. Peck, the flight had been arranged by a civilian organization, the Aerial League of the British Empire, to demonstrate that aviation was the way of the future
Canada Post
–
Canada Post
LLV, seen in
Montreal,
Quebec.
Canada Post
–
Through the 1960s, the Royal Mail brand was replaced,
Canada Post
–
by Canada Post.
Canada Post
–
Vancouver Canada Post Office during the
2010 Winter Olympics.
9.
Croatia
–
Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a sovereign state between Central Europe, Southeast Europe, and the Mediterranean. Its capital city is Zagreb, which one of the countrys primary subdivisions. Croatia covers 56,594 square kilometres and has diverse, mostly continental, Croatias Adriatic Sea coast contains more than a thousand islands. The countrys population is 4.28 million, most of whom are Croats, the Croats arrived in the area of present-day Croatia during the early part of the 7th century AD. They organised the state into two duchies by the 9th century, tomislav became the first king by 925, elevating Croatia to the status of a kingdom. The Kingdom of Croatia retained its sovereignty for nearly two centuries, reaching its peak during the rule of Kings Petar Krešimir IV and Dmitar Zvonimir, Croatia entered a personal union with Hungary in 1102. In 1527, faced with Ottoman conquest, the Croatian Parliament elected Ferdinand I of the House of Habsburg to the Croatian throne. In 1918, after World War I, Croatia was included in the unrecognized State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs which seceded from Austria-Hungary, a fascist Croatian puppet state backed by Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany existed during World War II. After the war, Croatia became a member and a federal constituent of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. On 25 June 1991 Croatia declared independence, which came wholly into effect on 8 October of the same year, the Croatian War of Independence was fought successfully during the four years following the declaration. A unitary state, Croatia is a republic governed under a parliamentary system, the International Monetary Fund classified Croatia as an emerging and developing economy, and the World Bank identified it as a high-income economy. Croatia is a member of the European Union, United Nations, the Council of Europe, NATO, the World Trade Organization, the service sector dominates Croatias economy, followed by the industrial sector and agriculture. Tourism is a significant source of revenue during the summer, with Croatia ranked the 18th most popular tourist destination in the world, the state controls a part of the economy, with substantial government expenditure. The European Union is Croatias most important trading partner, since 2000, the Croatian government constantly invests in infrastructure, especially transport routes and facilities along the Pan-European corridors. Internal sources produce a significant portion of energy in Croatia, the rest is imported, the origin of the name is uncertain, but is thought to be a Gothic or Indo-Aryan term assigned to a Slavic tribe. The oldest preserved record of the Croatian ethnonym *xъrvatъ is of variable stem, the first attestation of the Latin term is attributed to a charter of Duke Trpimir from the year 852. The original is lost, and just a 1568 copy is preserved—leading to doubts over the authenticity of the claim, the oldest preserved stone inscription is the 9th-century Branimir Inscription, where Duke Branimir is styled as Dux Cruatorvm. The inscription is not believed to be dated accurately, but is likely to be from during the period of 879–892, the area known as Croatia today was inhabited throughout the prehistoric period
Croatia
–
Branimir Inscription
Croatia
–
Flag
Croatia
–
Tanais Tablet B, name Khoroáthos highlighted
Croatia
–
The
walls of Dubrovnik helped to defend the city since
Middle Ages until the
1991–1992 siege.
10.
Czech Republic
–
The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, is a nation state in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west, Austria to the south, Slovakia to the east and Poland to the northeast. The Czech Republic covers an area of 78,866 square kilometres with mostly temperate continental climate and it is a unitary parliamentary republic, has 10.5 million inhabitants and the capital and largest city is Prague, with over 1.2 million residents. The Czech Republic includes the territories of Bohemia, Moravia. The Czech state was formed in the late 9th century as the Duchy of Bohemia under the Great Moravian Empire, after the fall of the Empire in 907, the centre of power transferred from Moravia to Bohemia under the Přemyslid dynasty. In 1002, the duchy was formally recognized as part of the Holy Roman Empire, becoming the Kingdom of Bohemia in 1198 and reaching its greatest territorial extent in the 14th century. Following the Battle of Mohács in 1526, the whole Crown of Bohemia was gradually integrated into the Habsburg Monarchy alongside the Archduchy of Austria, the Protestant Bohemian Revolt against the Catholic Habsburgs led to the Thirty Years War. After the Battle of the White Mountain, the Habsburgs consolidated their rule, reimposed Roman Catholicism, the Czech part of Czechoslovakia was occupied by Germany in World War II, and was liberated in 1945 by the armies of the Soviet Union and the United States. The Czech country lost the majority of its German-speaking inhabitants after they were expelled following the war, the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia won the 1946 elections. Following the 1948 coup détat, Czechoslovakia became a one-party communist state under Soviet influence, in 1968, increasing dissatisfaction with the regime culminated in a reform movement known as the Prague Spring, which ended in a Soviet-led invasion. Czechoslovakia remained occupied until the 1989 Velvet Revolution, when the communist regime collapsed, on 6 March 1990, the Czech Socialistic Republic was renamed to the Czech Republic. On 1 January 1993, Czechoslovakia peacefully dissolved, with its constituent states becoming the independent states of the Czech Republic and the Slovak Republic. The Czech Republic joined NATO in 1999 and the European Union in 2004, it is a member of the United Nations, the OECD, the OSCE, and it is a developed country with an advanced, high income economy and high living standards. The UNDP ranks the country 14th in inequality-adjusted human development, the Czech Republic also ranks as the 6th most peaceful country, while achieving strong performance in democratic governance. It has the lowest unemployment rate in the European Union, the traditional English name Bohemia derives from Latin Boiohaemum, which means home of the Boii. The current name comes from the endonym Čech, spelled Cžech until the reform in 1842. The name comes from the Slavic tribe and, according to legend, their leader Čech, the etymology of the word Čech can be traced back to the Proto-Slavic root *čel-, meaning member of the people, kinsman, thus making it cognate to the Czech word člověk. The country has traditionally divided into three lands, namely Bohemia in the west, Moravia in the southeast, and Czech Silesia in the northeast. Following the dissolution of Czechoslovakia at the end of 1992, the Czech part of the former nation found itself without a common single-word geographical name in English, the name Czechia /ˈtʃɛkiə/ was recommended by the Czech Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Czech Republic
–
Přemysl Ottokar II,
King of Bohemia (1253–1278) and
Duke of Austria (1251–1278)
Czech Republic
–
Flag
Czech Republic
–
The
Crown of Saint Wenceslas is the 4th oldest in Europe
Czech Republic
–
The
Defenestration of Prague sparked the
Thirty Years' War
11.
