CHAD - République du Tchad

Chad (Arabic: تشاد‎ , French: Tchad) officially known as the Republic of Chad (Arabic: جمهورية تشاد‎ Jumhūriyyat Tshād; French: République du Tchad), is a landlocked country in north-central Africa. It is bordered by Libya to the north, Sudan to the east, the Central African Republic to the south, Cameroon to the south-west, Nigeria to the southwest (at Lake Chad), and Niger to the west.

Chad has several regions: a desert zone in the north, an arid Sahelian belt in the centre and a more fertile Sudanian Savanna zone in the south. Lake Chad, after which the country is named, is the largest wetland in Chad and the second-largest in Africa. The capital N'Djamena is the largest city. Chad's official languages are Arabic and French. Chad is home to over 200 different ethnic and linguistic groups.

At 1,284,000 square kilometres (496,000 sq mi), Chad is the world's 20th-largest country. Chad is in north central Africa, is bounded to the north by Libya, to the east by Sudan, to the west by Niger, Nigeria and Cameroon, and to the south by the Central African Republic. The country's capital is 1,060 kilometres (660 mi) from the nearest seaport, Douala, Cameroon.^[39][40] Because of this distance from the sea and the country's largely desert climate, Chad is sometimes referred to as the "Dead Heart of Africa".

Regular mail service in Chad began soon after the French occupation of the area, with a post office established at Fort-Lamy in 1905. Additional offices were opened at Abeche (1909), Amm et Timan (1910), Ati (1909), Bousso (1910), Fada (1920), Faya-Largeau (1920), Mandjafa (1910), and Tchekna (1910).  Mail used stamps of French Congo until 1915, then stamps of Ubangi Shari, whose overprints read "OUBANGUI-CHARI-TCHAD".

Chad came under civil administration in 1920, and in 1922 received its own stamps, consisting of the issues of Middle Congo overprinted "TCHAD". The initial issue consisted of 18 values ranging from 1 centime to 5 francs. As with Oubangui-Chari, the administrative situation was clarified from 1924 on by the addition of an additional overprint "AFRIQUE EQUATORIALE FRANCAISE". 32 color and value combinations appeared between 1924 and 1933, along with another 9 surcharged with new values.

In 1930, a set of colorful postage due stamps were the first to be inscribed with the name of the colony, followed by the Colonial Exposition Issue in 1931. Separate stamps issues came to an end in 1936, after which Chad used the stamps issued for all of French Equatorial Africa. The postal administrations of the four territories were separate until 1936, each issuing its own stamps. In that year, stamps of Gabon and Middle Congo were overprinted AFRIQUE / ÉQUATORIALE / FRANÇAISE. A definitive series for the colony followed in 1937, featuring local scenes and key French figures in the formation of the colony, with various color and value changes each year through 1940.

The 1937 series was overprinted AFRIQUE FRANÇAISE / LIBRE or just LIBRE in 1940 by the Free French, and in 1941 they issued a series depicting a phoenix rising from the flames. A new definitive series, featuring local scenery and people, was issued in 1946, and another twenty-odd stamps came out during the 1950s, with the last being the omnibus Human Rights issue on 10 December 1958.

In 1959, approaching independence, the country issued its first stamps omitting the letters RF (standing for "République française", French Republic). These included a 15-franc issue depicting a cotton flower, fishers on Lake Chad and the head of an antelope. Independence in 1960 was not reflected in postage stamps until 1961, when three stamps were issued to celebrate admission to the UN.

 

These  covers posted from N'Djamena. Unfortunately they didn't count the value of the stamps which is already affixed on the cover by me. The covers posted on September 29, 2017 and I received in my hands on October 27, 2017.

The covers posted on December 27, 2016 and I received in my hands on January 16, 2017.