Mail - Wikipedia Jump to content Main menu Main menu move to sidebar hide Navigation Main page Contents Current events Random article About Wikipedia Contact us Contribute Help Learn to edit Community portal Recent changes Upload file Special pages Search Search Appearance Donate Create account Log in Personal tools Donate Create account Log in Contents move to sidebar hide (Top) 1 Etymology 2 History Toggle History subsection 2.1 Iran 2.2 India 2.3 Rome 2.4 Vietnam 2.5 China 2.6 Mongol Empire 2.7 Japan 2.8 Korea 2.9 Other systems 2.10 Thurn und Taxis 2.11 Postal reforms 2.12 Modern transport and technology 3 Modern mail Toggle Modern mail subsection 3.1 Organization 3.2 Payment 3.3 Privacy and censorship 3.4 Rise of electronic correspondence 3.5 Collecting 3.6 Deregulation 4 Types Toggle Types subsection 4.1 Letters 4.1.1 First-Class 4.1.2 Registered and recorded mail 4.1.3 Repositionable notes 4.2 Postal cards and postcards 4.3 Mail bags 4.4 Other mail services 5 Business model 6 See also 7 Notes 8 Further reading 9 External links Toggle the table of contents Mail 86 languages Аԥсшәа Afrikaans العربية Asturianu Aymar aru Azərbaycanca Беларуская (тарашкевіца) Беларуская Български भोजपुरी বাংলা Català Нохчийн کوردی Čeština Dansk Deutsch Ελληνικά Esperanto Español Eesti Euskara فارسی Suomi Na Vosa Vakaviti Français Frysk Galego עברית हिन्दी Hrvatski Magyar Interlingua Bahasa Indonesia Ido Íslenska Italiano 日本語 Patois Jawa ქართული Kabɩyɛ Қазақша ಕನ್ನಡ 한국어 Кыргызча Latina Lietuvių Latviešu Македонски മലയാളം मराठी Bahasa Melayu Nederlands Norsk nynorsk Norsk bokmål Polski پنجابی Português Runa Simi Română Armãneashti Русский Srpskohrvatski / српскохрватски Simple English Slovenčina Slovenščina Soomaaliga Shqip Српски / srpski Sunda Svenska Kiswahili தமிழ் ไทย Türkçe Татарча / tatarça Українська اردو Oʻzbekcha / ўзбекча Tiếng Việt 吴语 Хальмг ייִדיש 粵語 中文 Edit links Article Talk English Read Edit View history Tools Tools move to sidebar hide Actions Read Edit View history General What links here Related changes Upload file Permanent link Page information Cite this page Get shortened URL Switch to legacy parser Print/export Download as PDF Printable version In other projects Wikimedia Commons Wikiquote Wikivoyage Wikidata item Appearance move to sidebar hide From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia System for transporting documents and other small packages Several terms redirect here. For other uses, see Mail (disambiguation), Postal service (disambiguation), and Snail Mail (disambiguation). A postman collecting mail for delivery in Hong Kong, 2008 The mail, or post, is a system for physically transporting postcards, letters, and parcels.[1] A postal service can be private or public, though many governments place restrictions on private systems. Since the mid-19th century, national postal systems have generally been established as a government monopoly, with a fee on the article prepaid. Proof of payment is usually in the form of an adhesive postage stamp, but a postage meter is also used for bulk mailing. Postal authorities often have functions aside from transporting letters. In some countries, a postal, telegraph and telephone (PTT) service oversees the postal system, in addition to telephone and telegraph systems. Some countries' postal systems allow for savings accounts and handle applications for passports. The Universal Postal Union (UPU), established in 1874, includes 192 member countries and sets the rules for international mail exchanges as a Specialized Agency of the United Nations. Etymology [edit] Mail envelope (back to back), Philippine Postal Corporation, 2019 The word mail comes from the Middle English word male /ˈmaːl(ə)/, referring to a travelling bag or pack.[2] It was spelled in that manner until the 17th century and is distinct from the word "male" in reference to the biological sex and gender. The French have a similar word, malle, for a trunk or large box, and mála is the Irish term for a bag (whence mála spíosrach "spice bag"). In the 17th century, the word mail began to appear as a reference for a bag that contained letters: "bag full of letter" (1654). Over the next hundred years the word mail began to be applied strictly to the letters themselves and the sack as the mailbag. In the 19th century, the British typically used mail to refer to letters being sent abroad (i.e. on a ship) and post to refer to letters for domestic delivery. The word post is derived from Old French poste, which ultimately stems from the past participle of the Latin verb ponere 'to lay down or place'.[3] So in the U.K., the Royal Mail delivers the post, while in North America both the U.S. Postal Service and Canada Post deliver the mail. The term email, short for "electronic mail", first appeared in the 1970s.[4][5] The term snail mail is a retronym to distinguish it from the quicker email. Various dates have been given for its first use.[6][7][8] History [edit] Many early post systems consisted of fixed courier routes, as seen in this 1832 depiction of a post house on a route in Finland. The practice of communication by written documents carried by an intermediary from one person or place to another almost certainly dates back nearly to the invention of writing. However, the development of formal postal systems occurred much later. The first documented use of an organized courier service for the dissemination of written documents is in Egypt, where Pharaohs used couriers to send out decrees throughout the territory of the state (2400 BCE).[9] The earliest surviving piece of mail is also Egyptian, dating to 255 BCE.