Page 76 - Jarvis & Wright: Jamaica Display to RPSL

Jamaica: 1860 to 1879 Postal History

In 1860, control of the Post Office transferred from Britain to the Jamaica Government.
This section of the display is organised around the evolution of the internal and external postal rates in operation
from 1860 (which covers the period before, during and immediately after the establishment of the U.P.U.)
However, the postal markings and adhesives also continued to evolve.

Postal Markings

The opening and closing of new post offices between 1859 and 1862 created a conflict relating to the allocation of
obliterators numbers which represented the offices in alphabetical sequence.

As a result, at the end of October 1862, all obliterators in the range A38 through A59 were returned and
reallocated to new offices, leaving these offices without an obliterator for about a fortnight (the cds being applied
to the adhesive instead).

The P11 style single ring cds was pre-dominant in this period but occasionally other styles were used.

After Jamaica joined the UPU obliterator marks were progressively withdrawn and the cds was used to cancel the
adhesive. Squared circle type marks were introduced at some offices.

Rates

The change of PO control enabled internal rates to be revised to a more appropriate level.
• Previously: 4d for up to 60 miles; 6d for up to 100 miles; 8d for over 100 miles (per ½oz)
• In 1861 a town rate of 1d was introduced and for delivery within the same parish a rate of 2d, the rate for
over 100 miles was also adjusted with 6d for under ¼oz but 8d remaining for ½oz
• In 1862 the rate for up to 60 miles was reduced from 4d to 3d, and to 4d for over 60 miles
• In 1865 the 4d rate was reduced to 3d
• The PO Law of 1868 changed the ‘same parish’ rule to be up to 30 miles at 2d, over 30 miles being 3d. Up
to this time Spanish Town and Kingston had been treated as the same town (i.e. 1d rate) but now a 2d rate
was charged
• In 1872 the maximum rate for all distances (except Town) was reduced to 2d

Changes to Packet Rates to the UK were governed by UPU rules from 1877 with only one prior change.
• Until 1863 the rate was 6d
• On 1st April 1863 this was increased to 1s but the ship letter rate was reduced from 6d to 3d
• The 1869 Post Office Law raised the ship letter rate to 4d
• Upon joining the GPU in 1877 the rate for both packet and ship letters was reset at 6d
• The UPU rate was set at 4d in 1879 (actually 2½d plus 1½d maritime rate for > 500 miles)