Finland
–
Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a sovereign state in Northern Europe. A peninsula with the Gulf of Finland to the south and the Gulf of Bothnia to the west, the country has borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north. Estonia is south of the country across the Gulf of Finland, Finland is a Nordic country situated in the geographical region of Fennoscandia, which also includes Scandinavia. Finlands population is 5.5 million, and the majority of the population is concentrated in the southern region,88. 7% of the population is Finnish people who speak Finnish, a Uralic language unrelated to the Scandinavian languages, the second major group are the Finland-Swedes. In terms of area, it is the eighth largest country in Europe, Finland is a parliamentary republic with a central government based in the capital Helsinki, local governments in 311 municipalities, and an autonomous region, the Åland Islands. Over 1.4 million people live in the Greater Helsinki metropolitan area, from the late 12th century, Finland was an integral part of Sweden, a legacy reflected in the prevalence of the Swedish language and its official status. In the spirit of the notion of Adolf Ivar Arwidsson, we are not Swedes, we do not want to become Russians, let us therefore be Finns, nevertheless, in 1809, Finland was incorporated into the Russian Empire as the autonomous Grand Duchy of Finland. In 1906, Finland became the nation in the world to give the right to vote to all adult citizens. Following the 1917 Russian Revolution, Finland declared itself independent, in 1918, the fledgling state was divided by civil war, with the Bolshevik-leaning Reds supported by the equally new Soviet Russia, fighting the Whites, supported by the German Empire. After a brief attempt to establish a kingdom, the became a republic. During World War II, the Soviet Union sought repeatedly to occupy Finland, with Finland losing parts of Karelia, Salla and Kuusamo, Petsamo and some islands, Finland joined the United Nations in 1955 and established an official policy of neutrality. The Finno-Soviet Treaty of 1948 gave the Soviet Union some leverage in Finnish domestic politics during the Cold War era, Finland was a relative latecomer to industrialization, remaining a largely agrarian country until the 1950s. It rapidly developed an advanced economy while building an extensive Nordic-style welfare state, resulting in widespread prosperity, however, Finnish GDP growth has been negative in 2012–2014, with a preceding nadir of −8% in 2009. Finland is a top performer in numerous metrics of national performance, including education, economic competitiveness, civil liberties, quality of life, a large majority of Finns are members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church, though freedom of religion is guaranteed under the Finnish Constitution. The first known appearance of the name Finland is thought to be on three rune-stones. Two were found in the Swedish province of Uppland and have the inscription finlonti, the third was found in Gotland, in the Baltic Sea. It has the inscription finlandi and dates from the 13th century, the name can be assumed to be related to the tribe name Finns, which is mentioned first known time AD98. The name Suomi has uncertain origins, but a candidate for a source is the Proto-Baltic word *źemē, in addition to the close relatives of Finnish, this name is also used in the Baltic languages Latvian and Lithuanian
Finland
–
Hakkapeliitta featured on a 1940 Finnish stamp
Finland
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Flag
Finland
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Now lying within Helsinki,
Suomenlinna is a
UNESCO World Heritage Site consisting of an inhabited 18th century sea fortress built on six islands. It is one of Finland's most popular tourist attractions.
Finland
–
Pioneers in Karelia (1900) by
Eero Järnefelt
12.
La Poste (France)
–
La Poste is a postal service company in France, operating in Metropolitan France as well as in the five French overseas departments and the overseas collectivity of Saint Pierre and Miquelon. Because of bilateral agreements, La Poste also has the responsibility of mail services in Monaco through La Poste Monaco, the company was created in 1991 following the split of the French PTT, a government department responsible for mail, telegraph and telephone services in France. The PTT, founded in 1879, were divided between La Poste, which became responsible for postal service, and France Télécom for the telecommunication services. France Télécom was immediately privatised but La Poste has remained a public company, following the examples of Royal Mail in the United Kingdom or Poste italiane in Italy, the French government might sell its shares and float them on the stock exchange in the near future. La Poste is a parent company of the Groupe La Poste, which comprises a bank and insurance company, a logistics service company. Although its postal activities are declining because of the development of the Internet, other activities, such as parcel delivery and banking, are on the rise. The two represented respectively a quarter of the income in 2014. During the Middle Ages, postal delivery in France was not organised by the state and was provided by private enterprise, university envoys dominated the market from the 13th century onwards. In 1477, king Louis XI created coaching inns to deliver his own letters and these inns were for temporary use and usually led to battlefields. In 1576, royal mail delivery was improved with the creation of the office of royal envoy. Royal envoys were allowed to provide services to private individuals and they prefigured modern postal services and their existence led to the apparition of the first post offices at the end of the 16th century. The first set appeared in 1627 for letters sent to Bordeaux, Lyon, Toulouse. As with the rest of Europe, stamps did not exist in France at that time, the first map of post roads was published in 1632 and a book compiling lists of roads and inns including distances and fees to be paid was released in 1707. A new edition was released two years until 1859. The country already had 623 coaching inns in 1632 and the figure reached 800 at the beginning of the 18th century, a ferme générale was created for mail services in 1672, which meant that postal services started to be subject to taxation. Tax officers progressively bought private postal companies and university envoys became subjects to the ferme générale in 1719, international treaties regarding postal services were signed with neighbouring countries under Louis XIV. During the French Revolution, which started in 1789, French postal services progressively became a public service. Directors of post offices lost their privileges in 1789 and their position became subject to universal suffrage, the ferme générale was abolished two years later and post offices started to be directly administered by the state
La Poste (France)
–
French Post Box, in
Kaysersberg,
Alsace.
La Poste (France)
–
La Poste
La Poste (France)
–
Ornate sign for a post office in
Bourges.
13.
Deutsche Post
–
Deutsche Post AG, operating under the trade name Deutsche Post DHL Group, is a German postal service and international courier service company, the worlds largest. With its headquarters in Bonn, the corporation has 510,000 employees, Deutsche Post is the successor to the German mail authority Deutsche Bundespost, which was privatized in 1995 and became a fully independent company in 2000. DHL Express is an owned subsidiary. Since its privatization, Deutsche Post has significantly expanded its business area through acquisitions, the postal division delivers 59 million letters each day in Germany, making it Europes largest such company. The Express division provides services in 220 countries, in late 2014, the Group acquired StreetScooter GmbH, a small manufacturer of electric vehicles. Two years later, the Group acquired UK Mail, a postal service in the UK for US$315.5. The former company became a division of the Deutsche Post European parcel network, the Deutsche Post DHL Group 2016 earnings before interest and taxes was €3.491 billion, with a net profit of €2.64 billion on revenue of €57,334 billion. Return on equity, before taxes, was 27.7 percent, the Groups long term credit rating, in November 2016, was BBB+ with a Stable outlook per Fitchs. Deutsche Post AG is listed on the Börse Frankfurt as DPW and is in the Euro Stoxx 50 stock market index. In 2016,20. 5% of the Groups shares are held by the state-owned KfW bank,79. 5% are freely floating,65. 6% of which are held by institutional and 10. 8% by private investors. Since its privatization, Deutsche Post has significantly expanded its business area through acquisitions, the massive, worldwide Deutsche Post DHL Group is quite recent. The following are the significant dates in the development into its current form,2 January 1995, Deutsche Bundespost Postdienst becomes Deutsche Post AG, this is the companys privatization. The government of Germany still owns a share of the company. 1998, Deutsche Post begins acquiring shares in DHL International,1999, Deutsche Post World Net acquires the Dutch distribution company Van Gend & Loos from Nedlloyd and in 2000 the Swiss distribution company Danzas. 20 November 2000, Deutsche Post AG becomes a private company, with a new Board of Directors. The government of Germany sells one third of its shares and KfW bank sells some of its shares, December 2002, Deutsche Post AG acquires the remaining shares in DHL International. August 2003, The company acquires the Seattle-based Airborne Express, the company integrates Van Gend & Loos, Danzas, Airborne Express, and its own EuroExpress into DHL to form DHL Express. December 2005, The Group acquires the logistics company Exel in the UK, a£3.7 billion takeover, Excel provided transport,2006, DHL GlobalMail UK merges with Mercury International
Deutsche Post
–
The Deutsche
Post Tower in
Bonn
Deutsche Post
–
Delivery bike,
Cologne
14.