[10] Iran [edit] Main articles: Royal Road, Chapar-Khaneh, and Angarium The first credible claim for the development of a real postal system comes from the Achaemenid Empire. The best-documented claim, by the Greek historian Xenophon, attributes the invention to the Persian king Cyrus the Great (550 BCE), who mandated that every province in his kingdom would organize reception and delivery of post to each of its citizens. Other writers credit his successor Darius the Great (521 BCE), who reorganized and rebuilt the Royal Road to facilitate the rapid travel of Persian couriers from Susa (now Iran) in the east to Sardis (now Turkey) in the west. Other sources claim much earlier dates for a postal system under the Assyrians, with credit given to Hammurabi (1700 BCE) and Sargon II (722 BCE). Mail may not have been the primary mission of this postal service, however. The role of the system as an intelligence-gathering apparatus is well documented, and the service was (later) called angariae, a term that in time came to indicate a tax system. The Book of Esther in the Hebrew Bible makes mention of this system: Persian king Ahasuerus used couriers to relay his decisions across the Near East. The Persian system worked using stations called Chapar Khaneh (Persian: چاپارخانه), whence the message carrier (the Chapar) would ride to the next post, whereupon he would swap his horse with a fresh one for maximum performance and delivery speed. The Greek historian Herodotus described the system in this way: "It is said that as many days as there are in the whole journey, so many are the men and horses that stand along the road, each horse and man at the interval of a day's journey; and these are stayed neither by snow nor rain nor heat nor darkness from accomplishing their appointed course with all speed".[11] The verse prominently features on James Farley Post Office in New York City, although it uses the translation "Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds". The ancient Persian postal service system greatly influenced the Greco-Roman world such that its model was adapted by the Roman Empire as the cursus publicus. India [edit] The use of adhesive stamps and sealing wax to signify prepayment of postage began with the Scinde Dawk of British India on 1 July 1852,[12] as part of a comprehensive reform of the postal system in Scinde under the East India Company. Main article: Postal history of India The economic growth and political stability under the Mauryan Empire (322–185 BCE) stimulated sustained development of civil infrastructure in ancient India. The Mauryans developed early Indian mail service as well as public wells, rest houses, and other facilities for the public.[13] Common chariots called Dagana were sometimes used as mail chariots in ancient India.[14] Couriers were used militarily by kings and local rulers to deliver information through runners and other carriers. The postmaster, the head of the intelligence service, was responsible for ensuring the maintenance of the courier system. Couriers were also used to deliver personal letters.[15] In South India, the Wodeyar dynasty (1399–1947) of the Kingdom of Mysore used mail service for espionage purposes thereby acquiring knowledge related to matters that took place at great distances.[16] By the end of the 18th century, a postal system in India was in operation. Later this system underwent complete modernization when the British Raj established its control over most of India. The Post Office Act XVII of 1837 provided that the Governor-General of India in Council had the exclusive right of conveying letters by post for hire within the territories of the East India Company. The mails were available to certain officials without charge, which became a controversial privilege as the years passed. On this basis the Indian Post Office was established on October 1, 1837.[17] Rome [edit] Main article: cursus publicus The first well-documented postal service was that of Rome. Organized at the time of Augustus Caesar (62 BCE – 14 CE), the service was called cursus publicus and was provided with light carriages (rhedæ) pulled by fast horses. By the time of Diocletian, a parallel service was established with two-wheeled carts (birotæ) pulled by oxen. This service was reserved for government correspondence. Yet another service for citizens was later added.[citation needed][dubious – discuss] Vietnam [edit] In 1802, the first Vietnamese postal service was established under the Nguyen dynasty, under the Ministry of Rites.[18][19][20] During the Nguyen dynasty, official documents were transported by horse and other primitive means to stations built about 25–30 kilometers apart.[18] In 1904, three wireless communication offices were established, and in early 1906 they were merged with the postal service to form the Post and Wireless Office.[21][22] In 1945, after the August Revolution, the Post and Wireless Office was renamed the Post Office under the Ministry of Transportation.[23][24][25] In 1955, the Post Office was upgraded to the Ministry of Post.[26][27][28] China [edit] Main article: Postal history of China Chinese postage stamp: 4-cent on 100-dollar silver overprint of 1949 Some Chinese sources claim mail or postal systems dating back to the Xia or Shang dynasties, which would be the oldest mailing service in the world. The earliest credible system of couriers was initiated by the Han dynasty (206 BCE – 220 CE), who had relay stations every 30 li (about 15 km) along major routes. The Tang dynasty (618 to 907 AD) operated a recorded 1,639 posthouses, including maritime offices, employing around 20,000 people. The system was administered by the Ministry of War and private correspondence was forbidden from the network. The Ming dynasty (1368 to 1644) sought a postal system to deliver mail quickly, securely, and cheaply. Adequate speed was always a problem, because of the slow overland transportation syste…