© Andrew Philips
In 1965, the Madagascar Post Office issued a series of stamps with the coats of arms of Malagasy cities. On one of them is the coat of arms of the city of Diego-Suarez. The history of this town is very interesting.
Diego-Suarez, renamed Antsiranana in 1975, is a city in the far north of Madagascar. Antsiranana is the capital of the Diana region, with an estimated population of 115,000 in 2013.
In December 1885, the Gulf of Diégo-Suarez and its environs became French territory. The first facilities were built in Cap Diégo (Cape Diego). The city then developed on the Antsiranana plateau. The bay is the largest in the world, after Rio de Janeiro, and one of the most beautiful in the world. The extreme north-west coast itself is divided into several rather unusual bays from Cap d'Ambre on the very tip of the island [1].
In the 1880s, the bay was of interest to France, who wanted it to become a coaling station for steamboats.
After the First Franco-Madagascar War, Queen Ranavalona III signed a treaty on December 17, 1885 granting France a protectorate over the gulf and surrounding territory, as well as the islands of Nosy-Be and Sainte-Marie in Madagascar.
According to the treaty of December 17, 1885, the French occupied the huge coveted bay with a circumference of 110 kilometers from Cap Miné to Nosy Kambero. The new colony is christened the "French Diego-Suarez Establishments" and its management is entrusted to Captain Caillet, who became the founder of the city of Diego-Suarez.
The Queen Ranavalona III, Yv. 1855, 2004r., overprint 2008r. Yv. 1896
The first barracks were erected at Cap Diego, which housed the artillery directorate and the Colony's disciplinary company. Opposite are the administrative services, infantry and marine artillery. The first inhabitants of the new city were Creoles from Réunion, Mauritians coming directly from this island or from Toamasina and Mahajanga, and natives from the islands of Sainte-Marie, Nosy Be and Mayotte, which were already French possessions at that time. There are also many Makoa fleeing from their owners in Antankarana and Sakalava provinces. In 1886, the colony already had 2,500 inhabitants.
Civilian Governor Ernest Froger [2] succeeded Captain Caillet in 1887. He was assisted by Marine Artillery Commander Rocard and Marine Lieutenant Colonel Juville. From 1888, he began reorganizing the French colonies in Madagascar.
By decree of May 4, 1888, it connects the islands of Nosy Be and Sainte-Marie with the French plants of Diego-Suarez. This decision is followed by the possession of the islands of Nosy Faly and Nosy Mitsio "by the cession made by King Antankaran, Tsimiaro, in 1841". The ceremony takes place on site, respectively, in Nosy Faly, April 19, 1889, and in Nosy Mitsio, April 22, 1889. It is presided over by Froger, Civil Governor Diego-Suarez, in the presence of the King of Antankarana, Tsialana II, resident Prince of Nosy Faly , Ndrivotso and the commander of Nosy Be, Joseph François.[3]
The decree of May 4, 1888 stated that:
“Article 1: The Island of Nossi-Be with its dependencies and the
Territory of Diego-Suarez will henceforth form a single government, with its
headquarters in Diégo-Suarez.
Article 2: The island of Sainte-Marie in Madagascar ceases to be
dependent on the Government of Réunion and is annexed to the Government of
Diégo-Suarez.[4]
Hence, at that time, the inscription "Diego-Suarez et dependences" appears on the postage stamps, i.e. Diego-Suarez with the associated areas.
Decree of January 28, 1896 of the Ministry of Colonies joins the Malagasy colonies of Diego-Suarez Nossi-Be and Sainte-Marie [5].
The activity of the post office becomes more regular at this time: we can exchange letters and parcels with the metropolis. Franking letters becomes more "official". Indeed, at the end of 1890, the postal exemption for occupying troops was abolished: the colony had no stamps at that time. To solve this problem, Governor Froger decided by an ordinance of September 8, 1890, to issue postage stamps urgently:
"At the request of the head of the Ministry of Interior and Administration. Due to the urgent need:
Article 1; - The printing of postal items of various values strictly
necessary to ensure the operation of the Diego Suarez postal service will be
ensured without delay.
