TThe history of mail and postage stamps in Belgium covers the early (pre-march), classical (stamps of the 19th - early 20th centuries) and modern periods. Since 1849, Belgium has issued its own postage stamps, and since 1875 it has been a member of the Universal Postal Union (UPU). Postal operations in the country are carried out by bpost.
Content

     1 Development of mail
         1.1 Early history
         1.2 Belgian post in the 19th century
         1.3 At the turn of the 20th century
     2 Postage stamp issues
         2.1 First stamps
         2.2 Subsequent issues
         2.3 Standard grade series
         2.4 Overprints on postage stamps
     3 Other types of postage stamps
         3.1 Newspaper
         3.2 Additional charges
         3.3 Railway
         3.4 Military post stamps
         3.5 Parcel services
             3.5.1 Parcel surcharge stamps
         3.6 Service
         3.7 Telegraph
     4 Brussels Local Edition
     5 Belgian Post in China
     6 Belgian occupation issues
         6.1 Eupen and Malmedy
         6.2 Belgian Field Post in Germany
         6.3 German East Africa (Rwanda-Urundi)
     7 German occupation of Belgium
     8 Development of philately
     9 See also
     10 Notes
     11 Literature
     12 Links

Postal development
Early history

The Taxis postal dynasty, the founder of which was Johann Baptist von Taxis, had separate branches that also operated in Belgium (which then belonged to Austria) and provided great services in the development of postal communications. The main early postal line of Thurn und Taxis ran along the route Brussels - Vienna - Italy[2]. This line began operating on March 1, 1500[3]. Later, an internal postal route between Mechelen, Ghent and Bruges was added to this line.[3] In 1543, a second line was opened from Liege through the Tyrol to Italy[3]. Initially, only official correspondence was sent by this postal service, but prepaid private mail was also allowed [3]. All postal notes were made by hand on the back of the letters[3]. After the death of Charles V in 1558, a Protestant uprising disrupted postal services for many years.[3]

After the capture of Belgium by France in 1701, a new postal service was created to replace the Thurn-et-Taxis post office, operating along French lines[3]. However, already in 1714, Austria again regained control over Belgium (except for the Principality of Liege)[3]. At that time, there were 104 points for receiving mail from the population, some of them used hand stamps, and postal marks were also made by hand[3]. In 1725, the postal monopoly returned to Thurn and Taxis, Prince Anselm Franz von Taxis was appointed chief postmaster (French “General des Postes”)[3].

When the French recaptured Belgium in June 1744 during the War of the Austrian Succession, the Belgian postal service was subordinated to the French.[3] However, already in 1748, Austria regained control, and Thurn-et-Taxis replaced the French postal employees with their own. During the war, the first military postal marks appeared on British mail in the form of a series of hand stamp impressions with the letters “AB” (short for “Armee Britannique” - “British Army”), “AA” (short for “Armee Autrichienne” - “Austrian Army”) and “AHO” (short for “Armee Hollondaise” - “Dutch Army”)[3]. As a rule, such marks were placed on the territory of Germany, but there are known examples of their use on letters from Belgium[3].
Belgian post office in the 19th century

After the outbreak of the French revolutionary wars in 1793, Belgium became a French province until 1814 and was divided into 9 departments, the numbers of which (86 and 91-98) were indicated on postmarks. The Belgian postal service operated as part of the French postal administration[3]. Belgian post offices began to use calendar stamps similar to those used in France[3].

When, after Waterloo, in accordance with the decisions of the Congress of Vienna, Holland and Belgium with Luxembourg were united under the rule of the King of the Netherlands, their postal services were merged and subordinated to the Dutch director general[3]. Over the next 15 years, most hand postmarks were translated from French into Dutch and Flemish[3]. These straight line stamps, in turn, replaced round date stamps at post offices[3].