Hong Kong
–
Hong Kong, officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the Peoples Republic of China, is an autonomous territory on the Pearl River Delta of East Asia. Macau lies across the delta to the west, and the Chinese province of Guangdong borders the territory to the north. With a total area of 1,106 square kilometres. Hong Kong was later occupied by Japan during World War II until British control resumed in 1945, under the principle of one country, two systems, Hong Kong maintains a separate political and economic system from China. Except in military defence and foreign affairs, Hong Kong maintains its independent executive, legislative, in addition, Hong Kong develops relations directly with foreign states and international organisations in a broad range of appropriate fields. Hong Kong is one of the worlds most significant financial centres, with the highest Financial Development Index score and consistently ranks as the worlds most competitive and freest economic entity. As the worlds 8th largest trading entity, its legal tender, Hong Kongs tertiary sector dominated economy is characterised by simple taxation with a competitive level of corporate tax and supported by its independent judiciary system. However, while Hong Kong has one of the highest per capita incomes in the world and it has a very high Human Development Index ranking and the worlds longest life expectancy. Over 90% of the population use of well-developed public transportation. Seasonal air pollution with origins from neighbouring areas of Mainland China. Hong Kong was officially recorded in the 1842 Treaty of Nanking to encompass the entirety of the island, before 1842, the name referred to a small inlet—now Aberdeen Harbour —between Aberdeen Island and the southern coast of Hong Kong Island. Aberdeen was a point of contact between British sailors and local fishermen. Detailed and accurate romanisation systems for Cantonese were available and in use at the time, fragrance may refer to the sweet taste of the harbours fresh water estuarine influx of the Pearl River or to the incense from factories lining the coast of northern Kowloon. The incense was stored near Aberdeen Harbour for export before Hong Kong developed Victoria Harbour, the name had often been written as the single word Hongkong until the government adopted the current form in 1926. Nevertheless, a number of century-old institutions still retain the form, such as the Hongkong Post, Hongkong Electric. As of 1997, its name is the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the Peoples Republic of China. This is the title as mentioned in the Hong Kong Basic Law. Hong Kong has carried many nicknames, the most famous among those is the Pearl of the Orient, which reflected the impressive nightscape of the citys light decorations on the skyscrapers along both sides of the Victoria Harbour
Hong Kong
–
The Cenotaph in Hong Kong commemorates those who died in service in WWI and WWII.
Hong Kong
–
Flag
Hong Kong
–
Stamp with portrait of
Queen Elizabeth II, 1953
Hong Kong
–
Development of
Hong Kong Island in 1986
15.
Hongkong Post
–
Hongkong Post is a government department of Hong Kong responsible for postal services, though operated as a trading fund. Founded in 1841, it was known as Postal Department or Post Office before the handover of Hong Kong in 1997 and it is sub-member of the Universal Postal Union since 1877, and is a separate entity from China Post. Merchants traded in Hong Kong on the two sides of Victoria Harbour as early as before the British possession in 1842 and they complained about the absence of proper postal services and therefore the Postal Department was established. The department was founded on 28 August 1841, but the first post office, situated near the current site of St. Johns Cathedral, at first, its right to operation belonged to the Royal Mail, until its transfer to the Postmaster General on 1 May 1860. On 8 December 1862, the Office issued the first set of Hong Kong postal stamps, before this time, only British troops in Hong Kong could use British stamps, while other local residents did not have access to British stamps. Until the handover of Hong Kong to China in 1997, mail for British forces serving in the then-colony used the British Forces Post Office number, in 1989, the Office introduced automated mail sorting and machines were installed in the General Post Office. There is no post code system in Hong Kong, although one has been under consideration since 2000. Since August 1995, the Office has operated as a Trading Fund, during the colonial era, Hong Kong produced postage stamps simply bearing the name Hong Kong, printed alongside the likenesses of the reigning monarchs of the United Kingdom, or royal symbols. Since Hong Kongs transfer of sovereignty to China in 1997, stamps issued have borne the name Hong Kong, British Hong Kong postage stamps are no longer valid for prepayment of postage and cannot be repurchased by the Post Office. Hongkong Post operates 128 post offices throughout Hong Kong, as of 2007,34 post offices existed on Hong Kong Island,42 in Kowloon,45 in the New Territories and 8 on the Outlying Islands. Two mobile post offices provide postal services in areas in the New Territories. Hong Kong imported post-boxes from the UK until the practice was discontinued in the 1980s, before 1997, the post boxes were painted red, as in the United Kingdom, and were engraved with the royal cypher – for example, EIIR to represent Queen Elizabeth II. Since the transfer of sovereignty to China in 1997, the livery of the boxes became green, as of October 2015, there are 1,148 free-standing post-boxes in Hong Kong, only 59 colonial post boxes bearing the royal insignia were still in service. In late 2014 Hongkong Post reaffirmed its policy that the remaining 59 colonial-era post boxes would only be replaced if they were damaged or no longer meet the demand of its customers. Controversy ignited in September upon confirmation that royal cyphers would be covered up by fixing metal plates on all, the decision was decried by the Conservancy Association, the Mailboxes Searching Team, and activists opposed to the push of pro-Beijing politicians to de-colonialise Hong Kong. In addition to making its income from traditional postal delivery, Hongkong Post also sells philatelic products, Hongkong Post Stamps was a division set up in 1974, charged with promoting and popularising stamp collecting, to meet the ever-increasing demand for Hong Kong stamps by collectors. The division conducts three main areas of work, stamp design and production fulfilment and advance ordering service philatelic marketing. Owing to the territorys conservative stamp-issuing policy, stamp collecting in Hong Kong is a popular hobby, different types of attractively designed stamp products are also popular with stamp collectors around the world
Hongkong Post
–
General Post Office circa 1911.
Hongkong Post
–
Post box bearing insignia of King George
Hongkong Post
–
A
SpeedPost delivery van
Hongkong Post
–
A large letter box found at
Tsim Sha Tsui
16.
