British Empire was called, began in 1948 and lasted until 1960, but by 1957, Britain felt confident enough to grant independence to the Federation of Malaya within the Commonwealth. In 1963, the 11 states of the federation together with Singapore, Sarawak and North Borneo joined to form Malaysia, but in 1965 Chinese-majority Singapore was expelled from the union following tensions between the Malay and Chinese populations. Brunei, which had been a British protectorate since 1888, declined to join the union and maintained its status until independence in 1984. In 1951, the Conservative Party returned to power in Britain, under the leadership of
Revenue stamps of the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland to £5. None of these are common, and the high values are particularly scarce. In 1955, the Federation issued three excise stamps for use on cigarette packets. These are quite rare as they were usually torn when used. Revenue stamps of the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland was a short lived semi-independent state in southern Africa that existed from 1953 to the end of 1963. The state comprised the former self-governing colony of Southern Rhodesia and the British protectorates of Northern Rhodesia and Nyasaland. It issued its own revenue stamps from around 1953 to