After the declaration of independence on November 18, 1830 (as a result of an uprising against the Dutch) and the accession of Prince Leopold of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha to the Belgian throne the following year, the postal service was reorganized with the unification of 9 provinces into two regions and the return of French names to many localities [3 ]. Since Luxembourg remained a Prussian garrison, the Belgians feared that the Dutch might use their territory for attack and maintained a Belgian military contingent, which led to the appearance of the first Belgian military postmark by 1837.[3]

At the same time, transportation beganmail by the Belgian railways, and in 1841 the "Service des Postes sur le Chemin de Fer" ("Railway Postal Service") was founded, which subsequently began to use numerous railway postmarks.[3]

On October 9, 1874, Belgium was one of the first countries to sign the General Postal Convention. Its project initially provided for free transit shipments due to the consideration that the services provided by the state for the transit transportation of foreign correspondence through its territory are, on average, balanced by the corresponding services received by it from other states. This consideration, generally justified by experience, allowed, however, exceptions (exceptions) due to the vastness of some states or the peculiarities of their geographical location. Such an exception should have been allowed in relation to Belgium, which is a nodal point on the route of very busy communications between several great powers[2].
At the turn of the 20th century

At the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th centuries, postal services in Belgium, together with the telegraph and railways, were under the jurisdiction of a special ministry. The entire state was postally divided into seven districts. Postal operations were carried out by post offices (perceptions), postal agents (sous-perceptions) and auxiliary post offices in villages (dépôts and dépôts-relais). Belgium's transit importance contributed to increased postal traffic[2].

At the Vienna Congress of the Universal Postal Union (UPU) in 1891[de], Belgium joined the agreement for a broad and uniform international newspaper operation. In accordance with this agreement, governments mutually undertook to deliver periodicals published within their territories at the same prices as domestic subscribers, with only possible transit costs being added; in the country of destination, commissions and similar allowances could be made, but they should not go beyond the limits established for domestic subscribers of that country[2].

According to data on the number and activities of postal institutions, in Belgium in 1894 there were[2]:

     836 postal institutions, which amounted to an average of one postal institution per 35.2 km² and per 7,586 inhabitants of this country;
     422,013,000 postal items, including:
         124,641 thousand letters,
         42,608 thousand open letters,
         241,016 thousand printed works,
         2988 thousand postal transfers and
         3263 thousand parcels.

There was an average of 61.5 pieces of mail per Belgian resident. The excess of postal income over expenses, in terms of rubles of the Russian Empire at that time, amounted to 3,175,456 rubles[2].

During the same period, the transfer of money and other valuables in Belgium was carried out only to a limited extent, and the maximum amount for such transfer was set at 10,000 francs. The sender, who deposited money at the post office, was given a transfer, which he sent in a letter to the addressee, and the latter presented it to the post office of his residence to receive the money transfer. In Belgium, postal coupons (bons de poste) also became widespread - postal orders for small certain amounts, which were sold at postal institutions at a nominal price with a commission fee surcharge and, within a certain period of time, could be presented for payment at any postal institution in the country that produced the corresponding operations. In addition, another operation was carried out - postal orders [de] (recouvrement), which consisted in the fact that the post office took upon itself the demand from the debtor for payment on bills, invoices, invoices and similar documents and forwarding them to the creditor according to their ownership. Moreover, if necessary, postmen in Belgium were authorized to protest bills of exchange themselves in the generally established manner and to do so in a simplified form specifically established for them. The Belgian Post also took on another type of order: it presented the bills to the drawee for acceptance and, in the absence of acceptance, was obliged to make a protest. At the Lisbon Congress of the UPU in 1885[de], Belgium acceded to the agreement between the states in which the postal order operation was carried out to extend this operation to their mutual relations. In 1905, Belgium entered into an agreement on the mutual exchange of postal money orders with Russia[2].

According to the International Bureau of the UPU for 1903[4], in terms of the density of the postal network, Belgium ranked fourth in the world - with one office per 24.1 square meters. km. It was also, together with Spain and Austria, one of the only countries where rail mail transport exceeds other postal transport. In terms of postal orders, Belgium ranked first (at 1 billion francs)[2].
Postage stamp issues
First stamps

Belgium issued its first national postage stamps on July 1, 1849[5]. For this purpose, a series of two toothless maros was printedk: brown with a denomination of 10 centimes (for sending letters weighing no more than 10 g to a distance no further than 30 km)[≡] and blue with a denomination of 20 centimes, they were nicknamed “Epaulettes”[en][5]. The stamp was drawn by lithographer Charles Bonnier, depicting King Leopold I in military uniform with epaulettes and based on a portrait by Lievin de Winne[en]. The name of the state was not indicated, there was only the inscription “Postes” (“Mail”)[5][≡].
Subsequent issues

The Epaulettes series remained in circulation until 1861, when a new series appeared, this time of four postage stamps[6]. Inscriptions on Belgian postage stamps: Netherlands. "Belgie" or French "Belgique" ("Belgium").