India Post
–
The Department of Posts, trading as India Post, is a government-operated postal system in India. Generally referred to within India as the post office, it is the most widely distributed system in the world. The postal service is under the Department of Posts, which is part of the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology of the Government of India. As of 31 March 2015, the Indian Postal Service had 154,939 post offices and it had 25,560 departmental Post Offices and 129,379 Gramin Dak Sevak, Branch Post Offices. On average, a post office serves an area of 21.22 square kilometres, because of its reach and presence in remote areas, the Indian postal service is also involved in other services such as small-savings banking and financial services. The country has been divided into 22 postal circles, each headed by a Chief Postmaster General. Each circle is divided into regions, headed by a Postmaster General and these divisions are further divided into subdivisions. In addition to the 22 circles, there is a circle to provide postal services to the Armed Forces of India headed by a Director General. The highest post office in the world is in Hikkim, Himachal Pradesh operated by India Post at a height of 15,500 ft, the British Raj was instituted in 1858, when the rule of the East India Company was transferred to the Crown. By 1861, there were 889 post offices handling nearly 43 million letters, the first superintendent of the post office was appointed in 1870 and based in Allahabad and in 1876, British India became the first non-founding member of the General Postal Union. On 1 April 1882, Post Office Savings Banks opened throughout India, in Madras Presidency, it was limited, in the Bengal Presidency, no POSBs were established in Calcutta or Howrah. Telegraph Act,1885 The Indian Post Office Act 1898, passed by the legislature on 22 March 1898 and it was preceded by Act III of 1882 and Act XVI of 1896. The Indian Wireless Telegraphy Act 1933 The worlds first official flight took place in India on 18 February 1911. Henri Pequet, a French pilot, carried about 15 kilograms of mail across the Ganges from Allahabad to Naini, India Post inaugurated a floating post office in August 2011 at Dal Lake in Srinagar, Kashmir. Telegraphy and telephony made their appearance as part of the service before becoming separate departments. The Posts and Telegraphs Departments merged in 1914, dividing on 1 January 1985, since Indian independence in 1947, the postal service continues to function on a nationwide basis, providing a variety of services. The structure of the organization has the directorate at its apex, below it are circle offices, regional offices, in April 1959, the Indian Postal Department adopted the motto Service before Self, it revised its logo in September 2008. The first adhesive stamps in Asia were issued in the Indian district of Scinde in July 1852 by Bartle Frere
India Post
–
India Post office,
Gobichettipalayam East
India Post
–
India Post
India Post
–
Indian Post Office at the Mango Orange village near
Udagamandalam
India Post
–
Post Office at
Yercaud
17.
Italy
–
Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a unitary parliamentary republic in Europe. Located in the heart of the Mediterranean Sea, Italy shares open land borders with France, Switzerland, Austria, Slovenia, San Marino, Italy covers an area of 301,338 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal and Mediterranean climate. Due to its shape, it is referred to in Italy as lo Stivale. With 61 million inhabitants, it is the fourth most populous EU member state, the Italic tribe known as the Latins formed the Roman Kingdom, which eventually became a republic that conquered and assimilated other nearby civilisations. The legacy of the Roman Empire is widespread and can be observed in the distribution of civilian law, republican governments, Christianity. The Renaissance began in Italy and spread to the rest of Europe, bringing a renewed interest in humanism, science, exploration, Italian culture flourished at this time, producing famous scholars, artists and polymaths such as Leonardo da Vinci, Galileo, Michelangelo and Machiavelli. The weakened sovereigns soon fell victim to conquest by European powers such as France, Spain and Austria. Despite being one of the victors in World War I, Italy entered a period of economic crisis and social turmoil. The subsequent participation in World War II on the Axis side ended in defeat, economic destruction. Today, Italy has the third largest economy in the Eurozone and it has a very high level of human development and is ranked sixth in the world for life expectancy. The country plays a prominent role in regional and global economic, military, cultural and diplomatic affairs, as a reflection of its cultural wealth, Italy is home to 51 World Heritage Sites, the most in the world, and is the fifth most visited country. The assumptions on the etymology of the name Italia are very numerous, according to one of the more common explanations, the term Italia, from Latin, Italia, was borrowed through Greek from the Oscan Víteliú, meaning land of young cattle. The bull was a symbol of the southern Italic tribes and was often depicted goring the Roman wolf as a defiant symbol of free Italy during the Social War. Greek historian Dionysius of Halicarnassus states this account together with the legend that Italy was named after Italus, mentioned also by Aristotle and Thucydides. The name Italia originally applied only to a part of what is now Southern Italy – according to Antiochus of Syracuse, but by his time Oenotria and Italy had become synonymous, and the name also applied to most of Lucania as well. The Greeks gradually came to apply the name Italia to a larger region, excavations throughout Italy revealed a Neanderthal presence dating back to the Palaeolithic period, some 200,000 years ago, modern Humans arrived about 40,000 years ago. Other ancient Italian peoples of undetermined language families but of possible origins include the Rhaetian people and Cammuni. Also the Phoenicians established colonies on the coasts of Sardinia and Sicily, the Roman legacy has deeply influenced the Western civilisation, shaping most of the modern world
Italy
–
The
Colosseum in Rome, built c. 70 – 80 AD, is considered one of the greatest works of
architecture and
engineering of ancient history.
Italy
–
Flag
Italy
–
The
Iron Crown of Lombardy, for centuries symbol of the
Kings of Italy.
Italy
–
Castel del Monte, built by German Emperor
Frederick II,
UNESCO World Heritage site
18.
Japan
–
Japan is a sovereign island nation in Eastern Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies off the eastern coast of the Asia Mainland and stretches from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea, the kanji that make up Japans name mean sun origin. 日 can be read as ni and means sun while 本 can be read as hon, or pon, Japan is often referred to by the famous epithet Land of the Rising Sun in reference to its Japanese name. Japan is an archipelago consisting of about 6,852 islands. The four largest are Honshu, Hokkaido, Kyushu and Shikoku, the country is divided into 47 prefectures in eight regions. Hokkaido being the northernmost prefecture and Okinawa being the southernmost one, the population of 127 million is the worlds tenth largest. Japanese people make up 98. 5% of Japans total population, approximately 9.1 million people live in the city of Tokyo, the capital of Japan. Archaeological research indicates that Japan was inhabited as early as the Upper Paleolithic period, the first written mention of Japan is in Chinese history texts from the 1st century AD. Influence from other regions, mainly China, followed by periods of isolation, from the 12th century until 1868, Japan was ruled by successive feudal military shoguns who ruled in the name of the Emperor. Japan entered into a period of isolation in the early 17th century. The Second Sino-Japanese War of 1937 expanded into part of World War II in 1941, which came to an end in 1945 following the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Japan is a member of the UN, the OECD, the G7, the G8, the country has the worlds third-largest economy by nominal GDP and the worlds fourth-largest economy by purchasing power parity. It is also the worlds fourth-largest exporter and fourth-largest importer, although Japan has officially renounced its right to declare war, it maintains a modern military with the worlds eighth-largest military budget, used for self-defense and peacekeeping roles. Japan is a country with a very high standard of living. Its population enjoys the highest life expectancy and the third lowest infant mortality rate in the world, in ancient China, Japan was called Wo 倭. It was mentioned in the third century Chinese historical text Records of the Three Kingdoms in the section for the Wei kingdom, Wa became disliked because it has the connotation of the character 矮, meaning dwarf. The 倭 kanji has been replaced with the homophone Wa, meaning harmony, the Japanese word for Japan is 日本, which is pronounced Nippon or Nihon and literally means the origin of the sun. The earliest record of the name Nihon appears in the Chinese historical records of the Tang dynasty, at the start of the seventh century, a delegation from Japan introduced their country as Nihon
Japan
–
The
Golden Hall and
five-storey pagoda of
Hōryū-ji, among the oldest wooden buildings in the world,
National Treasures, and a
UNESCO World Heritage Site
Japan
Japan
–
Samurai warriors face Mongols, during the
Mongol invasions of Japan. The
Kamikaze, two storms, are said to have saved Japan from Mongol fleets.
