350th Anniversary of the founding of Benguela.
Map of the kingdoms of Angola and Benguela in the 17th century,
and portrait of Manuel Cerveira Pereira.
Stamp issued on 15.08.1967.
Face value: 50 Angolan escudos.
Printed by I. N. C. M. (Impensa Nacional - Casa da Moeda), Lisboa.
Print: 2,000,000 copies.
Catalogues
- Michel No. 542.
- StampWorld No. 555.
- Stanley Gibbons No. 661.
- Yvert et Tellier No. 539.
In 1615, in the context of the Iberian Union, King Felipe III of Spain separated the "Kingdom of Benguela" from Angola. The main objective of this new colony was the exploitation of the Sumbe Ambela copper mines, north of the Cuvo (or Queve) river gorge and south of Benguela-Velha, the first Portuguese town in the region (founded in 1587 and then extinct). He was appointed as Governor, Conqueror and Settler of Benguela, and simultaneously Governor of Angola, Manuel Cerveira Pereira, who left Luanda on April 11, 1617 at the head of a force of 130 men heading south, along the coast, to the Bay of Vacas, which reached May 17. There he founded the Fort of São Filipe de Benguela, the nucleus of the town of the same name that was to be the capital of the new Portuguese domain south of Angola, the Kingdom of Benguela, which was administered autonomously between 1617 and 1869. Benguela was occupied by forces of the Dutch East India Company from 1641 to 1648.
No comments:
Post a Comment