Philateliy in times of war
This image corresponds to the first postal stamps in the history of México and was issued by the mexican postal service on August 1 of 1856, in the XIX century, a century in which México is a country that is born and does not know peace. More than four decades have passed from its independence, and from 1810 Mexico was involucrated in civil wars and has been target of two foreign interventions and attempts to reconquer.
Revolutions and attempts to overthrow the government are part of the políthic reality of the XIX century in México too and the year of 1856 is not the exception, the Mexican society is divided between liberals and conservatives conspirators thant wish to overthrow the government of Benito Juárez García.
His minister of finance and economy Guillermo Prieto need new ideas to carry forward the economy of México and in an article of the newspaper, he read about a new way to pay the post service and to take more economic recourses to the country.
Meanwhile in England. Twenty years had passed since the issuance of the black penny and a new way of obtaining economic resources was present on the world stage, Guillermo Prieto, learned mean of liberal ideology, but ignorant of the bilateral policy situation between Mexico and Great Britain, he traveled on his own to Manchester, to learn more about the new way of paying for mail services and about the main reason why in some threatening letters, which had arrived to President Juarez appeared the effigy of the Queen of England.
He noticed that the British paid the postage beforehand, using a system invented by one Sir Rowland Hill.
But the relationship and the bilateral policy between the two countries was tense, because President Juarez decided to suspend the payment of the debt contracted with England, France and Spain to cover certain expenses that had generated the different wars and revolutions in the country and this, generated discontent in the British monarchy, who alerted the other two countries of the situation. A second French intervention was prepared for Mexico, a British invasion and another attempt to reconquer Spain.
From Manchester, Guillermo Prieto alerted President Juarez and his best friends, Melchor Ocampo and Ignacio Zaragoza to be alert, in case of an impending invasion, which occurred in 1862.
Meanwhile in Mexico, the black penny was still causing strangeness in the correspondence sent from London and Manchester and the return of Guillermo Prieto was expected, this occurred on September 2, 1856, when Guillermo Prieto met with President Juarez to tell him what He was able to find out in Manchester and among many other things, he said that he found out a very practical way to pay for the postal service and in turn obtain more economic resources for the benefit of the country.
Thus, President Juarez decree that no later than August 1, 1856, the first Mexican postal stamp should be issued, for such an occasion, it was chosen, just as the English had chosen Queen Victoria, the Mexicans would see on their first stamp the effigy of the father of the country, Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla, its value would be real would be printed in an economic way with blue ink and this would be enough to lessen the economic problems of Mexico.
The order was fulfilled, on August 1, 1856, the issuance of this postal stamp that marked the history of Mexican philately was released.