Japan
–
Samurai could
kill a commoner for the slightest insult and were widely feared by the Japanese population.
Edo period, 1798
19.
PostNL
–
PostNL is a mail, parcel and e-commerce corporation with operations in the Netherlands, Germany, Italy, Belgium, and the United Kingdom. It is listed at Euronext Amsterdam, the company was known as TNT N. V. until TNT Express demerged from it in May 2011, and the remainder of the company was renamed PostNL. The split of TNT N. V. was approved at a meeting on 25 May 2011. PostNL N. V. was confirmed as the new name for the remainder of TNT N. V. PostNL retained a 29. 9% stake in TNT Express on completion of the breakup. Peter Bakker, chief officer of TNT since 2001, stepped down at the end of May 2011 with Harry Koorstra becoming CEO of PostNL. April 2012 Harry Koorstra resigned after conflicts with the supervisory board, herna Verhagen became the new CEO. PostNL has been assigned by the Dutch government to carry out the UPD, carrying out the UPD requires, amongst other things, PostNL to deliver mail throughout the Netherlands five days a week and to maintain enough mailboxes in the country. ACM is charged with monitoring and enforcing the execution by PostNL, PostNL operates in Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany, Italy and the United Kingdom. The company continued to use the TNT Post name in these countries shortly after the demerger, in late 2013, its Belgian operations were also rebranded as PostNL. TNT Post Germany was rebranded as Postcon in March 2014, and in May TNT Post Italy was rebranded Nexive, TNT Post UK was rebranded as Whistl in September 2014, and in October 2015 PostNL sold a majority stake in the company to its management in a management buyout
PostNL
–
PostNL N.V.
20.
New Zealand Post
–
New Zealand Post is a state-owned enterprise responsible for providing postal service in New Zealand. New Zealand Post Office, a government agency, provided service in New Zealand until 1987. By the 1980s, however, economic difficulties made the government reconsider how it delivered postal services, for example, in 1987-1988 alone, the post lost NZ$50 million. In its final report, the team recommend transforming the postal service into three state-owned enterprises, the Post’s corporatization was then completed with the 1987 passage of the Postal Services Act. Today, only New Zealand Post remains a state-owned enterprise, as PostBank and Telecom were privatized in 1989 and 1990, in its first year of operation, New Zealand Post turned the losses of previous years into a NZ$72 million profit. A year after the 1987 Post Office Act, the Lange Government declared its plan to privatize the post. To prepare for privatization, it decided to reduce the posts monopoly. When it was corporatized in 1987, the New Zealand Post had monopoly for mail up to 500 grams and this was first reduced to $1.35, then $1, and finally 80 cents. The government also let the post downsize by closing a third of its locations, in 1991-1992, another review came out in support of the governments privatization plan. However, by the end of 1993 the government abandoned its plan because of public opposition, New Zealand Post began its life with 1,244 post offices, later rebranded as PostShops. Of these 906 full post offices and 338 postal agencies,600 post offices or bank branches were downsized or closed after government subsidies expired in February 1988, as of March 1998, there are 297 PostShops, and 705 Post Centres. However, there are now more outlets than before corporatisation, with 2,945 other retailers of postage stamps. There was a reduction in the price of postage, with a nominal drop of the postage rate from 45 cents to 40 cents in 1996. Since then the cost has risen to 50 cents in 2007, to 60 cents in 2010, on 1 July 2016 postage for standard letters will increase by 20 cents to $1.00 and Fastpost by 40 cents to $1.80. The Lange governments Postal Services Act 1987 reduced the monopoly of New Zealand Post to a limit of $1.75 and 500 grams and it was gradually reduced to 80 cents in December 1991 until the 1998 legislation took effect. The Postal Services Act 1998, passed by a National-New Zealand First coalition government, the new law provides for any person to become a registered postal operator by applying to the Ministry of Economic Development. Registration as an operator is compulsory for letters with postage less than 80 cents. Despite the Act, government regulation of the company still requires it to maintain certain minimum service levels, New Zealand Posts exclusive right to be the sole operator under the Act for the purposes of the Universal Postal Union expired on 1 April 2003
New Zealand Post
–
A NZ Post box with slots for two types of mail
New Zealand Post
–
Since the deregulation of the postal sector, different postal operators can install mail collection boxes in New Zealand's streets.
New Zealand Post
–
New Zealand Post headquarters in
Wellington.
21.
Norway
–
The Antarctic Peter I Island and the sub-Antarctic Bouvet Island are dependent territories and thus not considered part of the Kingdom. Norway also lays claim to a section of Antarctica known as Queen Maud Land, until 1814, the kingdom included the Faroe Islands, Greenland, and Iceland. It also included Isle of Man until 1266, Shetland and Orkney until 1468, Norway has a total area of 385,252 square kilometres and a population of 5,258,317. The country shares a long border with Sweden. Norway is bordered by Finland and Russia to the north-east, Norway has an extensive coastline, facing the North Atlantic Ocean and the Barents Sea. King Harald V of the Dano-German House of Glücksburg is the current King of Norway, erna Solberg became Prime Minister in 2013, replacing Jens Stoltenberg. A constitutional monarchy, Norway divides state power between the Parliament, the Cabinet and the Supreme Court, as determined by the 1814 Constitution, the kingdom is established as a merger of several petty kingdoms. By the traditional count from the year 872, the kingdom has existed continuously for 1,144 years, Norway has both administrative and political subdivisions on two levels, counties and municipalities. The Sámi people have an amount of self-determination and influence over traditional territories through the Sámi Parliament. Norway maintains close ties with the European Union and the United States, the country maintains a combination of market economy and a Nordic welfare model with universal health care and a comprehensive social security system. Norway has extensive reserves of petroleum, natural gas, minerals, lumber, seafood, the petroleum industry accounts for around a quarter of the countrys gross domestic product. On a per-capita basis, Norway is the worlds largest producer of oil, the country has the fourth-highest per capita income in the world on the World Bank and IMF lists. On the CIAs GDP per capita list which includes territories and some regions, from 2001 to 2006, and then again from 2009 to 2017, Norway had the highest Human Development Index ranking in the world. It also has the highest inequality-adjusted ranking, Norway ranks first on the World Happiness Report, the OECD Better Life Index, the Index of Public Integrity and the Democracy Index. Norway has two names, Noreg in Nynorsk and Norge in Bokmål. The name Norway comes from the Old English word Norðrveg mentioned in 880, meaning way or way leading to the north. In contrasting with suðrvegar southern way for Germany, and austrvegr eastern way for the Baltic, the Anglo-Saxon of Britain also referred to the kingdom of Norway in 880 as Norðmanna land. This was the area of Harald Fairhair, the first king of Norway, and because of him
Norway
–
The
helmet found at Gjermundbu near
Haugsbygd,
Buskerud, is the only
Viking Age helmet that has been found.
