The Winton M. Blount Postal History Symposia - Smithsonian ...

WWI Philatelic Censuses of East AfricaJohn Kevin DoyleWorld War I in German East AfricaThe Germans were late to the “scramble for Africa”—they were amongthe last of the European countries to acquire colonies in Africa. The mostimportant German colony was German East Africa (GEA), and it was thecolony most nearly self- sufficient. When World War I started in Europe, it beganimmediately in German East Africa. Within a few months, GEA was invadedby the Allied troops (British, South African, Nigerian, Nyassaland, Indian, etc.)from the north, Belgian from the west, and Portuguese from the south. Thelargest force was the Allied force, which ultimately chased the Germans aroundGEA until after the end of WWI—the Germans surrendered in East Africa onlyafter their surrender in Europe.From a postal history perspective, the Germans began printing all stampson paper which was watermarked lozenges in 1905, including stamps for thecolonies. In late 1905, GEA changed currency from the Pesa/Rupie to Heller/Rupie. All low value stamps were reissued in the new currency (and thereforeon the new watermarked paper). The Rupie value stamps, used primarily forinternal post office operation (on parcel cards, money orders, etc.), did not needreplenishment.By early 1915, GEA officials requested replenishment of the 1 Rupie stamp,along with other war supplies—ammunition, artillery, medals, ‘15’ and ‘16’year dates for cancellers, etc. The Germans prepared a blockade breaker, thecaptured Dacre Hill, outfitted as the “Danish” vessel Nordamerika. The Nordamerikaleft Wilhelmshaven on January 9, 1916 en route to GEA, with the warsupplies and its own pontoon wharf. It successfully avoided the Allied warshipsin the Atlantic, rounded the Cape, and avoided the Allied blockade off the GEAcoast. The Nordamerika entered Sudi Bay, just south of Lindi, on March 16,1916 (see Figure 1). Sudi Bay was the most southerly harbor in GEA for oceangoingvessels.Capt. Conrad Sörensen rechristened the ship Marie (his wife’s name) in celebrationof the successful voyage. By March 27, 1916, the ship was unloaded,and the cargo (made up in sixty- six pound parcels in Berlin) was on its way viaporters. The British discovered the vessel about this time and began shelling her.The Marie escaped on April 22 and was interned in Batavia harbor in Indonesia