USPS

You know how cheap stamps used to be!?

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hello, listeners. I can't thank you enough for tuning in.
It's time for another episode of What They Did Before podcast?
What did we do before the postal system? I don't
think anybody even sends letters any more. Maybe you do,
I hope you do. All I get is junk mail
in the mail. I get letters from all my favorite advertisers,

(00:24):
Cubon tire sales. E Mail has kind of replaced correspondence
along with text messaging and other social media forms instant messaging.

(00:45):
But for a long time, the postal service was all
we had in what you relied for. You check the
mail every day. I've checked mine in weeks. The first
known organized postal system was developed in ancient Egypt around

(01:08):
twenty four hundred BC. Pharaohs used a system of royal
couriers to send messages across the vast Egyptian empire. This
system was particularly important for the communication between the pharaoh's
court and officials in far aflung parts of the kingdom.

(01:33):
The couriers would often travel by boat along the Nile River,
an essential trade route for both commerce and communication. The
Roman Empire expanded this ideal with an extensive system known
as circus publicus a state run courier in transportation network

(01:57):
that spanned the empire. The system used relay stations where
couriers would exchange tired horses for fresh ones, ensuring that
messages could be carried quickly across long distances, Though Romans
utilized foot messengers, horse riders, and boats depending on the geography.

(02:28):
This system was crucial for military communications, especially for managing
the empire's farthest outposts. The Persian Empire's Royal Road, established
by King Darius in the fifth century BC, was a

(02:49):
significant advance in ancient postal networks. This road stretched the
Susa in modern day Iran to Sardis in modern name
Turkey and was roughly fifteen hundred miles long. The Persians
mounted couriers to carry messages across this road. The couriers

(03:12):
would travel between relay stations at set intervals, where fresh
horses awaited them, enabling relatively rapid communication. The Persian system
was one of the first examples of state run mail
delivery that could efficiently manage communication across an empire. In

(03:35):
both Greece and Rome, slaves were often employed as messengers
to deliver personal or state messages. These slaves often trusted
individuals would travel with letters or decrees to specific recipients.
The system was informal, relying on personal bonds or trust

(03:58):
rather than structured roots or schedules. This method was common
for private communication, but also used by governments, with high
ranking slaves serving as imperial couriers. During the medieval period,
monasteries played a key role in the transmission of information.

(04:22):
Monasteries were often strategically located along trade routes and served
as a central point of communication. Benedictine monks, in particular,
were known for their work in maintaining written records and documents.
They used their extensive networks to communicate with other monasteries, bishops,

(04:46):
and even secular leaders. These letters often contained religious and
political or administrative messages. Since monasteries were self sustaining, they
could also provide a place for messengers to rest and
change horses. In feudal Europe, communication between lords and their

(05:11):
vassals was essential for maintaining control over lands and serfs.
These communications were often sent via personal messengers, trusted servants
or knights, who would travel from estate to a state.
The feudal system lacked a unified postal service, so messengers

(05:35):
were often employed for important business or diplomatic negotiations. The
messages often carried military orders or legal notices. The Hanseatic League,
a powerful group of merchant cities in North Europe, developed

(05:55):
an informal postal system that allowed merchants to exchange letters
and information about trade. This system was essential for conducting
long distance business transactions, as merchants relied on couriers to
carry important contracts, invoices, and letters of credit across Europe.

(06:19):
The League's couriers were an early precursor to commercial postal services,
as they operated on a private network for economic rather
than governmental purposes. The Royal mail system in England began
around fifteen sixteen under the reign of King Henry the Eighth,

(06:42):
who established a Royal courier service to maintain communication with
officials in distant regions. Initially, the Royal mail service was
for the monarchy, but it eventually expanded to allow the
greater public to send letters. The early mail system used

(07:02):
a network of post towns where riders could exchange horses
and rest. By the seventeenth century, postal services were becoming
more formalized, and post offices were established in key cities
across England. The Pony Express, established in eighteen sixty, was

(07:24):
one of the most iconic forms of mail delivery in
the United States before the advent of telegraph. Riders on
horseback would carry mail over two thousand miles between Missouri
and California. Relay stations were established every ten to fifteen
miles where fresh horses were available. The service dramatically reduced

(07:49):
the time it took to deliver messages between the two coasts,
but it was also a dangerous route due to the
harsh terrain and threats from bandits and Native of American tribes.
It operated for only eighteen months, but left a lasting
legacy in American postal history. Before the modern postal system,

(08:14):
many communities just had a town of criers. They would
announce important messages publicly. These criers would walk through town,
ringing a bell and reading proclamations of delivering news out loud. Heralds,
often associated with royalty and nobility, performed a similar function

(08:37):
to delivering formal announcements, decrees, or invitations. Heralds would travel
to different regions to announce royal decisions or call for
knights to gather for a battle or tournament. I don't
know if I'd rather be a town crier or a
herald maybe both crier on weekends. How about that? During

(09:03):
the Age of Exploration, SA mail became an essential way
to maintain communication between Europe, the Americas, Asia and Africa.
And I'm not talking about a message in a bottle, folks.
The early maritime postal system relied on ships that carried

(09:23):
letters along the passengers or goods. These ships were often
part of trade fleets or governmental expeditions. Mail was typically
handled by the captain or merchant traders, who would transport
letters to specific ports, where they were then delivered to recipients.

(09:45):
This system was often slow and unreliable, but was the
only way to maintain international communication. Diplomatic couriers were special
messengers entrusted with carrying sensitive documents, treaties, or royal decrees
across borders. Often, these carriers were given diplomatic community, meaning

(10:08):
they were protected from arrest or interference while on their mission.
The importance of diplomatic couriers was especially evident in times
of war, where the timely delivery of peace treaties or
a military orders could change the course of conflict. That's

(10:30):
all the time we've got for today's episode of What
they Did before the modern postal System. I hope you've
enjoyed this episode, and I can't thank you enough for listening.
Until next time,