Norway
–
Flag
Norway
–
The
Gokstad ship at the
Viking Ship Museum in
Oslo, Norway
Norway
–
The
Battle of the Sound between an allied Dano-Norwegian–
Dutch fleet and the Swedish navy, 8 November 1658 (29 October
O.S.)
22.
Norway Post
–
Posten Norge or Norway Post is the name of the Norwegian postal service. The company, owned by the Norwegian Ministry of Transport and Communications has a monopoly on distribution of letters weighing less than 50g throughout the country, there are 30 post offices in Norway, in addition to 1400 outlets in retail stores. Posten was founded in 1647 as Postvesenet by general post master Henrik Morian and it was established as a private company, and the King Christian IV gave his blessing to the founding of the company. Postvesenet was privately run until 1719, when the took over. From that point on, national service was a state monopoly. Local city postal services remained private, but in 1888 a new law was introduced which expanded the monopoly to the entire country. In 1933, Postvesenet was renamed Postverket, in 1996, Posten Norge BA was established as a state-owned company in which the Norwegian state had limited liability. In 2002 Posten changed its structure to that of a stock company. Posten Norge AS is still owned by the Norwegian state. The postal service is divided into four divisions, Post, Logistics, Distribution Network, the latter specialized in electronic services and outsourcing. ErgoGroup merged with EDB to form Evry ASA, which Posten now jointly owns with the Norwegian multinational telecommunications company Telenor ASA, in 2002 Norway Post acquired 57% of the shares of a private Swedish postal company, CityMail and acquired the remaining 43% in the first quarter of 2006. Norway Post also owns, or partly owns Nor-Cargo as well as Frigoscandia, Pan Nordic Logistics, Scanex B. V. Nettlast Hadeland, many of which have their own subsidiaries. Posten, the Swedish postal service List of oldest companies English version of the site of Norway Post The four divisions Norway Post Logistics subsidiaries
Norway Post
–
A local post office, in
Sandviken,
Bergen
Norway Post
–
Posten Norge AS
23.
Poczta Polska
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Poczta Polska is the state postal administration of Poland. It provides postal services, banking and insurance services as well as logistics services, the company also provides digital services such as neo-stamp, neo-letter, neo-postcard, made available through the Internet platform Envelo. Formally known as Poczta Polska Spółka Akcyjna, it has two subsidiary companies, Capital Group Poczta Polska and Pocztowe Towarzystwo Ubezpieczeń Wzajemnych. The State Treasury of Poland is the founder and sole shareholder of Polish Post, Poczta Polska acts as a designated operator. I. e. operator who is responsible for providing postal services. In addition, it must enable the sender, at his request, the basis for the postal organization was the trading postal service, which derived from the merchants need to communicate on commercial matters. These merchants were from Germany, and later on also from Italy, in the 14th and 15th centuries Cracow was communicating with German towns through messengers, who were remunerated by commercial confraternities. The best designed trading post of this type was owned by the Fugger family who at the end of the 15th century established their factories in Cracow, initially they were used for the trade of copper. With time, though, they started to deal with financing operations. The Fugger Post was primary used only for the maintenance of communications between these factories and the office in Augsburg. In later years, its services were used by the king Sigismund I of Poland, the queen Bona Sforza, the second serious trading postal service was the Seweryn Boners post. Boners banking house kept permanent agents who facilitated the forwarding of the correspondence of private persons, on the 18 October 1558 the monarch granted the right for the establishment and management of the post to the Italian Prospero Provana. The services of this post, which ran from Cracow to Venice, could also be used by private persons, Provana, however, started a conflict with the Thurn und Taxis family, who controlled postal communications in Austria, Hungary and Italy. This resulted after four years in the withdrawal of the granted to Provan. e. It was composed of the Italian post and Lithuanian Post, the postal messenger left Cracow each Sunday morning, arrived in Vienna on Wednesday and then left for Venice, where he arrived after seven days journey. The courier set off to Lithuania each week on Wednesday, in order to arrive in Vilnius after a weeks journey, therefore, the letter from Cracow to Venice took 10 days and from Cracow to Vilnius 7 days. The postal charge amounted to 3 grosz from 1 lot of weight of private parcel, the kings and courts parcels were free of charge, but the monarch paid yearly subsidy for the benefit of the post in the amount of 1500 thalers. This amount was collected in instalments from the Cracow duty, the director, who received the total income from the post, in return had to take care of the maintenance and its supplies
Poczta Polska
–
Legnica, Poland - post office
Poczta Polska
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King
Sigismund II Augustus established the post in 1558
Poczta Polska
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Mailbox in
Jelenia Góra
Poczta Polska
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Post office of
Bydgoszcz
24.