The sheets consisted of 56 stamps, 7 rows of 8 vignettes. Not all the printed values were used, because on October 10, 1890, the postage stamps ordered in Paris arrived, and all that remained was burned. Needless to say, these stamps, printed in a small number of copies, are valued by collectors and especially counterfeiters!
A makeshift post office from 1890
In a short time, from 1890 to 1894, 50 stamps were issued in the
Diego-Suarez colony, plus 13 surcharge stamps. Initially, in 1890, postage
stamps were in circulation, common to all French colonies, but with a new
denomination overprint. In 1891, the name of the colony was printed on the
stamps: "Diego-Suarez". In addition, in the years 1890-1891, postage
stamps with original drawings were printed by the local printing house. The
stamps also had the inscriptions in French: "République Française"
("French Republic") and "Postes" ("Post Office").
In addition, the original stamps bear the inscription: "Diego Suarez et
Dependances" ("Diego Suarez and dependencies")
After the inclusion of Diego Suarez in Madagascar, stamps of the latter began to be used on its territory (since 1898).[6]
1890 Basic stamps "French Colonies" with manually stamped denominations:
.jpg)
1891 inscription Diego Suárez
1891 Basic stamps "French colonies" overprinted 1891 Diego
Suarez
1892 "French Colonies" principal stamps overprinted
"DIÉGO-SUAREZ" (values 1,2,4,5,10,15,20,25,30,35,75 cents and 1
franc)
.jpg)
1892 Inscription: "DIÈGO-SUAREZ ET DEPENDANCES" (values 1, 2, 4, 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 40, 50, 75 cents and 1 franc)
.jpg)
1894 Inscription: "DIÉGO-SUAREZ" (values 1,2,4,5, 10, 15,
20,25, 30, 40, 50, 75 cents and
1 franc)
.jpg)
.jpg)
1891 surcharge stamps of the French Colonies with the overprint
"DIEGO_SUAREZ", denominations of 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 10, 15, 20, 30, 60 cents
and 1 franc.
Much earlier, in 1885, customs duty stamps were introduced for goods
leaving the city of Diégo Suarez. At the end of the 19th century, the Customs
Office marked the border of the European quarter and separated it from the
"bushes". There are European and African women in the illustration.
They were printed in 4 x 5c, 2 x 50c, 2 x 1F sheets. The inscription
"octroi" (excise).
Customs makeshifts from 1885
Customs makeshifts from 1885
After 1973, the naval base of Diego-Suarez was taken over by the Malagasy army. The main base of the Malagasy navy is Antsiranana, which already served as the base of the colonial French navy. Naval detachments are also located in Nosy-Be, Mahajanga, Ile Sainte-Marie and in Fort-Dauphin.[7]
Fort-Dauphin
Eight ships are in service with the navy , including an old French
EDIC-class amphibious assault ship, a tugboat, and seven patrol boats of
various types [8].
[1] Iss Heridiny, Histoire : Port
et baie d'Antsiranana : Base navale et zone commerciale -
(midi-madagasikara.mg), 10/07/2019
[2] Ernest Forger, b. April 4, 1848 - Saint Florent le Vieil (France), d. December
22, 1926 - Saint Brévin les Pins (France), Professor of History and Literature
at the Naval School (1876-1885), Governor Diégo Suarez (1887), Professor of
Philosophy [source: geneanet.org]
[3]Pela Ravaitera, 11/08/2023,
Une nouvelle colonie française est née dans le Nord (lexpress.mg)
[4] Suzanne Reutt , Les premières années de
Diego Suarez - 1888: Quel avenir pour Diego Suarez? (cyber-diego.com) , April 1, 2019
[5] Suzanne Reutt , Les premières années de
Diego Suarez - 1895-1896 : Grandeur et décadence de Diego Suarez
(cyber-diego.com) , 2019-10-15
[6]wikipedia History post
office i post
office morocco Diego
- Suaresha — Wikipedia (wikipedia.org)
[7] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madagascar_Navy
[8]Maciej Szopa, Armies of the World: People's Armed
Forces of Madagascar, November 11, 2022, https://defence24.pl/
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