COLOMBIA - Republic of Colombia / República de Colombia

Colombia officially the Republic of Colombia (Spanish: República de Colombia  is a country largely situated in the north of South America, with land and territories in North America. Colombia is bounded on the north by the Caribbean Sea, the northwest by Panama, the south by both Ecuador and Peru, the east by Venezuela, the southeast by Brazil, and the west by the Pacific. It comprises thirty-two departments, with the capital in Bogotá. Colombia has the second-highest biodiversity in the world  and is one of the world's 17 megadiverse countries; its territory encompasses Amazon rainforest, highlands, grasslands, deserts, and islands and coastlines along both the Atlantic and Pacific (the only country in South America). Colombia is bordered to the northwest by Panama, to the east by Venezuela and Brazil, and to the south by Ecuador and Peru;  it established its maritime boundaries with neighboring countries through seven agreements on the Caribbean Sea and three on the Pacific Ocean. 

The geography of Colombia is characterized by its six main natural regions that present their own unique characteristics, from the Andes mountain range region shared with Ecuador and Venezuela; the Pacific coastal region shared with Panama and Ecuador; the Caribbean coastal region shared with Venezuela and Panama; the Llanos (plains) shared with Venezuela; the Amazon Rainforest region shared with Venezuela, Brazil, Peru and Ecuador; to the insular area, comprising islands in both the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.

Colombia is one of the megadiverse countries in biodiversity, ranking first in bird species. As for plants, the country has between 40,000 and 45,000 plant species, equivalent to 10 or 20% of total global species, which is even more remarkable given that Colombia is considered a country of intermediate size. Colombia is the second most biodiverse country in the world, lagging only after Brazil which is approximately 7 times bigger.

The first stamp of Colombia was a black 20 centavos revenue stamp issued on 1 September 1858. The central government of the Granadine Confederation, was responsible for inter-state services and all outgoing and incoming mail to and from other countries. For these purposes national postage stamps were issued from 1859, bearing the inscription Confed. Granadina Correos Nacionales. In 1861 a series of stamps in five values was issued inscribed Estados Unidos de Nueva Granada, or the United States of New Granada. Later in 1861 the United States of New Granada became the United States of Colombia and stamps were issued marked Estados Unidos de Colombia until 1886.

In 1863 the United States of Colombia, as it had now become, made up of eight sovereign states, confirmed and authorised the states’ power to operate their own postal services and issue postage stamps. These were only valid for postage within the state, although a few examples are known of stamps that were sent to other states and even to Europe. In 1886 the newly created Republic of Colombia abolished the states and divided the country into the departments of Colombia. The constituent states of Colombia continued to issue separate stamps until the early 1900s.The stamps issued by the Republic of Colombia were marked Republica de Colombia, the fourth name change since 1859, and subsequently changed into just Colombia.

These two  covers are sent by Alberto from Colombia. The covers posted on  August 01, 2016 and I received in my hands on September 19, 2016. Colombia customs department open all letters and then seal with their adhesive tape. So I advised my friend to keep open the packet for checking. Still the cover backside opened very badly.