Postage stamps and postal history of the United States a precondition for their issue by a nation was the establishment of standardized rates for delivery throughout the country. If postal fees were to remain (as they were in many lands) a patchwork of many different jurisdictional rates, the use of stamps would only produce limited gains in efficiency, for postal clerks would still have to spend time calculating the rates on many letters: only then would senders know how much postage to put on them. The introduction of postage stamps in the UK in May 1840 was received with great interest in the United States (and around the world).
Postage stamps and postal history of Brazil Postage stamps and postal history of Brazil Brazil is the fifth largest country in the world. It was a colony of Portugal from 1500 until 1815. Brazil was the second country in the world, after Great Britain, to issue postage stamps valid within the entire country (as opposed to a local issue). Like Great Britain's first stamps, the design does not include the country name. The first stamps of Brazil were issued on 1 August 1843 and are known as "Bull's Eyes" due to their distinctive appearance. On 1 July 1844 a new series was issued which is known as