Portugal
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Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. It is the westernmost country of mainland Europe, to the west and south it is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean and to the east and north by Spain. The Portugal–Spain border is 1,214 kilometres long and considered the longest uninterrupted border within the European Union, the republic also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of the Azores and Madeira, both autonomous regions with their own regional governments. The territory of modern Portugal has been settled, invaded. The Pre-Celts, Celts, Carthaginians and the Romans were followed by the invasions of the Visigothic, in 711 the Iberian Peninsula was invaded by the Moors, making Portugal part of Muslim Al Andalus. Portugal was born as result of the Christian Reconquista, and in 1139, Afonso Henriques was proclaimed King of Portugal, in the 15th and 16th centuries, Portugal established the first global empire, becoming one of the worlds major economic, political and military powers. Portugal monopolized the trade during this time, and the Portuguese Empire expanded with military campaigns led in Asia. After the 1910 revolution deposed the monarchy, the democratic but unstable Portuguese First Republic was established, democracy was restored after the Portuguese Colonial War and the Carnation Revolution in 1974. Shortly after, independence was granted to almost all its overseas territories, Portugal has left a profound cultural and architectural influence across the globe and a legacy of over 250 million Portuguese speakers today. Portugal is a country with a high-income advanced economy and a high living standard. It is the 5th most peaceful country in the world, maintaining a unitary semi-presidential republican form of government and it has the 18th highest Social Progress in the world, putting it ahead of other Western European countries like France, Spain and Italy. Portugal is a pioneer when it comes to drug decriminalization, as the nation decriminalized the possession of all drugs for use in 2001. The early history of Portugal is shared with the rest of the Iberian Peninsula located in South Western Europe, the name of Portugal derives from the joined Romano-Celtic name Portus Cale. Other influences include some 5th-century vestiges of Alan settlements, which were found in Alenquer, Coimbra, the region of present-day Portugal was inhabited by Neanderthals and then by Homo sapiens, who roamed the border-less region of the northern Iberian peninsula. These were subsistence societies that, although they did not establish prosperous settlements, neolithic Portugal experimented with domestication of herding animals, the raising of some cereal crops and fluvial or marine fishing. Chief among these tribes were the Calaicians or Gallaeci of Northern Portugal, the Lusitanians of central Portugal, the Celtici of Alentejo, a few small, semi-permanent, commercial coastal settlements were also founded in the Algarve region by Phoenicians-Carthaginians. Romans first invaded the Iberian Peninsula in 219 BC, during the last days of Julius Caesar, almost the entire peninsula had been annexed to the Roman Republic. The Carthaginians, Romes adversary in the Punic Wars, were expelled from their coastal colonies and it suffered a severe setback in 150 BC, when a rebellion began in the north
Portugal
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Citânia de Briteiros, in the
Minho Province, is the best preserved
Iron Age and
Castro culture site in Portugal.
Portugal
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Flag
Portugal
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The
Roman Temple of Évora, in the
Alentejo, is a symbol of
Lusitania, Roman rule in Portugal.
Portugal
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Monument in Porto to
Vimara Peres, first ruler of the County of Portugal
25.
CTT
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Postal Services of Portugal, plc is the national postal service of Portugal. The acronym CTT comes from the name of this department. CTT has become a limited company in 1991, and in December 2013 the shares were listed on Euronext Lisbon. In 2007, CTT started to offer a phone service in Portugal. 1520, King Manuel I creates the public service of Portugal. 1533, the first postal service regulation in Portugal,1753, the first financial mails regulations in Portugal. 1821, the beginning of house-to-house mail delivering in Portugal,1880, the fusion of the Post Office and the Telegraphs Department in one single service, the Department of Posts, Telegraphs and Lighthouses—Direcção-Geral de Correios, Telégraphos e Faróis. 1953, CTT adopts the horse rider logo, the logo represents an ancient postman rider of the CTT, announcing his arrival with a bugle. The logo was reformed three times, the last one in 2004,1969, CTT becomes a State Company, adopting the name CTT Correios e Telecomunicações de Portugal—CTT Posts and Telecommunications of Portugal. 1992, the service is separated from the CTT, becoming an autonomous company. At the same time, CTT become a limited company
CTT
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A CTT mail delivery vehicle
CTT
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CTT - Correios de Portugal, S.A.
CTT
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A CTT traditional mail box
CTT
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A CTT local post office
26.
Slovenia
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Slovenia, officially the Republic of Slovenia, is a nation state in southern Central Europe, located at the crossroads of main European cultural and trade routes. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the south and southeast, and it covers 20,273 square kilometers and has a population of 2.06 million. It is a republic and a member of the United Nations, European Union. The capital and largest city is Ljubljana, additionally, the Dinaric Alps and the Pannonian Plain meet on the territory of Slovenia. The country, marked by a significant biological diversity, is one of the most water-rich in Europe, with a river network, a rich aquifer system. Over half of the territory is covered by forest, the human settlement of Slovenia is dispersed and uneven. Slovenia has historically been the crossroads of South Slavic, Germanic, Romance, although the population is not homogeneous, the majority is Slovene. Slovene is the language throughout the country. Slovenia is a largely secularized country, but its culture and identity have been influenced by Catholicism as well as Lutheranism. The economy of Slovenia is small, open, and export-oriented and has strongly influenced by international conditions. It has been hurt by the Eurozone crisis, started in the late 2000s. The main economic field is services, followed by industry and construction, Historically, the current territory of Slovenia was part of many different state formations, including the Roman Empire and the Holy Roman Empire, followed by the Habsburg Monarchy. In October 1918, the Slovenes exercised self-determination for the first time by co-founding the State of Slovenes, Croats, in December 1918, they merged with the Kingdom of Serbia into the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes. During World War II, Slovenia was occupied and annexed by Germany, Italy, and Hungary, with a tiny area transferred to the Independent State of Croatia, in June 1991, after the introduction of multi-party representative democracy, Slovenia split from Yugoslavia and became an independent country. Present-day Slovenia has been inhabited since prehistoric times, and there is evidence of habitation from around 250,000 years ago. A pierced cave bear bone, dating from 43100 ±700 BP, in the 1920s and 1930s, artifacts belonging to the Cro-Magnon such as pierced bones, bone points, and needle were found by archaeologist Srečko Brodar in Potok Cave. It shows that wooden wheels appeared almost simultaneously in Mesopotamia and Europe, in the transition period between the Bronze age to the Iron age, the Urnfield culture flourished. Archaeological remains dating from the Hallstatt period have been found, particularly in southeastern Slovenia, among them a number of situlas in Novo Mesto, in the Iron Age, present-day Slovenia was inhabited by Illyrian and Celtic tribes until the 1st century BC
Slovenia
–
A
pierced cave bear bone, possibly
flute, from
Divje Babe
Slovenia
–
Flag
Slovenia
–
Roman
Emona 's south wall (reconstruction) in present-day Ljubljana
Slovenia
–
Prince's Stone, symbol of
duchy of Carantania
27.
Switzerland
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Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a federal republic in Europe. It consists of 26 cantons, and the city of Bern is the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in western-Central Europe, and is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland is a country geographically divided between the Alps, the Swiss Plateau and the Jura, spanning an area of 41,285 km2. The establishment of the Old Swiss Confederacy dates to the medieval period, resulting from a series of military successes against Austria. Swiss independence from the Holy Roman Empire was formally recognized in the Peace of Westphalia in 1648. The country has a history of armed neutrality going back to the Reformation, it has not been in a state of war internationally since 1815, nevertheless, it pursues an active foreign policy and is frequently involved in peace-building processes around the world. In addition to being the birthplace of the Red Cross, Switzerland is home to international organisations. On the European level, it is a member of the European Free Trade Association. However, it participates in the Schengen Area and the European Single Market through bilateral treaties, spanning the intersection of Germanic and Romance Europe, Switzerland comprises four main linguistic and cultural regions, German, French, Italian and Romansh. Due to its diversity, Switzerland is known by a variety of native names, Schweiz, Suisse, Svizzera. On coins and stamps, Latin is used instead of the four living languages, Switzerland is one of the most developed countries in the world, with the highest nominal wealth per adult and the eighth-highest per capita gross domestic product according to the IMF. Zürich and Geneva have each been ranked among the top cities in the world in terms of quality of life, with the former ranked second globally, according to Mercer. The English name Switzerland is a compound containing Switzer, a term for the Swiss. The English adjective Swiss is a loan from French Suisse, also in use since the 16th century. The name Switzer is from the Alemannic Schwiizer, in origin an inhabitant of Schwyz and its associated territory, the Swiss began to adopt the name for themselves after the Swabian War of 1499, used alongside the term for Confederates, Eidgenossen, used since the 14th century. The data code for Switzerland, CH, is derived from Latin Confoederatio Helvetica. The toponym Schwyz itself was first attested in 972, as Old High German Suittes, ultimately related to swedan ‘to burn’
Switzerland
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Founded in 44 BC by
Lucius Munatius Plancus,
Augusta Raurica was the first Roman settlement on the Rhine and is now among the most important archaeological sites in Switzerland.
