ANGOLA - República de Angola / Repubilika ya Ngola

Angola, officially the Republic of Angola (Portuguese: República de Angola Kikongo, Kimbundu and Umbundu: Repubilika ya Ngola), is a country in Southern Africa. It is the seventh-largest country in Africa, and is bordered by Namibia to the south, the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the north and east, Zambia to the east, and the Atlantic Ocean to west. The exclave province of Cabinda has borders with the Republic of the Congo and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The capital and largest city of Angola is Luanda.

The name Angola comes from the Portuguese colonial name Reino de Angola (Kingdom of Angola), appearing as early as Dias de Novais's 1571 charter. The toponym was derived by the Portuguese from the title ngola held by the kings of Ndongo. Ndongo was a kingdom in the highlands, between the Kwanza and Lukala Rivers, nominally tributary to the king of Kongo but which was seeking greater independence during the 16th century.

Angola is bordered by Namibia to the south, Zambia to the east, the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the north-east, and the South Atlantic Ocean to the west. The coastal exclave of Cabinda in the north, borders the Republic of the Congo to the north, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the south. Angola's capital, Luanda, lies on the Atlantic coast in the northwest of the country.

Its first stamps date from 1870, six values depicting the Portuguese crown in a design common to all the colonies. New values and colors appeared periodically through 1885. In 1886, a series of nine featured an embossed silhouette of Luís I, followed in 1893 and 1898 by depictions of Carlos I. As with the other Portuguese colonies, the 1910s were philatelically complex, with multiple overprints and surcharges applied to the existing stamp stocks. The Ceres series on 1914 outlasted the instability, with new stamps being added as late as 1926, for a total of 40 types.

The first commemorative stamps were a series of three showing a marble column surmounted by the Portuguese arms, marking the visit of President António Óscar Carmona in 1938. A set of 10 in 1948 commemorated the 300th anniversary of the recovery of Angola. Two definitive series, one in 1951 consisting of 24 designs featuring native birds, and another of 20 stamps in 1953 depicting native animals, are notable as early stamps printed in full color. The 1950s and 1960s saw a number of additional long sets, including coats of arms, portraits of natives, local churches etc.

Stamps were issued for the present-day Cabinda Province as Portuguese Congo from 1894 to 1920.

The first stamp of independent Angola was a 1.50-escudo value issued on 11 November 1975; it depicted a hand holding a rifle aloft, in front of a star. Initially the stamp program was conservative, with 20-30 stamps per year, but starting in the mid-1990s, large numbers of designs began to come out each year, eventually joined by adhesive labels inscribed "Angola" but not authorized by postal authorities and not valid for postage. Angola is a client of the Inter-Governmental Philatelic Corporation.

Registered mails from Angola, posted from the central post office at Luanda, the capital city of Angola. The covers posted on. Angola mails to India traveling via Italia.

Angola is one of the most rare country from Africa for collectors. They have beautiful stamps but it is difficult to find contacts from there. The covers posted on June 06, 2016 and it reached in my hands on July 22, 2016. The covers came to Mumbai and again gone back to South Africa mistakenly, then again came back to India and delivered in my address.