Colonial Period
The postal system of Mexico may be said to have begun with the Aztecs, who operated a system of messengers; they worked well enough that Hernán Cortés continued using them after the 1521 conquest. After 1579, the right to operate the posts was farmed out to members of the nobility, who were known as "Correo Mayor de la Nueva España". The most important part of their operation was the route between Mexico City and Veracruz.
In 1742, the administrator of posts in Madrid was ordered to improve the Mexican system, resulting in the 1745 establishment of a weekly post between Mexico City and Oaxaca, followed in 1748 by a monthly service to Guatemala. In 1765 the Spanish crown bought back the rights to the postal service, effectively "nationalizing" the posts.
During the Colonial period and continuing up to the introduction of adhesive stamps, letters were typically sent collect, the postage to be paid by the recipient upon arrival. The covers, or envelopes in which the letters were sent, were stamped by hand with the name of the originating town, and typically with a number representing the charge for postage, e.g., "3" for 3 reales. Occasionally, mail was sent postage pre-paid, in which case the envelope would be marked "Franca" or "Franco" or "Franqueado." According to Yag & Bash (1965), some handstamps (on undated covers) date to the 1720s and the earliest known stamped postmark on a dated cover is a Veracruz mark from 1736. Yag and Bash researched the Chapman records, and found these numbers of post offices:
| Year | Principal | Branch |
|---|---|---|
| 1824 | 17 | 338 |
| 1846 | 45 | 440 |
| 1854 | 47 | 430 |
| 1868 | 47 | 431 |
| 1875 | 54 | 241 |
Most post offices, principal and branch, had handstamps.
Covers from the Colonial period up until the third quarter of the 1800s typically showed only the addressee's name and city; a street address was not written. These letters were not delivered to the addressee. Instead, the letters would be held at the local post office and advertised on posted lists or in newspapers. Many of the recipients were well known businessmen or politicians. Towards the end of the 19th century, larger cities employed postmen to deliver the mail.
Read more about this topic: Postage Stamps And Postal History Of Mexico
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