Switzerland
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Flag
Switzerland
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The 1291 Bundesbrief (Federal charter)
Switzerland
–
The Old Swiss Confederacy from 1291 (dark green) to the sixteenth century (light green) and its associates (blue). In the other colors are shown the subject territories.
28.
United Kingdom
–
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom or Britain, is a sovereign country in western Europe. Lying off the north-western coast of the European mainland, the United Kingdom includes the island of Great Britain, Northern Ireland is the only part of the United Kingdom that shares a land border with another sovereign state—the Republic of Ireland. The Irish Sea lies between Great Britain and Ireland, with an area of 242,500 square kilometres, the United Kingdom is the 78th-largest sovereign state in the world and the 11th-largest in Europe. It is also the 21st-most populous country, with an estimated 65.1 million inhabitants, together, this makes it the fourth-most densely populated country in the European Union. The United Kingdom is a monarchy with a parliamentary system of governance. The monarch is Queen Elizabeth II, who has reigned since 6 February 1952, other major urban areas in the United Kingdom include the regions of Birmingham, Leeds, Glasgow, Liverpool and Manchester. The United Kingdom consists of four countries—England, Scotland, Wales, the last three have devolved administrations, each with varying powers, based in their capitals, Edinburgh, Cardiff and Belfast, respectively. The relationships among the countries of the UK have changed over time, Wales was annexed by the Kingdom of England under the Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542. A treaty between England and Scotland resulted in 1707 in a unified Kingdom of Great Britain, which merged in 1801 with the Kingdom of Ireland to form the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. Five-sixths of Ireland seceded from the UK in 1922, leaving the present formulation of the United Kingdom of Great Britain, there are fourteen British Overseas Territories. These are the remnants of the British Empire which, at its height in the 1920s, British influence can be observed in the language, culture and legal systems of many of its former colonies. The United Kingdom is a country and has the worlds fifth-largest economy by nominal GDP. The UK is considered to have an economy and is categorised as very high in the Human Development Index. It was the worlds first industrialised country and the worlds foremost power during the 19th, the UK remains a great power with considerable economic, cultural, military, scientific and political influence internationally. It is a nuclear weapons state and its military expenditure ranks fourth or fifth in the world. The UK has been a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council since its first session in 1946 and it has been a leading member state of the EU and its predecessor, the European Economic Community, since 1973. However, on 23 June 2016, a referendum on the UKs membership of the EU resulted in a decision to leave. The Acts of Union 1800 united the Kingdom of Great Britain, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have devolved self-government
United Kingdom
–
Stonehenge, in
Wiltshire, was erected around 2500 BC.
United Kingdom
–
Flag
United Kingdom
–
The
Bayeux Tapestry depicts the
Battle of Hastings, 1066, and the events leading to it.
United Kingdom
–
The
Treaty of Union led to a single united kingdom encompassing all Great Britain.
29.
Royal Mail
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Royal Mail plc is a postal service company in the United Kingdom, originally established in 1516. The companys subsidiary, Royal Mail Group Limited, operates the brands Royal Mail, General Logistics Systems, an international logistics company, is a wholly owned subsidiary of Royal Mail Group. The company provides mail collection and delivery services throughout the UK, letters are deposited in a pillar or wall box, taken to a post office, or collected in bulk from businesses. Deliveries are made at least once every day except Sundays and bank holidays at uniform charges for all UK destinations, Royal Mail generally aims to make first class deliveries the next business day throughout the nation. For most of its history, Royal Mail has been a public service, however, following the Postal Services Act 2011, a majority of the shares in Royal Mail were floated on the London Stock Exchange in 2013. The UK government initially retained a 30% stake in Royal Mail, however it sold its shares in 2015. The Royal Mail can trace its history back to 1516, when Henry VIII established a Master of the Posts, upon his accession to the throne of England at the Union of the Crowns in 1603, James VI and I moved his court to London. One of his first acts from London was to establish the royal postal service between London and Edinburgh, in an attempt to control over the Scottish Privy Council. The Royal Mail service was first made available to the public by Charles I on 31 July 1635, the monopoly was farmed out to Thomas Witherings. In the 1640s Parliament removed the monopoly from Witherings and during the Civil War, to keep his monopoly in those troubled times Prideaux improved efficiency and used both legal impediments and illegal methods. In 1653 Parliament set aside all previous grants for postal services, in July 1655 the Post Office was put under the direct government control of John Thurloe, a Secretary of State, and best known to history as Cromwells spymaster general. Previous English governments had tried to prevent conspirators communicating, Thurloe preferred to deliver their post having surreptitiously read it, the first Postmaster General was appointed in 1661, and a seal was first fixed to the mail. Between 1719 and 1763, Ralph Allen, postmaster at Bath, signed a series of contracts with the post office to develop and he organised mail coaches which were provided by both Wilson & Company of London and Williams & Company of Bath. The early Royal Mail Coaches were similar to ordinary family coaches, the first mail coach ran in 1784, operating between Bristol and London. Delivery staff received uniforms for the first time in 1793, the first mail train ran in 1830, on the Liverpool and Manchester Railway. The Post Offices money order system was introduced in 1838, in December 1839 the first substantial reform started when postage rates were revised by the short-lived Uniform Fourpenny Post. Greater changes took place when the Uniform Penny Post was introduced on 10 January 1840 whereby a single rate for delivery anywhere in Great Britain and Ireland was pre-paid by the sender. A few months later, to certify that postage had been paid on a letter, the sender could affix the first adhesive postage stamp, other innovations were the introduction of pre-paid William Mulready designed postal stationery letter sheets and envelopes
Royal Mail
–
The
Louth -London Royal Mail, by
Charles Cooper Henderson, 1820
Royal Mail
–
Royal Mail plc
Royal Mail
–
Edinburgh and London Royal Mail, by
Jacques-Laurent Agasse
Royal Mail
–
Lower Edmonton Royal Mail sorting office, in London
