2020Europa Madeira - Ancient Postal Routes - Sheetlets

The Autonomous Regions of the Azores and Madeira had their own specific post transportation problems. The use of maritime transport to send correspondence to the islands had been previewed by old o cial charters pre-dating the creation of the rst master of the Posts. However, it was only in 1821 that King João VI o cially created the maritime postal service for the Azores and Madeira. In the interior of the various islands, the circulation of letters and parcels was ensured by private or municipal services that hired couriers or muleteers, as was the case on Portugal mainland. Due to the very uneven terrain and the lack of roads, a boat was often used as the simplest way to move around the islands.