During the 17th and 18th centuries, the exchange of mail between countries was largely regulated by bilateral postal agreements. But by the 19th century the web of bilateral agreements had become so complex that it began to hamper the rapidly developing trade and commercial sector. Order and simplification were needed in international postal services.
The process started with national postal reforms. The most important reform took place in England in 1840, when Sir Roland Hill introduced a system whereby postage on letters had to be prepaid. Furthermore, uniform rates were charged for all letters of a certain weight in the domestic service, regardless of the distance covered. Sir Roland Hill is also credited with introducing the world's first postage stamp.
On October 9, 1874, 22 countries came together to sign the Treaty of Berne, creating the Universal Postal Union, which would later become known as the Universal Postal Union. A century and a half later, the Universal Postal Union unites the postal networks of 192 member countries, realizing the vision of its founders to establish a single postal territory to serve people everywhere.
In 2024, the Universal Postal Union celebrates its 150th anniversary.
The Universal Postal Union's theme for its 150th year – "150 years of enabling communication and empowering people across nations" – recognizes this achievement and reinforces its commitment to serve all peoples for decades and centuries to come.
