Today we’re discussing the philatelic definition of “British America,” one of the six major divisions of the British Empire mentioned in a previous blog post. These are countries that are or once were part of the British Empire or British Commonwealth during the era of postage stamps (which began in 1840 and thus precludes what is now the United States of America).
Without thought, one might be tempted to conclude that this would be a rather short list – Canada, and what else? – but, of course, the Americas encompass all the Americas; North, South, and Central America, as well as the Caribbean. We must also consider stamp-issuing entities that no longer exist as such, like Nova Scotia and British Guiana.
Should you be interested in the postage stamps of British America? If you are “American” (I use the term in its largest sense), than my opinion is an affirmative one. Many of these stamps are attractive and of significant historical interest, and British America is an area wide enough to accommodate virtually any budget. Here’s the (surprisingly lengthy) list:
- Bahamas
- Belize
- British Antarctic Territory
- Nevis
- St. Christopher
- St. Kitts – Nevis
- St. Lucia
- St. Vincent
- British Colombia
- Canada
- New Brunswick
- Newfoundland
- Nova Scotia
- Prince Edward Island
- Vancouver Island
- British Honduras
- British Guiana
- Anguilla
- Antigua
- Bahamas
- Barbados
- Barbuda
- Bermuda
- British Virgin Islands
- Cayman Islands
- Dominica
- Grenada
- Jamaica
- Leeward Islands
- Montserrat
- Tobago
- Trinidad
- Turks & Caicos Islands
- Turks Islands
- Virgin Islands
- Falkland Islands
- Guyana
- South Georgia
That’s a lot of neighbors!
As always, I hope that you find this information useful in your stamp collecting pursuits, and appreciate your interest.
Happy collecting from Sonora Stamp Shop!
Daniel