It was the signing of the Treaty of Bern,

which led to the Universal Postal Union being created,

this was in Switzerland 1874,

and so a world postal service was celebrated.

Today is also to raise awareness ,

of how much the mail plays in communication,

by posting a letter in a letter box,

you can keep in touch with every nation.

The earliest postal service was in the form of messengers going long distances on horseback or on foot. In the 1600's and 1700's countries entered into an agreement to exchange mail with each other but by the mid 1800's it had become very complicated. In September 1874, Bern, Switzerland delegates from 22 countries assembled and signed the Treaty of Bern and this established the General Postal Union, as membership grew the name changed to the Universal Postal Union. Nearly 445 billion letters are delivered around the world each year, the Penny Black was the first adhesive postage stamp used in a public postal system. It was issued in Great Britain on May 1st 1840 to be used on May 6th the same year, the stamp bears the profile of Queen Victoria.

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