Since 1928, some standard stamps have been issued in bound form[5]. Sheets of such stamps contain coupons with advertising drawings, and such sheets of stamps make it possible to obtain tete-beche and other combinations of stamps[5].

     20 centime stamp from the “Epaulettes” series[en] with a portrait of Leopold I (1849)[^]
     20 centime stamp from the “Epaulettes” series[en] with a portrait of Leopold I (1849)[^]
     10 centime stamp with portrait of Leopold II and Sunday coupon (1905)
     10 centime stamp with portrait of Leopold II and Sunday coupon (1905)
     Mourning postage stamp dedicated to Queen Astrid, 1935 (Sc #B174)
     Mourning postage stamp dedicated to Queen Astrid, 1935 (Sc #B174)

In December 1999, the image of V.I. Lenin was placed on a Belgian stamp from the issue “Results of the 20th Century” (Sc #1779g)[7]. The appearance of a stamp with a portrait of Lenin caused a political scandal in Belgium. The first to raise it was the nationalist party “Vlaams Bloc”, which immediately demanded that the Lenin stamp be withdrawn. Some time later, the First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Belgium, Louis Michel, approached the Minister of Telecommunications and Public Services, Rick Dames, with the same proposal. He justified it by the fact that the fact of the appearance of the brand “caused a very negative reaction from part of the country’s population.” Along with the Belgian right, representatives of the old Russian emigration were also outraged. The Union of Russian Nobles organized a demonstration on this occasion in Brussels. The printing of the stamps was suspended, and the matter was brought up for discussion by the Belgian government[8]. The issue of the miniature was not cancelled. A Belgian stamp with a portrait of Lenin is presented in catalogs as an official commemorative issue (Mi #2915).
Standard stamp series

Listed below in chronological order are issues of Belgian standard stamps since 1849:
Timeline of Belgium standard releases
Overprints on postage stamps

The first overprint was made on April 4, 1911 on a Belgian postal and charity stamp. The year 1911 is overprinted to extend the validity of the latter. It was sold at double face value, the difference went to the National Tuberculosis Foundation. Was in circulation until January 30, 1912[10].

The last overprint was made on May 3, 1982, to change the denomination to 1 Belgian franc (“1 °F”) due to the need for standard stamps of this denomination[10].

Over the entire period (at the end of 2014), 382 cataloged overprints were produced, of which 15 were postal charity overprints, 68 were occupational overprints during the First World War, 59 were changes in the denomination of a postage stamp, 52 were commemorative, 159 were changes in the type of stamp, 28 - provisional and preliminary cancellations[10][11].
Other types of postage stamps
Newspaper

In 1928-1932, newspaper stamps were issued to pay for the mailing of newspapers[5]. The railway parcel stamps were overprinted “Journaux/Dagbladen” (Newspapers)[5].
Extra charges

Since 1870, surcharge stamps have been issued in Belgium[5].
Railway

In Belgium, delivery of parcels to all populated areas of the country connected by rail is carried out by the railway service[5]. Since 1879, special stamps have been issued to pay for postage. These stamps are characterized by very high denominations[5]. Commemorative stamps of this kind were issued (for example, in 1935 stamps were issued in honor of the centenary of the Belgian railways)[5]. Cancellation of stamps on parcels is carried out using rectangular stamps[5].
Military post stamps

Since 1967, special stamps have been in circulation to pay for the mailing of letters from military personnel[5].
Parcel services

In settlements where there is no railway connection, parcels are delivered by the postal service, with a weight limit of up to 5 kg[5]. To pay for such delivery, parcel postage stamps have been issued since 1928[5].
Parcel surcharge stamps

Since 1954, postage postage stamps have been issued in Belgium, which officially served to collect additional fees for sending postal parcels[12].
Service

Since 1929, service stamps have been issued to pay for the forwarding of correspondence from the Belgian Railway Administration[5].
Telegraph

In 1866-1897, telegraph stamps were in circulation, intended to pay for telegrams, but also used to pay for postage.

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