Status: Absolute Monarchy
Population: 450,565 (2018 estimate)
Area: 2,226 square miles
Currency: 100 sen = $1 Brunei = 67¢ U.S. (The Brunei dollar and
the Singapore dollar circulate interchangeably in Brunei.)
Timor is a rugged island in the eastern part of what is today Indonesia, off the north coast of Australia. When the lucrative sandalwood trade brought the Portuguese to Timor in the early 16th century, they found a mountainous island with an ethnically mixed population divided into numerous warring kingdoms. Later Dominican missionaries arrived on the island, but for over a century the official Portuguese presence in Timor was limited to seasonal trading expeditions from Macau. The principal Portuguese base of operations in the region was not on Timor but on Solor, an island about 100 miles north.
Overprinted “Timor” in 1885, this Macau colonial issue was one of the first postage stamps used on the island, Timor Scott 1.
In the early 1600s the Dutch East Indies Company aggressively challenged Portugal’s maritime supremacy and by 1613 the Portuguese held only their foothold in eastern Timor. An agreement with the Dutch led to a division of the island, though warfare continued for another 200 years fueled by undefined boundaries and local rivalries. It is a wonder that Portugal retained its position given the meager resources it committed to Timor. It is estimated that in 1750 there were fewer than 10 Portuguese on the island plus a handful of Dominican Friars whose labors for God were allegedly tempered by frequent licentious lapses. East Timor’s borders were not agreed upon until 1914.
Overprinted “Timor” in 1885, this Macau colonial issue was one of the first postage stamps used on the island, Timor Scott 1.
Life changed significantly for most citizens of Timor since the 18th century. Economically backward, East Timor was the last Portuguese colony to get its own stamps, when in 1885 ten Macau stamps were overprinted for use on the island. Timor remained a colonial backwater where Portugal sent its malcontents and criminals. Despite Portuguese neutrality in World War II, the Japanese invaded Timor in 1942. There appears to have been no local mail service during Japanese occupation, and no Timor stamps were issued from 1938 until 1946.
This 4a bright green Portuguese Vasco da Gama common design stamp, Scott 226, was released in Timor in 1938.
The colony continued to use special stamps until 1974 when Portugal’s Carnation Revolution brought decolonization – and civil war – which lasted until 1976 when East Timor was annexed by Indonesia, which brought Indonesian stamps. Violence continued and in 1999 Indonesia agreed to a referendum. When the people voted strongly in favor of Independence, the United Nations assumed authority over the country and the Australians assisted with security. Two values were issued in 2000 by the U.N. Transitional Authority in East Timor. The stamps were not widely used. Still, despite political unrest, elections were held.
Scott 350 is one of two stamps issued in 2000 by the U.N. Transitional Authority in East Timor. Both are scarce, especially in used condition.
On May 20, 2002, the U.N. recognized the Independent State of Timor-Leste. On that day the new country issued its first postage stamps. In the 16 years since, it has issued about a dozen stamps. There is a modern post office constructed with South Korean aid in Dili, the capital and commercial hub of Timor-Leste. On my three visits on three consecutive days in late 2018, the sales area was staffed by three helpful employees. Each time, I was the only customer.
A 9-avo King Carlos Portuguese colonial stamp issued in 1903, Scott 63.
All these stamps are listed under Timor in Volume 6B of the Scott catalogue.
This 25-cent Crocodile stamp, Scott 352, is one of four 2002 first issues of the Independent State of Timor-Leste.